Insect Management Guide for papaya . Bagging should begin when the fruit is small, shortly after the flowers have fallen off. Each fruit should be enclosed in a paper bag or rolled tube of newspaper and tied around the stem. This method can be very practical and successful if enough labor is available. Attention to covering new fruit and increasing the covering as the fruits increase in size is necessary.
Sanitation is also quite important in the control of the papaya fruit fly.
All dropped and prematurely ripe fruit, as well as infested young fruit, must be destroyed in order to prevent the larvae from developing into adults. Very little research has been done on the biological control of papaya fruit fly considering its economic importance. Pheromone lures and traps are a critical part of dealing with fruit fly infestations for monitoring populations, measuring distribution, and acquiring control or eradication. Research in Miami and Gainesville, Florida has resulted in the development of a pheromone lure and functional trap for this species. Studies are presently being performed to test female pheromone lures with the addition of host odor chemicals in order to increase the attraction of flies and to improve its performance in competition with males.