Kerosene is a simple and effective way to get rid of onion flies

Onion fly

The onion fly is a pest that can completely destroy root crops. This is a small insect, not exceeding 7 mm in length, of an ash-gray color. It has wings fringed with a fringe of thin long hairs, with two to three longitudinal veins. The abdomen is segmented. Visually similar to an ordinary fly.

It manifests itself with the establishment of warm weather, in late April – early May. The larvae are laid in the soil. The leaves of affected plants lose turgor, droop, spiral, and their ends turn yellow.

If it spreads strongly, the insect can destroy entire plantations.

The cause of the appearance of an insect can be:

1. Failure to comply with crop rotation rules;
2. Wrong choice of neighboring crops;
3. Late boarding;
4. Not performing deep digging of the soil in the fall;
5. Use of infected planting material.

Description and life cycle

The onion fly is small in size and looks very similar to an ordinary house insect. The body of the pest reaches 6 mm, the color is most often gray with a slight faded green tint. Therefore, the pest is practically invisible on the plant. Eyes are red or burgundy.

The insect appears in the beds at the end of April, mid-May, depending on weather conditions. The female can lay up to 15 eggs at a time, from which larvae appear after 3-4 days. Externally, the larvae are white and small in size. The larvae feed on young onion shoots and can sometimes accumulate in large numbers in the bulbs. After 10-12 days they pupate and fall into the soil for several weeks. After this time, new adults appear and spread throughout the area.

Why is the procedure needed?

Those who have been gardening for a long time know that onions are extremely selective in terms of fertilizers and various additives. This plant cannot be flavored with chemicals, since the onion immediately absorbs them, which can be dangerous to human health. That is why this crop should be fertilized and treated carefully.

Kerosene is absolutely safe for her. Using this substance, you can easily get rid of pests such as onion moths, flies, stem nematodes, onion thrips, and worms. In addition, kerosene can also serve as a fertilizer. It allows the onion to grow faster, while the green mass becomes more lush. The use of kerosene also prevents the hands from turning yellow.

Signs of a pest

It is quite difficult to see the presence of pest eggs and larvae on onions due to their small size and inconspicuous color. In addition, their activities take place mainly underground. This leads to the fact that the moment when the first fly attacks appeared may be irretrievably lost. All that remains is to begin active efforts to save the crop from imminent death. Signs of pest damage to onions appear on both above-ground and underground parts of plants and look like this:

• the onion stops developing or there is a significant decrease in its growth;
• bulbous feathers and arrows begin to dry out and turn yellow;
• an unpleasant smell of rot appears in the area;
• the bulbs soften and begin to rot;
• Larvae appear inside the bulbs and on the roots.

If any of these signs appear, cleanup measures must be carried out immediately. Affected bulbs become unfit for consumption. They must be removed from the ground immediately to prevent healthy vegetables from becoming infected.

Is it possible to pour kerosene on onions?

You can water it with kerosene to prevent pest infection, but be careful - the composition should not get on the bow arrows. The method is harmless to humans.

Watering with a solution of kerosene and salt is very useful

A mixture of kerosene and salt is especially effective for irrigation. Firstly, onions love salty soil, and secondly, the larvae of the onion fly that live in the ground perceive salty water and kerosene with their nerve endings and die.

Pine needles

The onion fly cannot stand the smell of pine needles. After the first shoots appear in the garden beds, you need to mulch the soil with pine needles. After this, insects will not lay eggs in the area.

You can also prepare a special infusion. To do this, you need to fill the bucket 1/3 with finely chopped young pine branches. Fill it all with hot water. Cover with a lid and let steep for 4 days. Strain the liquid and then pour the prepared infusion between the rows of onions and garlic.

How to process?

The pungent smell of kerosene can repel harmful insects. Liquid is spilled between rows two or three times during the growing season.

Another processing method can be used when the feather reaches 8-10 cm, and it involves the following steps:

1. Stir three tablespoons of kerosene in a ten-liter bucket;
2. Water at the root, trying not to get on the feather;
3. After a few hours, water thoroughly with clean water;
4. Repeat the procedure once every two weeks.

It is necessary to monitor the appearance of onion fly in order to timely combat the pest both in the open ground and in the greenhouse. The method of processing using kerosene at first glance seems dangerous, but in fact it is completely harmless to humans and, if watering technology is followed, the plant will only benefit.

Tobacco dust

You can repel onion flies using tobacco dust. The powder should be scattered between the beds at the rate of 100-200 g per square meter. This should be done during the period when insects are laying eggs. Treatment with tobacco dust should be carried out every two weeks.

In addition to using pure tobacco dust, you can use a mixture of tobacco, ground hot pepper and ash in a 1:1 ratio or a mixture of tobacco and sand in the same proportions.

Another good option is spraying. To do this, you need to mix 400 g of dry tobacco waste with 10 liters of water and leave for 2 days. Then transfer to a dark place. Before use, dilute with water in a ratio of 1:2.

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Preventive treatment of kerosene onions against flies before planting

Kerosene protects not only from onion flies, but also from other pests. It is better to start preventive measures before planting onions. To treat the soil, you need to dilute 2 tablespoons of kerosene in 10 liters of water with the addition of a glass of salt, without a slide.

Kerosene in this case is a clear repellent against onion flies, and salted water fights many other pests.

The resulting solution is used to water the furrows prepared for planting seedlings and sprinkle them with ash. After a pause of a couple of hours, we plant the bulbs. Subsequently, kerosene treatment is carried out a couple of times per season:

1. the first one is done during cherry blossom season
2. the second at the end of June, beginning of July

These periods are important because they coincide with the periods of activation of the onion fly, which must be stopped. Secondary treatments can be carried out in the same concentration as during planting, the main thing is that the solution does not get on the feathers and roots, but is carried out only in the inter-row spaces.

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Tuesday, March 13, 2022 04:22 + to quote book Appearance of the onion fly, and why it is dangerous

Every summer resident has at least once in his life encountered the appearance of an onion fly on his property. This small winged insect, no more than 7 mm, causes significant damage to the onion crop. What to do if there is an onion fly, how to fight it? What methods are most effective in combating this pest?

The onion fly is visually practically no different from the house fly, but is much smaller in size: its ash-gray body with a greenish tint on the back reaches no more than 5–6 mm in length. The pest appears in the spring, when dandelions and fruit trees begin to bloom.

If you don’t know how to grow large onions, then know that the onion fly chooses dried scales of bulbs as a place for laying, but if you can’t find any, it can lay eggs directly in the soil. The larvae are born literally after a couple of days - these are small white worms that infect almost the entire onion. In 2 weeks the plant is completely destroyed, they pupate, and by mid-summer the young onion fly is ready to destroy the crop!

Note that the insect infects not only ordinary onions, but also bulbous plants - garlic and flowers with bulbous roots. The affected plant dies - both young shoots and adult parts begin to turn yellow and dry, the bulbs begin to rot, and a fungus appears.

If an onion fly was noticed on a personal plot, how to deal with it? How to keep bulbous plants healthy? Without carrying out preventive measures, you can forget about a good harvest. It is important to know that it is extremely undesirable to destroy this pest using pesticides. This is explained simply - the onion retains chemicals and insecticides quite well, in the future the vegetable will simply not be suitable for food.

What smells can repel onion flies?

Not even all summer residents know what to do if an onion fly appears, or how to fight it. It turns out, like many parasitic insects, the pest does not like unpleasant odors. In this case, the smell of carrots and tomatoes is repulsive. Many housewives plant onions, alternating them with carrots, and create a bed of tomatoes nearby.

The effect of such plantings, as they say, is obvious - there are no onion flies or carrot flies, so joint plantings in this case will only be beneficial. Reviews from experienced gardeners about growing vegetables together are, in most cases, positive.

Folk remedies against onion fly

According to agronomists, the most effective method of killing onion flies is ammonia, which must be diluted in a proportion of 3 tbsp. l. per 10 liters of water and water the soil under the plantings. Repeat the procedure three times, at intervals of 7-8 days. Nitrogen, which is part of alcohol, also acts in this case as a fertilizer for onions.

If the onion fly has already appeared in the beds, you need to fight it with more “radical” means. How to treat onions against onion flies? First, water the plants with plain water, then with a kerosene solution (1 tablespoon of kerosene per bucket of water). Pour the solution into a watering can and water - one bucket is enough for about 4 - 5 meters of bed. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated.

Ash as a fertilizer is a very effective folk remedy in the fight against onion fly and its larvae - just sprinkle the rows with ash. By the way, our grandmothers also used ash, they successfully brewed it. Take part of the ash and pour three parts of boiling water, let it sit for a day under the lid, and then water the plantings - you will be surprised where the parasites go!

Among folk remedies, a tincture of dandelion rhizomes is quite popular among summer residents. 200 g of roots should be placed in a container and pour boiling water. Let it brew for a week. Water the beds with the solution once every 2 weeks.

Some people prefer to use regular table salt. The product is effective, but there is one significant drawback - the soil accumulates salt and becomes unfavorable for other plantings, so it is used once a year: dilute 250 grams in 10 liters of water and pour the onion under the root. After 3-4 hours, rinse well with clean water.

You are not mistaken, once a year will be enough. If you follow the advice on the Internet, where they write that you need to add a kilogram of salt to the soil in several stages per month, then you will simply destroy your land and after a couple of years of such skill, nothing will grow in your garden bed at all. You need to know moderation in everything!

Some farmers mix naphthalene with sand or ash in a ratio of 1:10 and sprinkle it on the plantings. One or two procedures are carried out during the summer of the onion fly and egg laying.

Another popular method is laundry soap. Dissolve a bar of soap in 10 liters of water and spray the plants with the resulting solution. In addition, potassium permanganate comes to the rescue again! Make a rich pink solution and water late in the evening to avoid burning the plants. Repeat the procedure if necessary, every 8-9 days. On the forum, according to reviews, many summer residents save onions from flies this way.

The most “unloved” smells of this pest include pine needles, mint, wormwood, and valerian. Ash is also used as a useful fertilizer. To do this, you need to collect dry branches, weeds, and various debris from the area and make a fire. Then stir the ashes in water and water the garden beds. If you add crushed tobacco leaves, manure or ground red pepper to the solution, the effect of using the product will increase significantly.

Pollinating plants will also help control onion fly. Mix tobacco and ground pepper (1 tsp each), add ash (200 g) and pollinate the beds with the resulting mixture. Then you need to weed.

Preventive measures and insecticides against the pest

Prevention of the appearance and spread of parasitic insects, including onion flies, means creating an environment for them in which they cannot live and reproduce. First of all, you need to inspect the planting material. All bulbs must be intact, without any damage; even the slightest trace of rot should be a reason for rejecting the seedling.

Selected healthy bulbs must be treated before planting in the ground. You can do this in two ways:

Hot water - the onion is immersed in hot water (about 50 ° C) for 15 minutes, then dried well and planted;

Potassium permanganate - the solution is prepared in a proportion of 1 g/l of water. The onions are kept in the solution for 30 minutes, after drying they are ready for planting.

It is worth noting that processing onions before planting is an important and necessary step in growing vegetables if you want to grow a rich harvest. Unfortunately, many gardeners do not want to bother with seedlings and simply plant them in the ground, dooming their plantings to a guaranteed low yield.

Deep digging of the soil at the planting site in the fall will also help get rid of onion fly larvae. The pest survives winter at a depth of no more than 20 cm, which means that when digging, all the larvae will move to the surface, where they will die at the first frost. Another important rule is to be sure to remove crop residues from the beds, as this will not provide a favorable breeding environment for the onion fly.

Onion fly

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What to soak onions in?

Summer residents did not have a consensus on whether it is worth soaking before planting or not. We can say that the general circle of specialists is divided into two camps. Some argue that before planting, seedlings must be treated with a special solution. Others say that it is not necessary to soak the onions; the crop will grow anyway.

Experts do not have a consensus on whether it is worth soaking onions before planting.

Attention! Remember that soaking is a guarantee that the harvest will be preserved in any case, since treated seedlings are not afraid of fungal diseases.

In fact, soaking is a precautionary measure for the summer resident himself. After all, when purchasing planting material, the buyer is faced with a lot of unresolved questions: in what conditions did the onions grow, how and with what fertilizing was done. Therefore, many people prefer not to take risks and carry out the soaking procedure, which is carried out immediately before planting.

Soaking onions on greens

Fragrant leeks have an excellent taste and smell. The crop is grown mainly from seeds. Before planting, the seeds must be placed in warm water for 5 hours.

Advice. Soaking in warm water is the most economical way. To carry out this procedure, you only need water at a temperature of 40-50 degrees. You don’t even need to add any drugs. Warm water alone is enough to disinfect the seedlings.

Often people who like to grow onions use synthesized analogues of natural remedies - “Extra-epin”. This adaptogen stimulates the growth of the root system and the plant itself. To prepare the composition, you need to dissolve one adaptogen capsule in warm water, then soak all the planting material.

Soaking onions in warm water is an economical and quite effective way.

To prevent onions from rotting after planting, the material is pre-soaked in a solution of wood ash. For a 10-liter bucket of water, 3 cups of ash is enough. The seedlings are placed directly in a net in a container for 2-3 hours. After which they must be thoroughly dried on a thick cloth.

The benefits of soaking onions are obvious. A simple but effective procedure will protect the crop, promote a good harvest, and save a lot of time. Any of the above recipes can be used as a solution, but experienced onion growers often combine several methods simultaneously to completely eliminate the possibility of various onion diseases.

Soak the onion in a salt and manganese solution

Almost every day, lovers of growing various herbal crops come up with more and more new ways to protect themselves from unexpected expenses, and how to protect the crops they grow from various fungal diseases. But the most effective and efficient method is considered to be soaking the onion in a saline or manganese solution.

Before planting, onions can be soaked in saline solution.

Attention! Onions can be processed only if all planting material has been previously trimmed. All efforts to protect onions will be nullified if the bulbs are not trimmed, because in this case the internal part of the crop will remain defenseless.

To soak onions in saline solution you need:

1. Pour three cups of salt into a 10-liter bucket of water.
2. Move the solution, place all the planting material and leave for two days for a more effective result.
3. Before planting, water the area with saline solution. This will help prevent onion flies from appearing over time.

A fairly simple procedure that will help disinfect onions from nematodes. It’s even easier with potassium permanganate. This method of soaking is the most popular, because it requires a minimum of time and available materials. The temperature of the water does not matter; potassium permanganate is simply added until the composition receives a slightly concentrated color. After which the onion heads are placed in the solution for 20 minutes.

For soaking in potassium permanganate, 20 minutes is enough.