Scouting provides information useful in planning next year's crop rotations. Wheat can be checked just after emergence. Look for areas of poor stand and stunted plants in the field. Collect about 50 stems from throughout the field, avoiding field edges. When a field becomes infested, control measures will not work.
Control is based entirely on prevention.
The use of resistant varieties alone or in combination with delayed planting dates and destruction of volunteer wheat has greatly reduced risks associated with this pest. If this wheat is destroyed, the earliest emerging flies have fewer egg laying sites. By harvesting wheat early and discing under or burning stubble, much of the population can be eliminated. Discing the stubble under completely is more effective than burning. Because the Hessian fly is a weak flier, rotation of crops over a wide area can help to reduce infestations.