FACTSHEET: Managing sucking pests in strawberries

Sucking pests include mites, thrips, mirids, jassids, aphids and bugs (such as Rutherglen bug). The feeding activity of sucking pests can damage plant buds, leaves, flowers and strawberry fruit directly. Calendar-based spray programs to control these pests are expensive, and often ineffective due to insecticide resistance amongst the pest populations. Certain pesticides can also be toxic to beneficial organisms, reducing their numbers, which can cause other pest populations to flare. This fact sheet summarises the information you’ll need to sustainably manage the sucking pests in your crops.