How do I deal with carrot root fly?

Carrot root fly is the main pest of members of the carrot family, in both conventional and organic growing.

Damage caused by the carrot root fly

There are no treatments for carrot root fly, only preventative measures will work. There are two main preventative measures

Garlic Spray

Garlic spray smells of….garlic and so masks the smell of the carrot from the fly.

Bionets

Bionets are special crop covers that stop the fly accessing the carrots. The mesh is 6mm which is small enough to prevent the carrot root fly by-passing it.

The disadvantage of bionets is that they must be removed to weed the crop.