Help what's eating my carrots?

[clare]

After a risky sowing of 2 seed packets and no fleece to protect from carrot fly(only a perimeter of onions)I was pleased with the fantastic crop but after a couple of weeks of dinners I have noticed the carrots I am pulling have had the tops eaten away I assume by snails or slugs,I wasn't too cross as we cut off the tops anyway but on pulling some the otherday I realised that some of the carrots were hollow just the outer skin and completely eaten inside so this time I was cross and can't think what has eaten it from the inside,carrot fly is not normally that destructive and most of the carrots are ok but I have cut the tops and dug a third of them up but I think i should dig the rest if something is munching, them has anyone seen this before?

[Stonehead]

Carrot fly has been very, very bad up our way this year. We've lost about 80% of a very large crop instead of the usual 20%, Many of the affected carrots were totally eaten out, leaving just fragments of skin. The tops come away in your hands.

We also find that wood mice like to gnaw down into the larger carrots, hollowing them out. However, this usually happens with carrots overwintered in the ground, under straw.

[Millymollymandy]

Yup happens to parsnips as well but normally in the middle of winter with the huge ones still in the ground and you don't know they've eaten it as they leave the top there all perfect whilst they hollow it all out from under ground.

Don't know what they are called in English but they are called Mulots in French (an underground mouse of some sort) and are an absolute pest in the garden, they channel everywhere all through newly sown seedlings leaving long raised trails and they also tunnel under everything leaving plants' roots exposed so they can't take up water, and leave mounds like little mole hills covering plants.

I hate the bloody things.

[Peggy Sue]

I was quite engrossed in this thread as I've had this problem, normally later in the year though...so engorssed I bit into my apple and though a maggot

Must concentrate more with home grown apples I think

[clare]

Well thank you for the advice,on further inspection of the ground that is intact with carrots I have now seen some burrow holes about 1" round so maybe a pesky mouse is eating my carrots!!

[Green Aura]

I love the Mulot thing. Were they part of the Resistance?

[Millymollymandy]

I love the Mulot thing. Were they part of the Resistance?

No, as they leave trails and give away their hidey holes too easily!