hello, I'm new to this gardening thing and have a problem with maggots in the soil arround my watermellon seedling. Can anyone tell me how to get rid of them? I'd like to keep it natural if possible.
thanks.
Hi Stephyc,
Welcome to the Helpful Gardener. To me a maggot is the larval stage of a fly. To many folks it's the larval stage of any insect. If it's maggots from flies, the first thing to do is figure out what has attracted the flies. Did you use manure in the garden that wasn't fully composted? Maybe some animal has used the garden as a potty. Another thought would be a small animal, maybe a mouse, that has died in the garden. If you remove the source of food they will be gone.
Larvae in the soil are often some type of beetle. I'm not all that familiar with the pests you might have in Australia, but seed corn maggots can be a problem with watermelon here in the US. Do your maggots look like this?
https://www.ipmcenters.org/CropProfiles/docs/Graphics/MIC5.jpg
We really need to id your pest so we can recommend something biological or organic you can use. If that wasn't it, either try and describe the size, shape and color or post some pictures.
Newt
Welcome to the Helpful Gardener. To me a maggot is the larval stage of a fly. To many folks it's the larval stage of any insect. If it's maggots from flies, the first thing to do is figure out what has attracted the flies. Did you use manure in the garden that wasn't fully composted? Maybe some animal has used the garden as a potty. Another thought would be a small animal, maybe a mouse, that has died in the garden. If you remove the source of food they will be gone.
Larvae in the soil are often some type of beetle. I'm not all that familiar with the pests you might have in Australia, but seed corn maggots can be a problem with watermelon here in the US. Do your maggots look like this?
https://www.ipmcenters.org/CropProfiles/docs/Graphics/MIC5.jpg
We really need to id your pest so we can recommend something biological or organic you can use. If that wasn't it, either try and describe the size, shape and color or post some pictures.
Newt
Hello! Thanks for your response.
That's exactly what they look like.
They come to the surface when I water the seedling by bucket. If I use the watering can, it tends to be a slower flow and it doesn't disturb them at all. They dig straight back in as soon as the water has soaked in.
there is a smell when I water the plant too, so maybe there is something dead in the ground, I'll have to check!
I was wondering if I should simply re plant the seedling elsewhere and then try and get rid of them.
Once again, Thanks for your help.
That's exactly what they look like.
They come to the surface when I water the seedling by bucket. If I use the watering can, it tends to be a slower flow and it doesn't disturb them at all. They dig straight back in as soon as the water has soaked in.
there is a smell when I water the plant too, so maybe there is something dead in the ground, I'll have to check!
I was wondering if I should simply re plant the seedling elsewhere and then try and get rid of them.
Once again, Thanks for your help.
I should have asked you before, but I didn't think of it at the time. Did you plant this seedling directly in the ground and also plant other seeds too that didn't sprout? That could be where they've come from.
If you can gently move the plant and inspect for more maggots, that would probably help. Then you could pour boiling water on the maggots to kill them.
Newt
If you can gently move the plant and inspect for more maggots, that would probably help. Then you could pour boiling water on the maggots to kill them.
Newt