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The onion fly is a dangerous garden pest that causes particular damage to onions, garlic and some ornamental plants. You can cope with the insect using folk and chemical preparations, but the fight must begin at the first sign of infection.
What does an onion fly look like?
The onion fly is an insect about 8 mm long with a yellowish-gray body. In mid-spring, it lays small, white, elongated eggs in irregularities on the surface of the bulbs. After about seven days, the larvae hatch, which look like worms with a body that is tapered at the front. For three weeks, the parasites feed on the pulp of the bulbs and gnaw through large cavities in them, and then move into the soil to pupate and emerge in mid-summer to continue the reproduction cycle.
The onion fly is widespread in almost all regions of Russia. It causes damage to plantings from spring to autumn, and in the winter it goes into the ground to a depth of about 20 cm and remains there in the form of a pupa.
The onion fly poses a threat to all types of onions, as well as garlic, tulips and daffodils
How long does an onion fly live?
The lifespan of an adult onion fly is 12-30 days. The first generation of the pest appears in May, the second is formed in July, so the parasite causes damage to garden and ornamental plants in waves.
How dangerous is the onion fly?
The main damage to garden crops is caused by onion fly larvae - up to 50 of them can be present in one underground fruit. Insects eat away the cores of the bulbs from the inside, as a result of which the nutrition of the stems, leaves and flowers is disrupted. Bacterial and fungal infections quickly penetrate the plants through places of damage, the plantings begin to emit a strong unpleasant smell of rotting and, ultimately, die.
When onion flies appear, the beds can be saved by starting treatment early. Extermination of the pest after the first wave gives a chance to preserve the crop. If the larvae hatch again, then most likely the infected plantings will have to be completely destroyed.
Signs of defeat
Onion fly larvae harm plants underground and are also small in size. It is very difficult to notice them with the naked eye. The presence of a pest can be determined mainly by indirect symptoms:
- slow plant development;
- yellowing and drying of stems and leaves;
- unpleasant putrid odor from plantings.
If these symptoms occur, you need to dig the affected plant out of the ground and examine its bulb. Most likely, the turnip will be soft, with signs of rotting and with numerous white worms in a wide cavity in the central part. Clusters of larvae are also visible on the roots of the diseased bulb.
If the bulb is seriously damaged, it is no longer possible to save the plant from the fly - it remains to be destroyed
How to get rid of onion flies in the garden
You can treat onions, garlic and ornamental plants against onion flies using chemical and household products. Drugs of both categories have a good effect, but it is necessary to start combating the pest as early as possible.
Chemical and biological preparations for onion flies
Chemical and biological agents are highly effective and help reliably get rid of the pest. Their main disadvantage is toxicity. It is recommended to use most products at the beginning of the growing season. Otherwise, even the saved onion harvest will be unfit for consumption - the turnips will accumulate harmful substances.
Fly eater
The drug with the active ingredient diazinon has low toxicity to plants, but works well against onion flies. It is sold in the form of granules, which must be placed in the soil before planting the garden crop. The product remains active for two months, effectively prevents the vital activity of onion fly larvae and prevents their pupation in the ground.
The fly beetle is applied to the soil in a volume of 5 g per meter of planting.
Aktara
An insecticide with powerful poisonous properties contains the substance thiamethoxam.When fighting onion flies, the product is usually used for spraying. It is enough to dilute 4 g of the drug in 10 liters of water; treatments are carried out once every 2-4 weeks, twice a season.
Aktara works equally well in dry and rainy weather
Fitoverm
An insecticide based on the active substance aversectin C is intended to combat adult onion flies. It has no effect on eggs and larvae, but paralyzes insects capable of reproduction and leads to their death.
Spraying of plantings with Fitoverm is carried out once every two weeks throughout the entire growing season. 50 ml of the drug must be diluted in 10 liters of water.
Fitoverm does not accumulate in soil and bulbs and is considered a relatively safe drug
How to get rid of onion flies using folk remedies
You can quickly get rid of onion flies on onions using household products. They have a less powerful effect than chemicals, but remain safe for animals and humans and are suitable for use at any stage of the growing season.
Ash
The simplest and most affordable remedy for onion flies in the garden is ordinary wood ash. You can get it after burning trimmed branches of trees and shrubs.
To combat the pest, it is necessary to sprinkle ash on the plantings between the rows after each watering and lightly embed them into the soil using a small rake. The procedure should be repeated twice a month. The ash will help repel the adult onion fly and prevent the life processes of the larvae.
Tobacco dust
You can poison flies on onions using tobacco dust - it is sold in hardware and specialized gardening stores.Use the product in the same way as wood ash - sprinkle the plantings once every two weeks along the rows after the next moistening. It is recommended to begin treatments immediately after the soil thaws in the spring, and continue until the fall.
Salt
A low concentration saline solution helps to destroy onion flies in the garden. Use it like this:
- Add 250 g of table salt to 10 liters of water.
- Stir the grains until dissolved.
- Water the onion plantings with the prepared product at the roots on pre-moistened soil.
Excess salt not only kills the fly, but also harms the plants themselves. To prevent the onions from starting to wither, a few hours after processing, the row spacing must be watered again with clean water. The saline solution is also washed off from the green feathers and ground parts of the turnips.
You can water the beds with onions with saline solution only once per season.
Sagebrush
To combat onion flies on onions, you can use an infusion of wormwood. The drug is prepared according to the following algorithm:
- Fresh branches of the plant are crushed in an amount of 1.5 kg.
- Pour 10 ml of warm water over the raw material and leave it in a closed bucket for three days.
- After the period has passed, filter the infusion.
The prepared product is generously watered onion plantings between the rows. It is necessary to repeat the procedure every two weeks - this will prevent the pest from reappearing.
Carrot
You can fight onion flies in the garden using carrots. This crop repels pests with its aroma and, in principle, allows you to protect plantings from the negative effects of insects.
To prevent flies, plants are placed in close proximity to each other. But it should be taken into account that carrots are moisture-loving crops, but onions on turnips are completely stopped watering a month before harvest. Plants should be planted in such a way that it is possible to separately moisten the beds in accordance with agricultural technology.
Marigold
Ornamental marigolds planted near vegetable beds serve as a good preventive measure for onion flies. They emit a scent that repels pests.
Usually flowers are sown around the perimeter of the onion plot. But also for marigolds, you can prepare transverse grooves on the beds themselves and plant the plants at intervals of 3-4 lines.
Pine needles
Pine needles help save onions from onion flies. Their smell repels the pest, so it is recommended to mulch the beds with pine needles immediately after the first shoots appear.
To combat onion flies, you can also use pine infusion. They do it like this:
- Fill about 1/3 of the chopped branches into the bucket.
- Fill the raw material with warm water.
- Leave to infuse covered for four days.
- Strain the finished product.
After the next watering, the beds need to be additionally moistened with pine infusion.
Fresh and dry pine needles are equally suitable for protecting onions from flies.
Naphthalene
Naphthalene helps remove onion flies - it has an unpleasant odor for the pest. At home, the drug is usually used in the form of balls. But before using them in the garden, they need to be ground into powder.
The product obtained from 8-10 naphthalene balls is mixed with 5 kg of sand and sprinkled with the resulting mixture on the onion beds.To reliably protect plantings from flies, the procedure must be repeated every ten days during the summer.
Kerosene
In case of severe onion fly infestation, kerosene with its pungent and strong odor has a good effect. The insect repellent is made as follows:
- Pour about 200 ml of kerosene into 1/2 a bucket of sand.
- Mix the contents of the container thoroughly.
- Spread sand in the rows of the beds every 12 days.
Kerosene repels onion flies well, but does not harm the crop. The use of the product does not in any way affect the taste and aroma of underground fruits.
Ammonia
You can kill onion flies using ammonia. A working solution using the substance is prepared as follows:
- Dilute three large spoons of ammonia in a bucket of water.
- Stir the liquid.
- Water the beds with the resulting product in the morning or at sunset.
If the onion fly has already damaged the plantings, then treatments are carried out every five days. For prevention, it is enough to use ammonia solution once every 12 days.
How to protect onions from onion flies
The fight against onion fly in the garden is not only about spraying and watering with insecticidal agents. To eliminate and prevent the pest, you should first of all pay attention to agricultural technology.
The onion fly overwinters in plant debris in the beds and in the soil at a depth of up to 20 cm. To prevent the appearance of the insect, it is necessary, first of all, to promptly remove dried feathers, husks and other rotting debris from the garden.
In the fall, in preparation for winter, the beds must be carefully dug up.In this case, the larvae and pupae of the onion fly will end up on the surface and freeze with the onset of winter. In the spring, loosening the soil should be repeated; in addition, it is recommended to spill the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate or other disinfectant.
Treating onions before planting against onion flies
Special treatment of planting material helps protect onions from pests. It is carried out according to the following algorithm:
- Carefully inspect the bulbs and discard all specimens with traces of rot or other damage.
- In a small container, dissolve 1 g of potassium permanganate per 1 liter of water until a slightly pink liquid is obtained.
- Dip the planting material into the prepared product and leave for half an hour.
- Dry the bulbs from moisture and transfer them to the prepared area.
Also, planting material can simply be immersed in hot water at about 50 ° C for 15 minutes. But heat treatment without the use of fungicidal agents gives less reliable results.
Before planting, onion sets can be heated in the oven for several hours at 40 °C.
Conclusion
The onion fly is a pest that can completely destroy plantings of onions and related plants during the summer. The fight against insects must begin at the first signs of infection; store-bought and household products are suitable for destroying the parasite.
