The Griffith and District Citrus Growers Association put out a warning against Queensland fruit flies, noting that industry traps have already seen results. This is the earliest that fruit fly activity has been seen at this level.

They urged growers to start the baiting process now to prevent fruit flies from escalating into a major problem before it happens.

While poisoning is effective for flies in their early stages, once they have matured and are no longer hungry, the only thing to do is physically prevent them nesting in the fruit by using netting.

They've previously recommended bait spraying for farmers and were quick to urge that this will not just affect large farms and growers. Any amateur gardeners should have a plan to combat the notorious pests in place.

Vito Mancini, the chair of the Griffith and District Citrus Growers Association, said that he understood that people would be planting but urged precaution.

"I'm trying to urge the community to really think about what they're doing in their backyards. I know we're in lockdown and it's a great time to spend out in the garden, but they have to think about how much they can handle and put precautions in place," he said.

"Most effective is to use exclusion netting."

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Griffith has long suffered the effects of Queensland fruit flies, but Mr Mancini said that recent years had been more difficult.

"We're already starting to get to a point where if we keep getting weather like this, it'll flower very quickly ... We had a once-in-a-decade issue last year, and it's looking like it could be even worse this year," he said.

"It was bad last year, all the signs are showing this is going to be worse."

Part of the reason is that the cold winters Griffith gets tend to kill many of the flies during the winter, but a lack of particularly cold mornings had left them to survive through the winter and will cause Griffith to have larger numbers.

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