What is wrong with my carrots? This keeps happening

[Lolapeg91]

Hi all,

what could be wrong with my carrots? This happened to my carrots that I sowed earlier in the season and harvested in August. And now it’s happened to these.

will they keep growing bigger or is it time to pull them?

thank you

[ameno]

I've had that before. It's a type of tiny moth caterpillar. I don't know the species, but if you look closely you can see the silk and the droppings.

Covering with mesh after germination will keep them out, along with keeping out the more common carrot root fly. At this point, though, there's probably not a lot you can do.
Also, be sure not to grow carrots in the same spot next year, as they may pupate in the soil (root flies, too), and then even if you use mesh it won't help, as they'll emerge inside the mesh and effectively just be trapped in there with your carrots.

[Lolapeg91]

I've had that before. It's a type of tiny moth caterpillar. I don't know the species, but if you look closely you can see the silk and the droppings.

Covering with mesh after germination will keep them out, along with keeping out the more common carrot root fly. At this point, though, there's probably not a lot you can do.
Also, be sure not to grow carrots in the same spot next year, as they may pupate in the soil (root flies, too), and then even if you use mesh it won't help, as they'll emerge inside the mesh and effectively just be trapped in there with your carrots.

Thank you. The whole bed was covered with netting and the bed is 60cm high I don’t know how it would have happened. Weirdly enough it happened 2 months before hand in the bed opposite.

Are they still safe to eat whether it’s moth or carrot blight?

[ameno]

The moths are very small, so if there were any gaps around the netting they may have squeezed in. Alternatively, there may already have been pupae in the soil under the netting, and they just emerged inside the netting.

The roots should still be fine to eat, yes.