Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is a vinegar (fruit) fly of East Asian origin that can damage many crops by piercing healthy fruit and laying its eggs.

Spotted Wing Drosophila an unwelcome visitor to fruit farms this summer

MAFRD began monitoring for SWD in 2013 and this is the worst year yet, say provincial fruit crops specialist

Altona-area fruit grower Waldo Thiessen knew what was wrong immediately when his U-pick customers started calling back a few hours after their first day in his raspberry patch in mid-July. “They said they’d started to make jam, and, well, there was a lot of protein (in the raspberries),” he said. It was larvae of spotted

More questions for Reena

Dear Reena, My husband decided to put a really hot cardboard pizza box on my brand new solid wood table. I removed the thin tablecloth off of the table to shake out the crumbs and found a white square imprint. After trying to figure out what it was and using some Pledge with natural orange



More questions from readers

Dear Reena, We recently purchased some wicker baskets for our home. The problem is that they smell like cow manure! We are not able to keep them in the house. I have left them outside for a few weeks and they still smell. I tried Febreze also with no luck. What do you suggest to





Questions for Reena

Hey Reena, My son is doing a science fair project on “How permanent are permanent markers.” We are experimenting on various surfaces — linoleum, paint, wood and carpet. We want to include some green alternatives for removal. Do you have any suggestions? Please note — if it doesn’t remove from all the surfaces that is

More Questions For Reena – for Sep. 1, 2011

Hi Reena, I am planning to install pot lights in my newly renovated home. Are there any guidelines as to where to place the lights? Dear Bentley, Try not to place lights too close together or in rows down the centre of the room. You don’t want to create an airport runway appearance. Match the


More Questions For Reena – for May. 19, 2011

Hi Reena, How are you? I have been meaning to contact you for a while. I have a dishwasher that is 23 years old; it still works. However, because of our water, when the softener runs out of salt I have rust stains on the inside plastic tub. Is there a safe way you can

Recipe Swap – for May. 12, 2011

That winter storm had many of us hunkered down for a few hours wondering if the calendar was somehow fast-forwarded to late October or thereabouts. But by the time you’re reading this, the weekend winter we woke up to May 1 should be long gone and spring back among us. Here’s a mix of lighter