Managing apple maggots with insecticides

Questions about this information? Contact us. August 11, 2021

Updated from an original article written by John Wise, Michigan State University Extension, Department of Entomology.

Insecticide options for apple maggot control.

Following low levels of apple maggot adult emergence during most of July, high numbers of apple maggot have been detected in August at the Michigan State University Trevor Nichols Research Center in Fennville, Michigan. Controlling apple maggots has been traditionally achieved with organophosphate insecticides, like Imidan. Synthetic pyrethroid compounds, like Asana, Warrior, Danitol, Battalion, Mustang Max and Baythroid, are also toxic to adult fruit flies but are generally viewed to be moderately effective because they have a shorter field residual. There are several reduced-risk and organophosphate-replacement insecticide products that include apple maggot on their labels.

The neonicotinoids Belay, Admire and Assail are labeled for apple maggot control. They have limited lethal action on adult apple maggots but provide strong curative activity on eggs and larvae. The METI compound, Apta, is toxic to adult fruit flies as a contact insecticide. The Spinosyn compounds Delegate and Entrust are active on apple maggots when ingested but have shown to be only fair control materials in field trials with high pest pressure, thus are labeled for apple maggot suppression only. Venerate is an OMRI approved biopesticide that is labelled for apple maggot control.

The Diamide compounds Exirel, Verdepryn and premix Minecto Pro (diamide plus avermectin) are active on apple maggots and labeled for population suppression. Leverage, Voliam Flexi and Endigo are pre-mix compounds that are labeled for apple maggot control.

Compound trade name	Chemical class	Life stage activity	Effectiveness rating on apple maggot***	Residual activity	** Mite flaring potential	Effectiveness rating on codling moth***
Imidan	Organophosphate	Adults and curative	Excellent	14+ days	Relatively safe	Excellent
Asana, Warrior, Danitol, Mustang Max, Baythroid, Battalion	Pyrethroid	Adults	Fair to good	7-10 days	Highly toxic	Fair
Delegate, Entrust*	Spinosyn	Adults	Fair	7-10 days	Moderate toxicity	Fair to excellent
Assail, Belay, Admire	Neonicotinoid	Adults and curative	Good to excellent	10-14 days	Relatively safe to moderate toxicity	Good to excellent
Venerate*	Biopesticide	Adults	Good	7-10 days	Relatively safe	--
Apta	Mitochondrial Complex	Adults	Good	10-14 days	Relatively safe	Excellent
Exirel	Diamide	Adults	Good	10-14 days	Relatively safe	Excellent
Verdepryn	Diamide	Adults	Good	10-14 days	Relatively safe	Excellent
Leverage	Premix (pyrethroid + neonicotinoid)	Adults and curative	Excellent	10-14 days	Highly toxic	Fair to good
Endigo	Premix (pyrethroid + neonicotinoid)	Adults and curative	Good	10-14 days	Highly toxic	Good
Voliam Flexi	Premix (diamide + neonicotinoid)	Adults and curative	Excellent	10-14 days	Relatively safe to moderate toxicity	Excellent
Minecto Pro	Premix (diamide + avermectin)	Adults	Good	10-14 days	Relatively safe	Excellent

* OMRI-approved for organic production.
** Predator mite toxicity rating.
*** Effectiveness rating of insecticides (Michigan Fruit Management Guide, Michigan State University Extension bulletin E154).

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).