A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Black Worms in cantaloupe

(Our first garden) Last year just prior to harvesting our cantaloupes, we found small black worms had entered the fruit and the inside was rotten! The damage was not noticeable from the outside of the fruit. As we investigated, we found the small black worms were very plentiful in the garden, but did not bother any other veggie or fruit. How do we prevent the damage this year. Thanks.

You could cover the vines, after the flowers have been pollinated, with a mosquito type netting. The worms are probably the larvae of a flying insect. If you want further pollination after covering, you can do it by hand.