Nemasys Fruit & Veg Protection - Single Delivery of 2 Packs (Usage - Indoor/Underglass)

Sciarid - Sciarid Fly or Fungus Gnats are greyish-brown flies, about 3-4mm long and have slender bodies. They are found on the soil surface and leaves of pot plants. The maggots, which are white with a black head and up to 5mm long live in the soil and can damage vegetable seedlings or the base of soft cuttings.

Nemasys Fruit & Veg Protection is a unique mix of different nematode species to target a broad range of pests, especially for the home gardener and it has been specifically researched to combat sciarid fly, carrot root fly, cabbage root fly, leatherjackets, cutworms, onion fly, ants, caterpillars, gooseberry sawfly, thrips, and codling moth. 

It is so easy to use and when used as a programme, the gardener does not have to worry about application times or thorough investigations as to what the pests actually are. Just follow the programme - designed to target pests when they are active in the soil or on plants, see below for specific details. It's safe on food crops and suitable for use on organic crops. It will not harm pets, children, wildlife or bees.

Beneficial nematodes are living organisms, so they must be used before the expiry date (which is marked on the inside of the pack and will be around 2-3 weeks) and should be stored in the fridge until it is applied.

Video: An introduction to Introduction to Fruit and Veg Protection

Video: Applying Nemasys Fruit & Veg Protection

What pests does Nemasys Fruit & Veg Protection control and how do they live (lifecycle)?: 

• Carrot Root Fly - Carrot Fly is a serious and widespread pest of carrots, parsnips, celery, celeriac and parsley.  It is a weak flier and lurks around field and garden edges locating the target vegetable by scent. Attacks are particularly bad in old established gardens where the population builds up each year. It lays its eggs in the soil   adjacent to the plant, the eggs hatch out and the 9mm yellow/white maggots burrow into the roots. The maggots stay in the ground over winter, pupate and the life cycle starts again in the spring. Two further generations can appear during the year. The first and worst attack occurs early in the planting season; subsequent attacks are in autumn and winter in mild seasons.

• Cabbage Root Fly - The Cabbage Root Fly is a pest of all brassicas; cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, calabrese, Brussels sprouts, kale and root vegetables such as turnip, swede and radishes. It also attacks ornamentals such as stocks, alyssum and wallflowers. The fly has three generations from mid spring to early autumn and lays its eggs in the soil near to the stems of the plants. The eggs hatch out into white legless maggots up to 9mm in length which feed on the plant roots. In about 3 weeks the maggots are fully grown and become a small brown pupae, in another week the fly emerges ready to lay more eggs. This rapid lifecycle means that the cabbage root fly is a problem throughout the season until it overwinters as a pupae.

• Leatherjackets - Leatherjackets are the larval stage of the crane fly or daddy-long-legs. Leatherjacket larvae are about 2.5cm (1" long), greyish black in colour, legless and with no distinct head. When you start to see the adult daddy-long-legs in your garden (towards the end of August) you will know that in a few days they will be laying eggs. These will hatch quickly, within two weeks. The young start to feed, continuing throughout winter, ready to gorge on roots in the spring.

• Cutworms - Cutworms are soil-dwelling caterpillars of several species of moth. In June and July the moths lay eggs in batches of 30-50 on leaves and stems. The emerging caterpillars are up to 40mm long and are often creamy-brown, greenish-brown or greyish-white in colour. They feed on many vegetables, fruit and ornamental plants and, after a couple of months, pupate in the soil. A second generation hatches out in August or September to feed, and to overwinter when the weather gets colder.

• Onion Fly - The onion is the most susceptible plant to the Onion Fly. Leeks, shallots and garlic can also be attacked as well as ornamental alliums. The maggots of the onion fly are up to 8mm long and white and are laid near the base of the plant or in the leaves. There are up to three generation a year, from the spring till late summer, the last generation overwintering as pupae in the soil.

• Ants - Ants have 4 stages, egg, larvae, pupae (or cocoon in some species) and adult. Ants comprise three main castes, which have different roles, workers, queens and males. The life span of the ant varies with species from a few weeks to several years. The queen of the black ant (Lasius niger) can live for up to 15 years. There are about 50 species of ants living in the United Kingdom, but not all are native. The ones that are a problem to gardeners are Lasius niger, the common black garden ant, Lasius flavius, the yellow meadow ant and Myrmica species, red ants.

• Sciarid - Sciarid Fly or Fungus Gnats are greyish-brown flies, about 3-4mm long and have slender bodies. They are found on the soil surface and leaves of pot plants. The maggots, which are white with a black head and up to 5mm long live in the soil and can damage vegetable seedlings or the base of soft cuttings.

• Caterpillars - The caterpillar stage of the butterfly and moth's lifecycle comes in a vast range of sizes, shapes and colours. Fortunately very few of these are of any problem to the gardener that need controlling. The most common of the troublesome ones are the distinctive Large and Small Cabbage White Caterpillars, up to 40mm and 25mm long respectively. The Large Cabbage White has distinctive yellow and black markings and a hairy body. The Small Cabbage White Caterpillar is pale green with a velvety appearance. They both have two generations a year with caterpillars occurring from spring to early autumn.

• Gooseberry Sawfly - The Gooseberry Sawfly is a pest that attacks gooseberries and red and white currants and can strip them of all leaves. All three species of Gooseberry Sawfly Caterpillars are up to 20mm long, pale green and with two of the species being heavily marked with black spots. Damage starts mid to late spring, but there can be several generations in a season.

• Thrips - Thrips feed by sucking sap and cause a discoloration on the upper leaf surface. Some species can spread plant virus diseases. Adult thrips are 1-2mm long and are yellow and brown, black or black and white. They lay their eggs on leaves, buds and petals and the eggs hatch out into larvae which pupate. Generation time can be only two weeks, so it is important to break the live cycle to control this pest.

• Codling Moth - The Codling Moth Caterpillar is small and white with a brown head. It burrows into the fruit of apples and pears in mid to late summer. By the time the fruit is ripe they have finished feeding and drop on to the bark of the tree and the soil immediately underneath to overwinter ready for the moths to emerge in the late spring.