Identifying and Controlling Carrot Pest in 2022
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Carrot Pest to be really factual, stand to be the worst enemy not what Many children’s books and a cartoon character tell you about rabbits who crave and eat carrots to be an enemy.
If only it were that simple.
Unfortunately, a lot of different pests like these colorful root vegetables. Insects are the most obvious of these pests.
Fortunately, we have all the information you need about the pests that may attack your carrots, as well as how to deal with them!
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Aphids
Are there any plants that aphids stay away from? Aphids that feed on carrots include melon aphids, willow carrot aphids, and green peach aphids, to name a few.
They’re conspicuous bulbous insects that feed on the sensitive leaves, producing leaf curl and sooty mold growth on the honeydew they produce. Yuck!
Ladybugs and lacewings are your best buddies when it comes to aphids because they love to eat them.
Insecticidal soaps, such as Bonide, are used to kill insects. Arbico Organics sells soap that kills insects. It works well against aphids and, when used correctly, is usually safe for beneficial insects that may come to eat them.
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Carrot rust Fly
Psila rosae is dark-colored, yellow-legged flies that lay their eggs near carrots and other Umbelliferae family members in the soil. They have a length of four to five millimeters.
The larvae are one-centimeter-long maggots that feed on root hairs and rootlets when they hatch, and then penetrate the root itself after their third molt.
They generally leave scars on the lower two-thirds of the roots. When they attain maturity, they pupate on the earth.
Several generations of these pests can arise each year. Adult flies should be caught with sticky traps, and row covers should be employed to protect the plants before the eggs are laid.
Garden sanitation is crucial since this pest overwinters on plant debris, such as celery and other carrot-related crops like parsnips.
Insecticides are rarely recommended or required for home gardening.
If you notice larvae on your plants, consider spraying them with a Spinosad product like Arbico Organics’ Monterey Garden Insect Spray.
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Carrots Weevils
Small, dark-colored beetles and white, C-shaped grubs with a yellow-brown heads are the last things you want to see around your attractive carrot plants.
At the first true leaf stage, the females of Listronotus oregonensis attack and lay their eggs in small holes they have chewed into the petioles and crowns.
The larvae of the carrot rust fly eat tunnels in the upper section of the root and graze for three weeks before pupating in the soil. Two generations can occur each year.
If you pull up the roots and see zig-zagging, dark-colored grooves on the upper part, you’re dealing with carrot weevils.
To keep a watch on this pest, start putting carrot slices in the soil at seeding time and keep a lookout for larvae eating them.
It’s vital to tidy up when the season is finished since this bug overwinters in plant waste.
Because beneficial nematodes live in the soil and grow into adults there, they can help keep infections from happening again.
Check to see if the product you’re buying has the Heterorhabditis bacteriophora nematode species, which may be found in Arbico Organics’ Nema Seek Hb Beneficial Nematodes.
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CutWorms
Cutworms can be an issue for seedlings as they grow. These caterpillar larvae will scour the garden at night, eating on the stems, often at ground level.
During the day, they can be discovered hiding in the dirt a few millimeters from the plant. To find them, look for fat, soft, curled brown or gray larvae in the soil around the plant.
Cutworms prefer to hide among weeds and feast on them before going on to your treasured carrots, so keep your weeds under control to avoid a cutworm invasion. They like grass as well, so establish a grass-free perimeter around your carrot patch or beds.
In the fall, till the soil to expose immature pests to birds. After a night of rain or irrigation, you can also handpick the larvae. Even better, after you’ve picked, let your chickens do the work!
You can create a barrier around your seedlings by spreading a layer of diatomaceous earth around the base of each seedling.
Arbico Organics’ Perm-Guard Crawling Insect Control acts as a lethal barrier against crawling insects.
Products containing Bacillus thuringiensis, such as Arbico Organics’ Monterey Bt Liquid, are also effective.
Helpful nematodes can also be put in the soil, where the larvae will be attacked by these beneficial roundworms.
Steinernema carpocapsae, which may be obtained at Arbico Organics, is extremely harmful to cutworms.
We’ll show you how to deal with cutworms in our guide.
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Leafhopper
Aster leafhoppers (Macrosteles quadrilineatus) enjoy bouncing around on the foliage, but because they are small, three-millimeter-long insects that move quickly and hide from view, they can be difficult to spot.
The first sign that they have attacked your plant is often the spread of the disease aster yellows.
Aster yellows are caused by a phytoplasma, which behaves like a virus and produces yellowing and twisting of the leaves. The roots of affected plants may become abnormally hairy.
Aster leafhoppers can be stopped by getting rid of weeds like thistles, fleabane, chicory, wild dahucus, and dandelion in and around your yard. Some of the weeds may even be useful in your kitchen or natural medical cabinet!
These bugs can be tough to target with sprays due to their speed and ease of spooking, bouncing up and out of reach when you get too close. The nymphs, who don’t hop but are fast crawlers, are the ones you go after.
The same insecticides that are used to control carrot rust bugs can be used to combat leafhoppers.
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Root knots nematodes
Nematodes aren’t all scumbags. Plant-parasitic nematodes attack carrots in a variety of ways. They can either spend the winter as eggs on the roots of new plants or be moved to your garden.
The root-knot type causes forked, distorted, stunted roots as well as decreased yields in a number of species.
If your plants have nematodes, you may notice that they droop during the warmer months. If you pull the roots and notice circular galls on the roots, you may have root-knot nematodes.
The only way to determine for sure which species is causing damage to your crop is to send samples to a plant diagnostic lab. In most home gardens, though, this isn’t necessary.
Weed management and adequate equipment cleaning are recommended to prevent nematode introduction and spread.
If you know you’ve had a nematode problem, solarizing the soil by covering and sealing it with plastic allows the soil to heat up quickly and furiously.
Solarization, on the other hand, must be done for at least four weeks to be effective against nematodes.
Planting before soil temperatures rise above 59°F is more effective as an avoidance approach since many plant parasite species do not penetrate roots at low temperatures.
If you compost plants that are obviously infected, the nematodes will spread to other parts of your garden.
It’s possible to utilize Monterey’s Nematode Control, which is available at Arbico Organics. Make sure you apply it to wet soil.
You may read more about root-knot nematodes in our guide.
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Wireworms
Larvae of the wireworm family, Elateridae, can be particularly troublesome if you’re growing in organic soil. In mineral soils, wireworm damage is less common.
The adults are known as click beetles, and they come in a variety of colors. Wireworm larvae have stiff, jointed bodies that range in color from white to brown.
These larvae devour the plant’s roots, seeds, and underground portions as well as the plant’s roots and seeds. Affected plants turn yellow and begin to wilt.
Wireworms can be caught by cutting a potato in half, spearing it on a stick, and burying it with a portion of the stick exposed so you can find it.
After a week, pull it out to check for wireworms eating the potato.
Crop rotation is essential if you’ve had previous wireworm problems. It is not recommended to plant a new crop in a plot that has previously been used to grow carrots, sod, or other host species such as sunflowers.
Some other ways to stop carrot pest are to get rid of all plant waste and till the soil in the fall to expose pests to animals that eat them.
It’s simple to release your chickens after tilling, just like with cutworms, and it’s fun to watch! It’s less fun, but more effective, to handpick them and place them in a pail of soapy water.
If you wish to treat the soil, try nematodes like Steinernema carpocapsae, which may be found at Arbico Organics.
Grow Your Own Veggies, Bugs!
We’re not the only ones who enjoy a sweet orange root now and then, as evidenced by the list above.
It’s disappointing to pick a carrot from the ground, salivating over the tasty, crisp snack you’re about to eat, only to find that it’s been eaten by bugs with six legs.
Most of the carrot pest mentioned above are unlikely to cause problems in your carrot patch, but at the very least, you now know who likes carrots as much as you do and what to do if they appear!
Have you ever experienced an insect problem with your carrots? Tell us about Carrot Pest in the comments box below, and how you dealt with it.
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