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Avatar for Mc1784937
Oct 4, 2016 8:47 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Michael
WA
I am having trouble with worms in my strawberries. Only those that are nearly ripe that touch the ground.
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Oct 4, 2016 3:05 PM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
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Welcome!

Not something you want to add to your fruit salad. The common problem is caused by a fruitfly (Drosophila suzukii):

http://jenny.tfrec.wsu.edu/opm...

But your worms, although blurry, look more like baby centipedes or millipedes. Have you looked at them under a magnifying glass?
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Oct 4, 2016 4:44 PM CST
Name: Elaine
Sarasota, Fl
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Hi Michael, and welcome to garden.org. Welcome!

That's growing strawberries for ya - everybody loves them. Birds, squirrels, mice, rats, raccoons, bears and other people. But especially bugs!

Strawberries got their name for the simple reason that they have always needed to be held up off the ground - and people commonly mulch around the plants with straw to help with this. Recommend you find yourself a bale of hay or straw, and stick a handful of it under each bunch of berries so they will stay up off the ground, dry and hopefully out of tempting range of the bugs. It will help keep the berries from developing mushy spots and mold on the sides that sit on the ground as well.
Elaine

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." –Winston Churchill
Avatar for Aporo66
Dec 1, 2023 5:06 PM CST

Welcome! This is exactly what I have. How do I get them out of my soil?
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Dec 1, 2023 6:17 PM CST
Name: Elaine
Sarasota, Fl
The one constant in life is change
Amaryllis Tropicals Multi-Region Gardener Orchids Master Gardener: Florida Irises
Herbs Region: Florida Vegetable Grower Daylilies Birds Cat Lover
You have to keep the strawberries up off the soil, not eliminate every bug, worm and caterpillar in your garden. Mulch under the plants with straw - the source of the name 'Strawberry'. (if you read my post above yours, you'll already know this)

Try netting the plants with tulle (bridal veil material). It's relatively inexpensive at any fabric store and will keep most of the critters that love strawberries at bay for you. Bunch or roll it up a bit and tuck it under the leaves, so the crawlers can't get up to the fruit.
Elaine

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." –Winston Churchill
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Dec 2, 2023 1:03 AM CST
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FYI, OP thread from 7 years ago.
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