Folk remedies for fighting carrot flies

If carrot fly has appeared, you need to know, be proficient, and practice folk remedies to combat it. It's important to note that this pest develops from eggs. When the larvae hatch, they immediately rush to the tips of the plant roots and begin actively feeding, chewing their way through them. The activity is easy to spot—an unpleasant rusty tint will appear on the roots.

It's clear that this pest got its name for a reason, as it's a big fan of carrots. But carrot flies attack more than just this orange vegetable. They also love parsnips, celery, and even parsley. Carrot flies thrive in shaded, humid areas—locations like these where they can cause the most damage to your garden's crops.

Important! Planting garlic or onions next to carrots can mask the carrots' odor and repel pests. This simple trick to planting your crops will help preserve your harvest. cabbage pests need to be remembered when growing this vegetable.

Signs of infection

Before using folk remedies to combat carrot fly in your garden, you need to correctly identify the parasite. Pay attention to the leaves—on an infected plant, they will turn purple, and then they will turn yellow and dry out.

This pest also always leaves tortuous tunnels on affected root crops, causing transverse cracks. As a rule, any root crop will change shape if exposed to carrot fly for a long time. Damage to the root crop is most often visible near the growing point.

Carrot fly and its larvae can continue to infest plants even after harvesting in storage. The larvae burrow from one carrot to the core of another, continuing to destroy the crop.

Important! If you notice a plant with purple leaves in your garden, you need to pull it out of the soil and destroy it promptly.

How to fight carrot flies using folk remedies:
1. This insect does not tolerate peat. Therefore, mulching root crop beds can be done with peat.
2. It's recommended to sprinkle ash or, alternatively, ground pepper between the beds. Dry mustard is also suitable for this purpose.
3. In summer, it's recommended to sprinkle a mixture of ten parts river sand with one part naphthalene on paths near carrot beds and other root crops. After the first application, repeat the process a week later.
4. If you have mothballs on hand, you can place a tablet in a bottle, seal it, and then make slits in the bottle slightly above the base in a circle. Place the bottle between the rows of root vegetables. This is a convenient way to repel flies with the scent without worrying about planting or weather conditions.
5. Sprinkle young carrots with a mixture of wood ash and tobacco dust. Spray the mixture directly onto the leaves and repeat three times. Be careful when handling, wearing gloves and a gauze bandage.
6. If you want something stronger, use ammonia. Take 2 ml of a 10% ammonia solution and dilute it in five liters of water. Use the solution immediately for treatment, and repeat the procedure after 15 days.
7. Alternatively, you can dilute ammonia, which is a 25% ammonia solution, in 12 liters of water.

8. You can use a calcium carbide solution to combat this pest, as well as onion flies. Place a few pieces of calcium carbide in a watering can and fill it to the top with water. Boil for two minutes, then water the beds once a week.
9. To mask the attractive smell of carrot tops for flies, you can make an infusion of orange peels.
10. To prevent the appearance of carrot flies at the beginning and end of the gardening season, fresh horseradish leaves can be placed between the rows of root vegetables.
11. To prevent pests from appearing in early summer, you should spray the garden bed with an infusion of onion peels or garlic. Use only 200 grams of onion peels per two liters of water. Spray only after 24 hours, allowing the infusion to sit. Then add 5 liters of water, and you can add a little liquid soap. Can this fly cause harm? tomato seedlings?

Now you know how to combat carrot fly infestations using folk remedies. As you can see, simple ingredients and straightforward methods are used to combat the pest. Furthermore, these folk remedies are environmentally friendly and, of course, won't damage the harvest or the beneficial properties of the root vegetables.