Pests & diseases › Raspberry Beetle
Raspberry Beetle
Small brown beetle whose grubs are the maggots you find inside raspberries and blackberries.
Symptoms
- Small cream grubs inside ripe berries
- Brown patches on the outside of the fruit
- Affected berries shrivelling
Lifecycle
Adults emerge May–June, lay eggs on flowers.
What to do
- Pheromone traps to catch males — reduces population over years
- Pick affected berries early
If it's bad
- Pyrethrum spray when first pink fruit appears (raspberries) or at petal fall (blackberries) — but avoid spraying when bees are present
Stop it coming back
- Cultivate around canes in winter to expose pupae
- Autumn-fruiting varieties (Polka, Joan J) often escape worst damage
Crops it goes for
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.