flies eating my veg.....

[stubedo]

Hi,

I only started growing my main veg this year, kale, swiss chard, but i`m getting a lot of small flies that seem to like them.... I tried spraying some watered down simple soap,but theres still flies on the leaves, they look like this

What should I spray on them ? the plants in my greenhouse seem to being eaten alive too......

Stu

[Bren In Pots]

Stu that looks like slug damage.

[smc999]

That looks more like caterpillar or slug damage to me. Might be worth having a good look on the underside the leaves for very small caterpillars and going out after dark with a torch to check for slugs. Best of luck!

[stubedo]

Thanks Bren & smc , most my veg is in pots, I thought slugs were`nt as likely, I`ll go check under the pots & put some slug pellets round em. If i put my pots on a wooden pallet to raise from floor would that help ?
So flies don`t eat veg?! maybe its a stupid question

[Mikey]

Flies don't no, but they lay eggs on them and their offspring do.

[Bigmallly]

Once you are confident that there are no beasties lurking, I would be tempted to net rather than spray but that's a personal thing.

[WendyC]

Flea beetles make tiny holes.They are tiny, black and jump when you brush your hand over the foliage. Aphids, in all their colours, suck the sap from shoots. As said before your damage looks more like slugs or snails. For that small amount of damage I personally wouldn't bother spraying.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Raising the pots won't help, slug & snails are fully qualified mountaineers.

Make sure you lift your pots and look under them the little bu**ers are very good at hide & seek too.

One of the advantages of growing in containers is that you can use slug pellets around them without the pellets coming in to contact with your crop.

Potty

[stubedo]

thanks for your replies ! Potty, I did`nt realise they had mountaineering skills . I checked under pots but no sign, i was reading you can use sandpaper to stop them, but i imagine that`ll get soggy, so I`ll try copper piping & pellets i think. and salt tonight , since its dry!

Stu

[rustylady]

thanks for your replies and salt tonight , since its dry!

Stu

Don't put salt anywhere near your plants, it will kill them.

[stubedo]

thanks rusty

[Two_Sheds]

So flies don`t eat veg?!

nope

Flies eat poo, and rotting fruit and veg. Their food needs to be liquidy before they can eat it