What Insect Would Eat Carrots & Beets in the Ground?

Carrots and beets are different from many vegetables because the edible part of the plant grows underground instead of on the surface plant or bush. This means that carrots and beets aren't vulnerable to many of the insects that eat surface plants. However, there are other pests dwelling in the soil that feed on those vegetables.

Root maggots hatch out of eggs that flies lay near the plant's bottom. When it hatches, the maggot burrows down into the ground for food. If the larva was hatched near a carrot or beet, it tunnels into the ground and feeds on the root crop. Putting a row cover on your vegetables helps to prevent flies from laying their eggs and eliminates some maggot problems.

The pale-stripped flea beetle attacks both beets and carrots. These insects attack leaves and roots. The attacks on the roots mostly come when the insects are still in larval form. To reduce pale-stripped flea beetle population, keep a garden or field free from weeds. Rotate crops to avoid planting beets or carrots where infestations have broken out, and till or disc the field or garden thoroughly the season after a problem emerges.

White grubs are a common problem in gardens that eat beet roots. Even more established and larger beets are damaged or killed when these grubs infest them. Carrots are targets of the insect. Thorough plowing of the soil both before seeding and after harvest controls white grub populations. Insecticides can control them, but if good plowing practices are followed, insecticides should not be necessary.

Wireworms are the natural enemy of vegetables that grow beneath the earth. Wireworms regularly damage carrots and beets. The worm eats away at the vegetable. Their work also makes the vegetables more susceptible to disease. Soil insecticides and seeding when the ground's temperature is high helps control wireworm problems.