Bidgee Strawberries and Cream close temporarily to control insect infestation

Bidgee Strawberries and Cream announced on Monday that they were closing to the public for a few weeks while the sudden plague of bugs was dealt with.

The farm's owner Michael Cashen said they had their concerns, but were focused on dealing with the problem at hand.

"We are a bit worried, it does seem to be a pretty aggressive bug," he said.

While not certain yet of the species of insect, Mr Cashen said it appeared to be a type of fly.

"It's getting into the green fruits even, but it's not a standard fruit fly," he said.

"We're just trying to work out exactly what it is at the moment so we can figure out how to deal with it."

In the meantime, Mr Cashen said they have been working to stamp out the insect as best they can.

"We've been stripping the whole crop and putting plastic over them all to try and suffocate out any larvae that might be hanging around," he said.

"It's disappointing though because we've had to throw out about six or seven tonnes of fruit so far."

They have also put up sticky barriers around the property's fences not only to capture any strays and reduce their numbers, but to help identify the insects they're up against.

Mr Cashen said the issue was a first for the farm.

"We've never had a problem like this before, and we've heard of another place with flies in their grapes too who have also never had an issue," he said.

"I think the wet, hot summer doesn't help, it means a lot of breeding in a very quick time frame."

But while the setback has not been easy, Mr Cashen said they're confident to come out the other side sooner rather than later.

"We think we'll be back up and running in about four or five weeks hopefully, and will fertilise everything to prompt new growth," he said.

"We just didn't want to get these bugs out into the public so it was best to close for a little while as we get it all under control."

Fans of the farm took to Facebook to express their support, already excited to take a bite of the fruit when they're back up and running.