Narcissus Fly: When is it safe?

totototo@telus.net totototo@telus.net
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:53:15 PDT
On 2 Sep 08, at 12:50, Roy Herold wrote:

> Fortunately, the big pot of sprekelia looks fine (fingers crossed).

If it's appropriate to lift the bulbs in it, do so and inspect the basal plates 
for signs of damage. The narcissus flies lay there eggs at the soil surface (or 
drop them down into the voids left by withering foliage), the grub hatches, 
crawls down to the basal plate and bites his way inside from there. It's a 
small wound but with luck and good eyesight, you can spot it.

Also gently squeeze each bulb; if it's soft, there may be a fly larva in it.

The classic remedy is a soak in insecticide containing a wetting agent so it 
penetrates into the hollowed out bulbs. Hotwater treatment also works, but 
isn't practical at home.


-- 
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island

http://maps.google.ca/maps/…


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