The adult female fly lays a single egg per blueberry, and when the larva hatches it consumes the fruit, usually finishing the entire berry in under 3 weeks and rendering it unmarketable.

Degree day predictive models and monitoring data gathered through sticky card traps are used in an integrated pest management program to make decisions on timing and frequency of control applications.

Cultural measures such as removing overripe berries are often paired with chemical insecticide treatments in control programs.

Adults are the most distinguishable of the life stages from other Rhagoletis species - mainly by the ratio of banding on their wings, ovipositor length and other genital features - and can be identified using a taxonomic identification key.

They possess a single set of wings, which are clear with conspicuous dark black bands arranged in an "F" pattern.

[2] In the spring or summer the first wave of adults will emerge from the soil, coinciding with or just before ripening of the host fruit in the region.

[5] The primary mode of dispersal to new areas is through transport of infected fruit, and secondly through flight, as R. mendax adults can only fly short distances.

[3][6] Some research shows that adults are also attracted to volatiles secreted by Enterobacter (Pantoea) agglomerans, an epiphytic nitrogen-fixing species of bacteria found on the leaves and fruit of plants.

[8] Degree day predictive modelling based on the temperature of the soil is used to determine the most likely dates of adult emergence in the area.

[1] Yellow sticky cards folded into a v-shape, baited with ammonium acetate on the exterior, and hung between crop plants are most commonly used to detect the presence of R. mendax in a commercial berry field.

[1] Removing over-ripe fruit from fields can lower the number of adults that will emerge the following spring and reduce the rates of re-infestation.

The recommended application time is 5–7 days after catching the first adult fly,[7] with spot and perimeter treatments being effective where there are few but heavily infested areas of the field.

[1] Trials conducted by Michigan State University found pesticides with the active ingredient spinosyn were rated good-excellent in controlling populations of blueberry maggot in fields with acute infestations.

[9] Traps composed of biodegradable and regular plastic, or matted paper are baited with an ammonia-based kairomone lure, an attractive color, or both, and treated with an insecticide.

The insecticidal compounds imidacloprid and fipronil yielded the highest rate of R. mendax adult fly death in one study.