Effective folk remedies for controlling carrot flies

The question of how to deal with carrot flies in the garden when the pest appears and what to do to prevent the problem from arising worries many vegetable growers. These insect pests cause significant damage, spoil the crop and interfere with the development of root crops.

Signs of a problem

To begin the right pest control tactics, you need to know what a carrot fly looks like. Its size is about 5 mm, the color is black and yellow, the wings are transparent. Active distribution begins in the second half of May. Insect larvae that emerge from eggs are light yellow in color and reach 7 mm in length. The eggs themselves have a white-yellow hue.

The larvae that appear in the beds feed on root crops, making tunnels in them. As a result, the plant develops poorly, and the crop loses its taste and beneficial qualities. Often the fly appears due to high humidity, shaded areas, overgrown with weeds.

The carrot fly spreads quickly. You can suspect its activity based on the following signs:

• first, a purple tint will appear on the tops, then it turns yellow and dries out;
• there are numerous cracks and passages on the root crops;
• the root crop changes shape, bends, and becomes constricted.

If found carrots with purple leaves should be immediately removed from the site so that the larvae do not crawl onto a healthy root crop. Over time, the affected vegetable begins to rot and smell unpleasant.

Preventive measures

How to treat vegetables to prevent insects from settling? You can protect yourself from flying flies with compounds that have a pungent odor. They interrupt the sweet carrot aroma.

Carrots can be protected from carrot flies using preventive measures:

• control measures consist of selecting and planting those varieties that are resistant to the pest (Nantes, Perfection, Calgary);
• It is better to plant carrots in a lighted, dry area, next to the onions;
• after sowing, it is recommended to thin out so that there is space between the vegetables;
• after harvesting in the fall, they dig up the ground again;
• Avoid excessive watering;
• You can reduce the risk of flies by planting carrots in the place where garlic, onions or tomatoes used to grow.

Insect-resistant varieties contain chlorogenic acid. It is its specific smell that repels pests.

In the midst of the spread of pests in the garden, you can buy special chemicals for carrot flies that will prevent the disease.

How to protect carrots from carrot flies? You can use folk recipes based on natural ingredients:

1. You can protect vegetables from pests using dry mustard or ground pepper. The smell of these products keeps insects away.
2. An infusion of wormwood helps repel pests. The collected herbs are poured with boiling water and left to infuse. Before watering, the solution must be diluted with water and the grass should be placed between the rows.

If you follow all the rules, the carrots will be protected and will not be attacked by carrot flies. But if the larvae have already settled in the garden bed, such actions will not be enough.

Pest remedy

How to get rid of carrot flies in garden beds? There are many ways. Many agronomists opt for insecticidal preparations. They fight the fly and prevent it from reappearing. But they must be used strictly following the dosage and dilution rules. Do not forget about personal protective equipment (respirator, glasses, gloves), since poisons are dangerous to the human body.

Treatment of carrots against midges is carried out in cloudy, dry weather without wind. A spray bottle is useful for spraying, with which you can distribute the drug evenly over the area. When a carrot fly is detected and how to deal with it, the most common drugs will help: Aktara, Vantex, Decis, Fitoverm.

To protect against carrot flies, the biological preparation Fitoverm is used. It helps to escape from many insects. The emulsion has a specific odor and a sticky base.After spraying, the drug gets inside the insect while eating the leaves. Begins to act after 10 hours. It should be sprayed in the evening. 0.5 ml of insecticide is diluted in a liter of water.

Aktara drug not only helps to destroy pests, but also benefits the plant. This remedy for carrot flies can be used as a spray or watering of the vegetable at the root. In the latter case, the effect of the substance in the soil lasts two months. Thanks to the composition of Aktara, root development is stimulated and crop germination is improved.

During the flight of the insect, the plant should be sprayed, preferably in the morning or evening, on a windless, clear day. In 10 liters of water, 3 g of the substance should be diluted for spraying and 8 g if it is meant to be applied under the root.

After treatment with chemical preparations against carrot flies, the root crop can be eaten no earlier than after 21 days.

Recipes from the people

How to get rid of carrot flies without chemical additives? Many gardeners prefer self-made formulations based on natural ingredients to chemical preparations. Folk remedies have been widely used for many years and are absolutely harmless to plants and humans.

Fighting carrot fly with folk remedies allows you to save the harvest. Many compounds are capable of fighting not only adult pests, but also their larvae:

1. To spray the crop, a tincture of garlic and onion can be used against carrot flies. Spicy products in the amount of 300 g are crushed and poured with two liters of boiling water. Leave to infuse for a day. After this, the solution is diluted in 10 liters of water and 50 ml of soap is added.
2. How to save an infected plant? Spraying with infusion from tomato tops will help. The tops are crushed and poured with boiling water. Then simmer for another 30 minutes and leave to steep for about 6 hours. After this, add 50 ml of soap. Between the rows you can lay the tops that have been poured.
3. Ammonia will keep insects away and will not harm the soil. Add 30 ml of the substance to a bucket of water. It is useful to water the plant with a similar solution in May, when summer begins, and in July.
4. The orange solution has an unpleasant odor for insects. Dried fruit peels are poured with water and infused for three days. It is recommended to treat the tops with the resulting solution.
5. The area between the beds can be sprayed with kerosene. You need to dilute 100 g of kerosene in a liter of water. During spraying there should be small droplets, since the smell is enough to repel insects. Kerosene does not penetrate vegetables, so there will be no smell and, especially, no taste.
6. Birch tar helps control carrot flies. It is enough to dilute 35 g of the substance in a bucket of water. It is useful to treat the soil with the resulting solution two days before planting carrot seeds. In July, when processing the plant, it is useful to add crushed laundry soap to the tar solution.

Birch tar has an oily, viscous base with a pungent odor. It is obtained by processing birch bark. The composition with tar is able to fight not only many pests, but also has an antiseptic effect on the plant.

Personal experience of vegetable growers

Insect control in carrot beds is carried out in various ways. The most famous ones were described above. But sometimes vegetable growers, without studying the peculiarities of growing carrots, come to the right result from their own experience.

Elena, 32 years old:

“I learned about the carrot fly when I first planted carrots on the farthest plot of land, where the soil is often wet. I thought the conditions would be ideal for growing. But, unfortunately, the entire harvest was spoiled by small insects with wings. No matter what they fought, the situation could not be corrected. Only later did I find out that it was a fly.

Now I only plant in dry areas. I noticed that even laid eggs die without moisture. Now I advise everyone: thin out, weed and water the beds with infusion of onion peels. It not only fights pests, but also helps produce a juicy and healthy harvest.”