How to get rid of a carrot fly

Carrot fly is one of the most dangerous root crop pests due to its invisibility in the daytime. She goes hunting in the morning and evening hours, damaging vegetable crops. To save the crop, you need to know how to deal with the carrot fly folk or chemical means.

What does a carrot fly look like?

As you can see in the photo of the carrot fly, an adult individual looks like a small insect with an elongated body of orange or black color, the abdomen has greenish-black hues, its wings are almost transparent with yellowish veins, they lie horizontally. Its size is not more than 4.5-5 mm. There are yellow antennae on the head, legs are the same color.

Insects spend the winter underground or inside root crops left in the ground, and then fly out when the temperature rises to + 15- + 17 ° C, usually in the second half of May. As soon as warm weather sets in, the female carrot flies lay milk-colored eggs near the planted root crops.

The larvae that appeared after a few days are similar to pale yellow worms about 5 mm long. They have no head and legs, and breathing is carried out through small processes on the posterior end of the trunk. During the summer season, each female is able to lay up to 120 eggs, doing this regularly for 50 days.

The larvae immediately find their food, gnawing tender flesh in carrots and thereby harming the garden. There they live for about 3 weeks, gradually growing to 7 mm. Then the larvae move to the soil and pupate.

On a note!

Under favorable conditions, in the second half of summer, a second generation of flies appears, which continues to eat carrots, eating its tops and roots. Emerging young females do oviposition, choosing uncut areas with plants. The maximum activity for the pest falls on the period from mid-July to the end of August.

Causes and signs of the pest

Ideal conditions for the emergence and reproduction of carrot flies are heat and humidity. With thickened crops of this culture and excessive watering, the number of larvae increases, causing irreparable damage to the garden.

On a note!

In hot and dry weather, the insect population decreases sharply due to the death of the ovipositor. But with abundant watering, the larvae again begin their vigorous activity.

Each previous generation is looking for favorable places for the next to appear, choosing planted garden crops. Favorable conditions and active breeding help to survive the larvae and flies that feed not only on the green parts of the plant, but also on juicy root crops. If you do not destroy them in time, then the crop will be spoiled.

In order to effectively deal with such a pest, you need to know exactly what the carrot fly and the crops damaged by it look like.

Signs of carrot damage:

• black dots and passages from the activity of larvae are visible in root crops;
• the flesh is most eaten closer to the bottom of the carrots;
• the tops darken and takes on a green-violet hue, then it begins to dry out: it is better to pull the damaged culture out of the ground right away so that the insects do not pass onto neighboring plants;
• due to growth disorders, carrots become ugly;
• if the damage is numerous, then the plant may die.

On a note!

Carrot flies parasitize and harm not only on plantings of carrots, but also on other root crops: celery, parsley, and sometimes dill. Total yield losses can reach 60-70%.

The main reason for the mass destruction of carrots is the infection of the site itself by the pest and its pupae wintering in the soil. If each year the crops of a given crop remain in one place, then the quantity larvae of flies and plant damage will increase. Only a change in the area reserved for carrots can bring about deliverance.

Methods of struggle

In order to effectively deal with the carrot fly in the garden, it is recommended to use various methods:

• agricultural, requiring the observance of crop rotation rules, sowing carrots every year in a new place, preferably after tomatoes, garlic or onions;
• preventive, which help to anticipate and prevent infection of crops;
• folk recipes that help get rid of carrot flies with the help of herbal decoctions and infusions;
• chemicals for the treatment of beds and the destruction of pests.

Preventive measures

In garden areas, it is recommended that the following preventive methods be used to protect carrots from pest attacks:

• sow more sugar-resistant root crops: Flacca, Calgary, vitamin, Losinoostrovskaya, Olympus, Nantes and others that are less susceptible to attack by a pest;
• choose the optimal place for sowing, which is well ventilated and warmed up, because flies, when flying in search of a place for egg laying, always choose shaded and moist areas, therefore it is recommended to avoid low and shady areas;
• it is not recommended to make fresh manure in order to fertilize the beds with carrots, and use such a site for the next year;
• often sowing is done thicker, then to thin out, with annual damage to crops it is recommended to initially sow carrots more rarely, apply seeds glued to a tape or dragee;
• seeds should be pre-treated with soil decay agents: Azotofit, Trichodermit, Phytocide, etc .;
• In the fall, do a deep digging, carefully turning over large layers of soil so that the pupae and larvae of the pests freeze out.

Folk methods of protection against a fly

With a small number of pests, it is recommended to fight the carrot fly with folk remedies and protective methods:

1. Gardens with carrots alternate with planting onions, which smell repels flies.
2. Sow in late April, before the mass departure of females, and later in the second half of June and early July, when the flies are in the pupal stage.
3. It is better to cover the sown bed with a special material (agril, lutrasil, spanbond), which will help prevent egg laying.
4. To do frequent cultivation of row-spacings, making sure that the roots of carrots are not exposed.
5. Regularly destroy weeds; do not leave weeded plants in the aisles.
6. Watering carrots should be rare and in small volumes.
7. Remove various umbrella crops that attract flies from the garden.
8. During the period when the females lay their eggs, the aisles should be sprinkled with dry mustard, powder of tobacco, red or black pepper.
9. Another traditional method is to process carrots for thinning with kerosene, which is carried out in the appearance phase of 1-3 leaves. Spraying is done in sunny weather at the rate of 100 g of kerosene per 1 sq. Km. m, after 2-3 days the weeds die.This old-fashioned method allows you to destroy small weeds around the root crops, as well as drive away the female carrot flies, choosing a place for egg laying.

Recipes of plant infusions that are used to spray beds to protect carrots from pests:

• Onion or garlic infusion is prepared from 300 g of crushed raw materials, which must be poured with 2 liters of boiling water, stand for a day. Before processing carrots from a carrot fly, 10 l of water and 30 g of liquid or grated laundry soap should be added to the solution.
• To repel flies, it is recommended to spray the beds aqueous solution of ammonia in a proportion of 50-60 ml per bucket of water.
• Decoction from the tops of potatoes or tomatoes: add a bucket of water for 4 kg, boil for 30 minutes, insist 4-5 hours, filter, add 50 g of soap. Before spraying, the solution is diluted in a proportion of 3-5 liters per 10 liters of clean water.
• Wormwood infusion will help protect carrots for 1 month. It is prepared from fresh chopped herbs for 10 liters of boiling water. After insisting, divide the volume into 3 parts, add 8 l of water to each, then pour the carrots, and put the remaining grass between the rows.

On a note!

Processing is best done in the morning and evening hours, in dry weather.

Chemicals

The use of strong insecticidal drugs is recommended only with a large infection of crops. The optimal period to get rid of the pest on carrots is when there is a mass departure of female flies, and processing should be done not only on sown beds, but also on closely growing weeds.

Important!

Before starting spraying with chemicals, you should carefully read the instructions for this tool so that the concentration of the working solution is optimal. When using insecticidal preparations, personal protective equipment must be used: clothing, glasses, a respirator, gloves.

Popular insecticides for carrot flies:

• Aktara - a systemic insecticide, contains thiamethoxam, is released in the form of granules or suspensions, it infects insects after they eat processed tops or root crops, which allows them to fight fly larvae;
• Borey - is intended for monthly processing of crops, the consumption is 200 g per 1 liter of water;
• Decis is a universal drug that helps get rid of harmful insects on the beds of root crops at all stages of development;
• Karate Zeon - is used for spraying root crops during the growing season, before processing, a solution of 50 g of the drug and 10 l of water is prepared;
• Vantex - is used for processing once every 10 days until the end of the vegetative period; before spraying carrots, a solution is prepared: 100 g of the product is diluted with water in a volume of 10 l;
• Arrivo - concentrated emulsion containing cypermethrin is prepared at the rate of 20 ml per 10 l of water, it is recommended to process it every 20 days;
• Inta-Vir - is available in tablets, each of which is diluted in 10 liters of water, it is recommended to spray carrots during the growing season.

Important!

Harvesting root crops should be done only if the last insecticide treatment was carried out more than 3 weeks ago, so as not to get chemical poisoning.

Using an integrated approach to protect the beds of carrots and other root crops from the invasion of the larvae of the carrot fly, which includes preventive efforts and timely treatment against pests, will help to grow and maintain the crop.