Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Outdoorsy on May 29, 2020, 15:03
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Hi - I wondered please if anyone knew what this was eating my lettuce roots - the plant wilted and I found these Maggot type worms eating the roots- is there an organic way to get rid of them or guard against them please as I have other lettuce plants nearby, many thanks Michael
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Bean seed fly maggots feed on the seeds and roots of beans - especially French and runner beans. They sometimes also feed on brassicas, gourds, lettuce, onions and sunflowers.
Suggestions for control here https://www.thompson-morgan.com/pests/bean-seed-fly
more info from the RHS https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=884
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Look likes wireworm to me - was the area a lawn before being used for growing lettuces? (grass roots are their preferred food.)
No chemical controls available - some can be trapped using pieces of potato on barbecue skewers buried 2-6" deep, and repeated cultivation should expose them to bird predation.
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Definitely wire worm. As already mentioned, areas that were recently grass tend to have wire worm. No chemical control available so it’s just a case of digging over and waiting I’m afraid.