Maggots in Soil

Maggots are fly eggs, and some types are particularly destructive to plants.

Maggots in soil can be devastating to plant life. Root maggots, in particular, can easily kill their common host plants, which include cabbage, beans, radish, beet, peas, mustard, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and turnip.

Description

Root maggots are legless, yellow to white in color and a quarter to a third of an inch long when mature, with a tapered head and a blunt rear. They kill plants by boring into sprouting seeds and/or preventing young plants from developing, according to the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech. They also tunnel into stems and roots, causing rot, wilting and eventual plant death.

Hidden Agents

In early spring, adult flies lay eggs in the soil, where they overwinter as larvae. Once spring arrives, the maggots transition to live near the surface, where they pupate.

Garden Defense

To defend against root maggots, Virginia Tech recommends plowing crops under immediately after harvest, plowing weeds under at least two weeks prior to planting and planting pregerminated seeds or young, developed plants. Physical barriers are also useful, such as cheesecloth or screens spread over seedbeeds at least six inches past each seed row and tar paper placed at the base of young plants. Dusting each plant with diatomaceous earth and releasing predatory rover beetles may reduce maggot numbers. Commercial insecticides labeled for soil maggots are also available.

References

• Virginia Tech: Department of Entomology: Root Maggots