Onion fly is a dangerous pest not only for vegetable bulb crops, but also for flower plants: tulips, daffodils and others. The article today examines insect control methods and preventive measures.

What does an onion fly look like?

The dipteran insect resembles the usual houseflies. A shaggy body up to 8 mm long is painted yellowish-gray, in the sun it can cast green. Three pairs of paws are black, bristly, with hooks at the ends. The wings are brownish-gray. The abdomen in males is marked by a dark longitudinal stripe.

Did you know? Flies have almost all-round visibility due to its faceted structure of the eyes. In this case, the insect sees the world in the form of several thousand different pictures, since each facet reflects its fragment.

The danger is not only an adult insect, but also its gluttonous offspring, which appears twice a season. Most often, the fly makes masonry directly on the bulb or next to it. In one clutch, up to 50 white eggs with a length of about 3 mm. About a week later, larvae appear, which are first painted white-gray, and before pupation acquire a brown hue. The length of their bodies is up to 10 mm.From the first days, the larvae cause damage to plants, eating the juicy parts of the bulbs. After 3-4 weeks, the larvae burrow into the soil in the bed for pupation, and after 18-21 days adults appear. You can see the parasite most often at night, during the day they are usually not active.

Chemical methods of insect control

To control the insect on cultural plantings, insecticides, systemic or intestinal contact, are used mainly. When spraying or watering under the root, the plants absorb the drug. Pests that attack treated plants receive a dose of poison along with food and die.

Important! With chemicals, safety precautions must be observed: protect the skin of the hands, face and eyes from accidental contact.

The most effective drugs for home and garden:

• "Aktara" - 4 g / 10 l of water, spraying;
• "Actellik" - 2 ml / 2 l of water, spraying (has a pungent smell, the apartment will need to be ventilated);
• "Arrivo" - 1.5 ml / 10 l of water, spraying (it is better not to use it in the apartment - it is toxic);
• "Bazudin" - is highly effective against adult parasites and their larvae. The drug is applied to the soil in dry form - 1.5 g per m² in the garden, on the tip of a knife in one pot;
• "Thunder-2" - against flies and larvae, 2-3 g / m² are applied to the soil in the garden, on the tip of a knife into a pot;
• "Fly-eater" - used for indoor plants, introducing 2-3 g into the soil per 1 pot; destroys larvae.

Folk methods

Not all growers approve of chemical methods of pest control, preferring to process their plantings with natural ecological means.

Ammonia

Another non-aggressive remedy is ammonia (ammonia). You need to know how to use the product in order to get rid of parasites and not harm the plants. Since ammonia contains nitrogen, it is used only during the growing season. Plants are watered under the root with the following solution - 3 tbsp. l. / 10 l of water, every 10 days.

Important! In working with ammonia, a respirator should be used, since the drug has a too pungent and specific smell.

Tobacco dust

To protect crops from a fly and its larvae, after watering or planting, they are dusted with tobacco leaves, ground into dust. The tool can be purchased at the garden store. In addition to processing the aerial parts of the plant, the substance is embedded in the soil around them and in the aisles. The procedure is carried out the entire season of bulb development, the interval between manipulations is from 10 to 14 days.

Wood ash

Wood ash is the most affordable remedy for the gardener, remaining after harvesting vegetable debris. Ash powder plants are sprinkled every 14 days and embedded in the soil to destroy the larvae. In addition to protection, ash will also serve as a fertilizer containing potassium.

Saline solution

Each kitchen has salt, which also effectively fights onion pests and their offspring. However, you must use the product carefully to maintain an optimal balance of soil acidity, not more often than once a season. Water-salt solution in a proportion of 8 l / 200 g of salt is watered at the root of the culture.

Manipulation is carried out on moistened ground. After the procedure, after 2-3 hours, the soil at the plantings and in the aisles is spilled with clean water. Salty liquid repels adult flies, harmful to larvae.

Onion Fly Prevention

You can avoid insect attacks by applying a number of measures familiar to every grower and grower. The main measures:

1. Crop rotation - You can’t plant one crop in one place for many years in a row, onions alternate every 3-4 years.
2. Bulbs before sowing (at home and in the garden) is treated with either a solution of manganese, or purchased fungicide. The same applies to material left for winter storage.
3. For home bulb plants, there is soil disinfection rule, for the garden - this is the mandatory cleaning of all plant residues and deep digging. Insect larvae calmly winter in the bark or forgotten bulbs, and eggs can also be in an unsterile substrate.
4. On beds to prevent the appearance of pests will help repellent plants - this is wormwood, marigolds planted in the aisles. The smell of repellents scares off the onion fly, accordingly avoiding visiting such plantings, it will not postpone offspring.
5. Good protective tandem - carrots and onions planted nearby. Experienced gardeners noticed that the carrot fly does not tolerate the smell of onions, and onions do not like the aroma of carrots. You need to plant crops through a row, because they have a different frequency of watering.
6. Effectively repels insects and does not allow to postpone offspring pine needles mulchplaced on the beds immediately after the appearance of the first sprouts.

Did you know? The fly flaps its wings at a speed of up to 200 times per second, and a buzzing sound during flight emits a pair of elongated processes located behind the wings.

Getting rid of an insect in the garden and in the apartment is not so difficult. But still it is better to prevent its appearance than to treat affected plants.