I took a long walk Sunday from Tacoma's north end to Snake Lake Park and back. I set out to enjoy the beautiful weather but my journey soon took on a theme: apples.

On nearly every block grew an apple tree, its branches sagging under their burden. Green, red, and yellow fruit decorated the trees.

But apples also littered the ground, spilled in to gutters and lay atop patio furniture and tricycles. Ripe, juicy delicious apples. I so wanted to reach out and help myself to an apple, but I kept my hands in my pockets. Where is Eve when you need her?

All these neglected apples got me to wondering why Tacomans were abandoning their crops and paying $1.29 per pound at the store.

It wasn't until I got to Snake Lake and picked an apple from their tree (hey, I'm a tax payer!) that I began to see why Tacomans were ignoring their apples in mass: maggots.

I started taking a closer look at apples on my return trip. Nearly every specimen I could get a close up look at had evidence of apple maggot infestation.

Today, I spoke with Ollie Bond, a master gardener who volunteers with WSU's cooperative extension office. Bond said apple maggots are the big problem in our area but another pest, the codling moth, can leave holes in apples.

The evidence left behind by maggots (which are long gone from the fruit by now) are brown tracks in the flesh, Bond said. The maggots drop to the ground and live in the soil until spring when the adult flies emerge to lay their eggs in the new crop.

Commercial growers use insecticide sprays to protect their crops but a backyard farmer can use less drastic methods.

One technique I've been using with success for a couple of years are fake plastic apples coated with a sticky substance and baited with an apple scented chemical. You can make your own or buy them commercially. Go here to read more.

Bond told me about another control method: socks. These are little socks you slip over the apples when they are about the size of a quarter. As the apples grow, the sock expands and prevents the fly from laying its eggs in the fruit.

Apple growers, grab your fake apples and put on your fruit socks. This is war.