Effective methods of dealing with carrot fly
Flying pests and their larvae cause significant damage to the crop from year to year. Fortunately, there are many methods of dealing with carrot fly, namely: chemicals, folk methods that help preserve garden crops. The most dangerous pest for carrot beds is the carrot fly and the larvae that it lays. It is extremely important to detect and exterminate the insect in time, because the consequences may be irreversible and the crop will no longer be saved.
What a pest looks like and a description of the life cycle
Carrot fly can be distinguished from other pests by a number of external signs:
- small, brilliantly dark abdomen 4-5 mm long, covered over the entire area with a whitish, barely noticeable down;
- the head of the insect is painted in red-yellow colors, legs and tentacles are also yellow;
- fluffy antennae;
- long transparent wings with brown veins.
The first infestation of carrot flies begins in early March. During this period of time, they actively reproduce and lay their eggs near the still young sprouts of carrots. The larvae that are born actively move to the root of the plant and begin to feed on it, receiving food for the entire period of maturation.
The larva that hatched from the egg is an oblong body 5 mm long, yellow-white in color, without limbs and a head. At one end there are two brown tines.
After a couple of weeks, the already matured larva crawls out onto the soil, where it turns into a pupa, and then into a full-fledged carrot fly, which is capable of producing new offspring. The second arrival of flies begins in the fall and the new generation of pests goes through exactly the same life cycle.
What harm can a carrot fly do?
Winged adults of the pest feed exclusively on carrot juice. Such nutrition has almost no effect on the appearance of the fruit, which cannot be said about the taste.
After a bloom of carrot flies, the carrots become bitter and begin to smell like rot.
But the small larvae hatched from the eggs pose a much greater threat and can completely destroy the entire seasonal harvest. The larvae feed on the fresh pulp of young carrots and gnaw through small tunnels and pits in the root vegetable during feeding. Thus, bringing bacteria and microbes into it, as a result of which the carrots rot and die.
The main signs of larval infection of the root crop are:
- The color of the fruit changes to dark red, and then takes on a purple hue.
- The upper grassy part dries up ahead of time.
- The ground around the carrots is riddled with small depressions.
- The carrot root starts to rot.
- The taste of the fruit is unnaturally bitter and has an unpleasant odor.
According to the above signs, any gardener can determine that his garden has become a "dinner table" for the carrot fly larvae and herself. And this must be done quickly, the fight against the carrot fly in the garden should be immediate.
Insect pest control measures
Fortunately for gardeners, there are a huge number of methods on how to protect carrots from carrot flies and destroy this pest, namely simple preventive measures, crop rotation, agricultural technology, folk methods and chemical additives.
Preventive measures
The fight against carrot flies in the garden begins with simple preventive measures that will help avoid problems with insects in the future:
- First you need to find a good place to plant your carrots. The plant should receive the heat of the sun and be blown by the wind without hindrance, so that a wet zone does not form, which attracts flies.
- The distance between the beds should be at least 20-25 cm.
- Seeds for sowing must be treated with special agents against carrot flies, which in the future will repel insects and other pests.
- An excellent carrot parasite repeller is an ordinary onion, or rather its smell. Plant onions next to carrotsand the problem will go away by itself.
- Don't fertilize your carrots with fresh manure.
- Before sowing seeds, use a special fertilizer that accelerates growth. Then mix the seeds with river sand and start sowing.
- Start planting the plant in spring, preferably in the first 2 weeks of March.
- Loosen the soil as often as possible and get rid of plants that are starting to rot. In this way, you get rid of the pest eggs.
- Mulch the soil between the beds with dried peat (150 g per 1 m).
If the infestation of the carrot fly in the fall, you can fight it in the same ways as in the spring.
Carrot flies are very sensitive to strong odors, so the larvae can be prevented with ammonia. To do this, you need to dilute the ammonia with water and process the beds with the plant. The ammonia is absolutely harmless to carrots, as it instantly evaporates.
Folk remedies and chemical treatment
The people have several methods of dealing with carrot fly. To get rid of the parasite quickly and not damage the plant, try the following methods:
- sprinkle the beds with tobacco dust or dry mustard;
- water the beds with herbal decoctions, in particular wormwood;
- make a tincture of onions or garlic and also water the beds;
- you can process carrots from carrot flies with a decoction of tomato tops.
All of these components have a parasite-repelling aroma. Thanks to this, the plant can be easily protected.
In addition to folk methods, chemical agents are used. Often they are used in advanced cases, when carrots cannot be saved using folk methods. The carrot fly will not tolerate insecticides - these are poisonous chemicals, the main task of which is to get rid of insect pests.
Most popular drugs:
- Aktara.
- Arrivo.
- Decis.
- Fitoverm.
- Vantex.
Fighting carrot fly with biological products brings much more results than traditional methods.
When using chemicals, follow the instructions carefully. Pay attention to the precautions: rubber gloves, face mask, eye protection goggles, and so on.