blackberry worms

[Dottie]

yeah but you'll never eat another berry straight from the bush will you

Yep first reaction is disgust, but it just goes to show what you don't see don't hurt. Plus I could just have maggot free fruit, as even fruit not eaten until the next day, has not shown any signs of worms or maggots.

Anyway they eat worse in Celebrity Jungle, kangaroo meat and 2 veg!

So I've decided I shall carry on eating straight from the plant and just do my usual quality check, as I grow so much fruit I'm usually fussy on what I keep anyway.

Helps to be dottie.

[Eco-Chic]

I may take longer than my usual cursory look but I will also carry on eating straight from the plant.

[Two_Sheds]

the maggot you find in blackberries is the larvae of the Raspberry Beetle
Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Raspberry Beetle

[andrewo]

Oh, it doesn't matter. It's just more protein!

[Two_Sheds]

Yeah, but it's not vegetarian protein

[gojiberry]

I have never bothered looking at blackberries before and just eaten them. There is a similar problem with wild field mushrooms in that they can often have maggots in them.

Ian

[lynda66]

*decides never to eat wild field mushrooms either

[Flummery]

I often find blowflies - bluebottles - bumbling about round the blackberries near the allotment. I wouldn't be surprised if some of their maggots find their way in.

My Ma used to soak everything in Milton solution - don't know if you can still get it? Salty water does the trick.

[Jenegade]

yeah but you'll never eat another berry straight from the bush will you

Nah, they taste so good! Still going to eat wild ones straight off the bush! Hasn't made me ill yet!

[lynda66]

I often find blowflies - bluebottles - bumbling about round the blackberries near the allotment. I wouldn't be surprised if some of their maggots find their way in.

My Ma used to soak everything in Milton solution - don't know if you can still get it? Salty water does the trick.

yup you can still get milton, and other cheaper brands are available

[janeyo]

I spose I've go to start checking the ruddy raspberries too now

Mind you, I never get to eat them, a certain 4 year old pinches them all. He prob likes to eat bugs

[lynda66]

I spose I've go to start checking the ruddy raspberries too now

Mind you, I never get to eat them, a certain 4 year old pinches them all. He prob likes to eat bugs

yup, and any other similar looking bunching berry..... most 4 year olds won't notice and the protein will be good for him

[GreenPete]

I like to eat them straight off the plant, the little white maggots used to put me off as a kid but for some reason they don't bother me now

My mum used to put them in the fridge over night with the idea that the maggots come to the surface.

I guess if you're cooking for someone else they would never know, the maggots soon take on the colour of the blackberry and blend in

[Flummery]

I once saw a maggot wiggle off after it had been in the freezer a couple of weeks!

[flubba-jubba]

im pretty sure the maggot/worm things are in the middle bit of the fruit.....when i was a kid i remember picking a wild blackberry in the back garden, when i plucked out the top i could see a maggot thing wiggling out

we've got blackberry bushes in our garden here, ive been picking them but keeping a close eye on the centres of the blackberries.......not seen a maggot yet