[Growster...]

We mesh our carrots, like most people here, and the thick debris-mesh had serious holes in it, so there was an ageing Growster, - avec sunhat in the heat - sewing up the holes with poly-twine, and making less than a pig's ear of it than he than he thought would happen..;0)

I got the net back on and sealed all the edges as has to be done, and this was after some really serious weeding as well, so the roots were pretty disturbed.

Just staring at all the corners of the net, there suddenly appeared the reason for all this! A blasted carrot fly - (I've never actually seen one before on the wing) - was just searching every way in, and as they do, just flying clumsily up and down, looking at potential entrances, sitting down and making plans, and all at a height of no more than about 18"! This went on for ages, so they're a determined species! It even flew away, for several minutes, the returned!

While I always try to respect nature, this one is a nasty threat, so after one settling down, a Growster shoe descended.  I even felt a bit bad about that, but there's no option is there - it's them or us!

[JayG]

Well done for spotting one Growster - I've seen the damage they cause plenty of times but never actually seen one. They clearly are pretty determined and I reckon they can and do crawl through the smallest gap under the edges of the netting.

Not sure whether I would have sat back and watched, congratulating myself on the security of my defences, or applied the boot - possibly both! 

[Growster...]

Ha ha, Jay!

I did wonder about just sitting there and waiting to see what it would do, but after about ten minutes, it still hadn't got in and landed very close to the net, where I clobbered it!

I've only got twenty-four carrots under that particular net, as germination just didn't get away, so we'll leave them for winter, and let them get really big - that's if the blighters don't find another way in...

[JayG]

I've had to sow twice too after poor germination - think they're doing better this time, but of course another thing about lifting the mesh to get a closer look (and weed  ) is the thought you might be about to be having an unlucky day fly-wise! 

[Growster...]

I've had to sow twice too after poor germination - think they're doing better this time, but of course another thing about lifting the mesh to get a closer look (and weed  ) is the thought you might be about to be having an unlucky day fly-wise! 

I was just going to go down there and finish the nets and give them a drink; filled a couple of 5 gal containers with water (we're a bit short on 'The Patch', at the moment), broke one container, said a rude word, found another smaller one, filled it, and got ready to leave, and the heavens have just opened and it's pouring down...!

Drowning of carrot fly instead...?

[Salmo]

 It even flew away, for several minutes, the returned!

Was it the same one?