They say it's better to find a worm in your apple than half a worm. I say make sure you eat the apple, and don't discard it because a worm ate 1% of it.
The coddling moth, and the worm it comes from are very polite pests. They go in the flower end of the apple, eat a bit of the core, and make a single hole to get out. Most of the apple is fine.
Now an infested apple won't store well, but it can be salvaged with a little knife work to be consumed fresh, dried, or made into sauce or pies. Check out the dramatic before and after "Bad Apple"/"Good Apple" photos.
The same thing is true for pears, tomatoes, peaches, kale, and a host of other kinds of garden produce. If you have holes in the leaves of lettuce or arugula, just eat around them.
Sadly, many grocery stores discard the outer leaves of lettuce so you won't be exposed to unsightly holes - or essential vitamins and minerals which are concentrated in the greener leaves. Lettuce from the farmers market - or my backyard - gives you the choice - and some would say chore - of deciding what to eat, and what to compost. I call it an opportunity. Leaf miner damage can easily be torn out of beet greens so that you don't have to consume the bugs, but still get to enjoy the greens.
People often say to me "It's extra protein". If you want to eat the bugs, feel free. I like my produce without bugs or as the French say sans insectes.
There are tenacious invaders that take a lot to get out of your meal. Aphids on broccoli can be reduced with insecticidal soap, and dislodged with a strong jet of water, but it may take two or three treatments before it meets my standards for consumption.
I'm John Fischer with Good Gardening.
