creepy crawlys in turnips ?

good morning all

i grew some small turnips in pots and the leaves have died back and the turnips did'nt look to happy so i pulled them up,

they had been munched at the bottom and there were lots of like maggot or baby catapiller things there :eek:

should i have covered them over with something fleece or net does anyone have any idea what they are ?

i have started some more off and am worried that the same will happen again :(

thanks for any advice

 

Are they 'C' shape in form, these maggot/caterpillar and creamy in colour? Brown heads and three pairs of legs?
They might be Chafer larvae. If so seek and destroy larvae and water with pirimiphos-methyl or treat soil with chloropyrifos+diazinon.
That's what I presume you have.

 

Morning cattwoman25,it sounds like root fly or flea beatle.
Cabbage stem Flea beatle,tell tale sign-small cream coloured grubs.If you cut the stem at the bottom,you`ll see them.You should burn these.Do not grow brassicas on land affected by cabbage stem beetle in the previous season.
Root fly,tell tale signs-blue tinged leaves,young plants die.Apply a nematode based insecticide immediately after planting out,or put discs made out of roofing felt around the stems.Altrnatively,place fine netting over the young plants.
There are other bugs,Chafer grubs,Gall weevil etc but the above sound the most likely cause.

 

thanks for your replys

they are cream in colour very small no legs though i have thrown the soil away and washed the pot out to get rid of anything that was left i will get some netting to put over the others i have started little so and so's i thought i was doing well untill i found them

 

I think it is likely to be cabbage root fly. Discs won't help cause you are sowinmg seeds rather than planting young plants. I would sow them and then cover with fleece. You are then using a physical barrier to stop the insects flying in and laying. It also means you are not using any chemicals which would probably remain as residues in your crop.