Two-spotted mites . Gilaxia / Getty Images Writer Krista Torres was left gagging after a tiny worm … The worm was maybe 3/8" long and less than 1/16" wide and its body looked smooth and featureless to my unaided eye. Two spotted mites are considered a major insect pest of strawberries in Australia. Wendy Ellis, from New South Wales, claims she found the worm squirming around inside her fresh fruit after buying it from her local Woolworths and posted a video of the critter inside the strawberry. EW. She wrote: “After nearly 25 years of living, TikTok taught me how to properly wash strawberries. Try organic methods of pest control when protecting strawberries from insects and other pests. They need a slightly acid soil (pH of 6 – 6.5), with a shed-load of compost, some well-rotted poo (worm and cow is good) and a lovely thick mulch layer. TIKTOK users are revealing what happens when you submerge strawberries in salt water – and it’s enough to turn your stomach. Posted by Lisa L on December 14, ... No and went back for a closer look and now think they are a little caterpillar as they move like a caterpillar not a worm, I guess with the bird netting up the birds can't get in to eat them though I'm sure the birds would eat the strawberries first! Horrified people are swearing off strawberries after learning that small bugs and worms crawl out of them when they are soaked in salt water. Whack them into a slightly raised bed (about 15 – 20cm) or a suitable pot, keeping about 20 – 30cm between your plants. Common insect pests of strawberries. Portuguese Millipedes snuck into Port Lincoln in South Australia in the early 1950s, and have since spread throughout Southern Australia. However, many of the strawberries have divots eaten into them and I found one or two of these with what looked like a small black worm in them. Little worms in my strawberries yuk! L Ullio . Organic methods for keeping pests away from strawberries might involve hot pepper spray, rotten eggs, blood meal, castor oil, orange peels, soap, and human hair. But now we know it also helps remove bugs. They are FILLED with tiny bugs and tons of dirt! They are sap sucking insects that feed on the underside of leaves. A: The worms in your strawberries are the offspring of a fruit fly called Spotted Wing Drosophila, a new arrival to our region. They’re herbivorous and do little damage to ornamental gardens, but damage seedlings and soft fruit in the vegie patch. Cleanfresh Project, Intensive Horticulture, Sydney Markets . !” According to the Cloud Mountain Farm Centre, the small worms are “most likely the larvae of Spotted Wing Drosophila, a non-native fruit fly that lays its eggs” and are not harmful if eaten. Like I said, super soil is the secret to successful strawberries. I saw the ~worms~ on about six of the eight strawberries I put in the bowl of salt water. 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