11 ways to get rid of wireworm in the garden

Good day, reader!

We opened a large shopping center yesterday and announced welcome discounts.

Then a real stir around vegetables began, as they were promised the lowest prices in the city.

They took it on their heads and bought several kilograms of potato, but when cooking it turned out that almost all of it was infected with wireworms.

And the whole potato went into the bin. The fight against wireworms in the garden is the topic of our article today. Welcome!

How to deal with wireworms

Residents of villages and towns, novice farmers, gardeners and gardeners and just familiar with the same question constantly turn to me: how to get rid of wireworms affecting potato tubers.

This problem is really unpleasant and growing in scale to the problem of combating the Colorado potato beetle. I believe that it is easier to cope with the Colorado potato beetle - in the summer only once “covered” it with one of the preparations and everything, it can be considered, the crop was saved. Therefore, it is necessary to talk in more detail about the biology of the wireworm and measures to combat it.

Wireworms are the larvae of nutcracker beetles whose life cycle lasts 3-4 years. Their eggs are slightly oval, white, smooth, 1-1.5 mm in size. Larvae are up to 25 mm long, hard to the touch (at an older age it is difficult to crush even with a fingernail), their color is from light to dark yellow.

Nutcracker beetles in late April, as the soil warms up, they come to the surface, stay in shaded and moist places, mainly with cereal vegetation and perennial grasses.

Mostly the larvae are harmed. They damage the sown seeds of different cultures, their seedlings, roots, the underground part of the stem, bite into rhizomes, root crops and tubers. Damage to potato tubers during harvesting is especially evident when 50-60% of tubers, both large and small, are perforated.

What are the practical measures to combat wireworm?

There are two methods: chemical and agricultural. The first method involves the introduction into the soil of chemicals aimed at the destruction of larvae.

However, this method, I believe, is unacceptable for personal plots for two reasons: firstly, because of the high cost, and secondly, from an environmental point of view.

Why increase the pesticidal load on the soil, why destroy and inhibit the soil microflora? After all, after such exposure to "chemistry" on it, along with the larvae of the pest, beneficial microorganisms, earthworms will die.

In a household plot, this technique is difficult to implement due to one requirement - it is necessary to add ammonia water with obligatory incorporation into the soil so that ammonia does not escape. It is proved that the pest larvae try to leave the site after such treatment.

However, as an agronomist-practitioner, I hardly believe this, since the activity of the larvae in the soil is small, they move very slowly. I will give several agrotechnical methods of controlling wireworm, with the help of which it is possible to sharply reduce the number of harmful larvae by 50-90% within 2-3 years.

Another effective method that I tested in practice to reduce the number of larvae is to carefully remove manually the rhizomes (even small ones, only 1.5-2 cm long) of wheatgrass creeping and roots of chicken millet.

Such a method of soil cultivation as surface loosening in May-June, along with the preservation of moisture and the destruction of seedlings of weeds, contributes to the fact that the eggs of the nutcracker in the sun become non-viable, that is, the larvae of them do not appear.

In a day or two, such bait piles will be populated by larvae. Grass can be collected and burned at the stake. This operation is repeated several times. We can recommend such a rather laborious, but effective method.

On large potato plots infected with wireworms, 2-3-field crop rotation should be introduced. In this case, potatoes are not planted in part of the area, but legumes are sown (mixtures of vetch - oats, peas - oats or lupins), it is good to sow buckwheat or spring rape.

In this case, we have many positive points.

1. Firstly, harmful insects and many other soil inhabitants, including wireworms, usually do not damage plants that are on the site for the first year (their digestive system has not yet been adapted to the new feed, which leads to the death of most pests).
2. Secondly, the alternation of plants makes it possible to cultivate the soil and enrich it with nitrogen, and not mineral, but biological, environmentally friendly.

Proper crop rotation eliminates the use of pesticides. For example, the alternation of legumes and various row crops is the best way to combat not only insect pests, but also weeds. This path is the most important one in agriculture, which provides organic food.

How to deal with wireworms?

Many are aware of problems with growing potatoes. Often, fresh potatoes are pierced by the back doors.This is the result of the "work" of the wireworm.
How to deal with wireworm in potatoes?

To do this, as often as possible you need to add ash, lime and chalk to the ground. The best tool is limestone (dolomite) flour. You need to make it only once every three to four years. When planting potatoes and tomatoes - in advance. If you plan to plant cabbage, then such flour must be introduced during the planting process.

Wirewrecker spoils potato tubers

An even simpler remedy is ground egg shells. Throughout the summer, regularly scatter it throughout the land, and the wireworm will not harm your crop. Well help in the fight against wireworm and such means as ammonium sulfate and ammonia water (proportion: 20-30 grams per 1 sq. M).

It is very important that ammonia water gets into the soil, and not into the zone of the root system and not into the zone of seed germination, but deeper than the seeds or away from it, in the aisles. It increases the protein content in plants and stimulates the growth of green mass.

You can also prepare a special "pickling" solution of potassium permanganate at the rate of 5 grams of potassium permanganate per ten liters of water. Pour such a solution into each well before planting potatoes or tomatoes. Half a liter of solution should be poured into the well.

From production preparations, it is recommended to use the following tools: “Trap”, “Zemlin”, “Provotox”.

How to deal with wireworm folk remedies?

To prevent the appearance of wireworms on potatoes or tomatoes, herbal solutions can also be used. So, a good remedy is the infusion of celandine.

It is better to cook it in advance so that it is infused for three days. To prepare the infusion, you need to take 100 grams of crushed grass and pour 10 liters of water. Infusions on other herbs should be infused for 12 hours.

Infusion of celandine - one of the folk remedies for wireworm

So, to prepare an infusion of nettles, you will need half a kilogram of chopped herbs.

It must also be filled with 10 liters of water. For the infusion of dandelion you need to take only 200 grams of grass.

How else to deal with wireworms in the garden?

To make your fight with the wireworm a win-win, you can prepare special traps. To do this, take potatoes without eyes (so as not to sprout) and soak for a day in a solution of insecticide.

Then bury such potatoes three to four days before planting in the places where the pest is most concentrated. Then, after some time, remove and, having cleared of the larvae, bury it back.

Effective remedy for wireworm

You can simply put slices of raw potatoes, beets and carrots on a stick and bury them 10-12 cm into the ground. Then remove, clean and dig in. This method can be practiced throughout the garden season.

You can also soak the seeds of corn and oats in the same solution and sow before planting the main crops. Such poisoned food will perfectly save you from problems with wireworms.

All garbage is best removed and completely outside the garden. After a couple of weeks, you will notice significant changes and note that the wireworm larvae have become much smaller. Before planting potatoes, dig up the ground well and remove the wireworm.

In autumn, it is recommended to dig deeply all the soil, lifting and turning individual boards.So the wireworm larvae will be on the surface and will inevitably die during the onset of frost. In the spring, on the contrary, it is better to dig shallow, and thoroughly clean up the larvae of the pest.

It was also noted that the wireworm loves to eat salad roots. Therefore, you can sow salad between rows, and then dig it out, destroying the roots along with the pests stuck in them.

How to grow potatoes?

In conclusion, I would like to note that it is better to use non-chemical drugs and methods. Despite the fact that the use of chemicals is the easiest way, it can harm not only the wireworm, but also landings, as well as you.

For this reason, if the wireworm does not bother you much, it is better to use preventive and easy folk methods. So you save yourself and your loved ones from the extra portion of harmful chemicals.

Effective wireworm control measures

What is a pest insect wireworm - it is the larva of a nutcracker bug, a polyphagous pest. The wire length reaches 3cm. The development of the larva to the bug stage takes 5 years, therefore, it will take a long time to fight wireworm. When wireworms are found, it means that the nutcracker beetles themselves have already wound up in your soil.

You can easily pick up wireworms if you have moist or acidic soils, on wheatgrass, thickened crops.

It is necessary to deal with wirewires by carrying out agrotechnical work:

But this is most likely not a struggle with the wireworm, but preventive measures.

Now, in detail about the real measures to combat wireworm: agrotechnical and chemical techniques

1. You can fight the wireworm with the help of baits: before planting for 3-4 days, take 20 cm sticks, plant half of raw potatoes, beets or carrots on one end and dig them into the soil to a depth of 10 cm. After a few days, pull out the bait with wireworms, collect pests, update the slice, moisten with water and bury it again.
2. Nutcracker bugs need to be fought all summer. Prepare glass jars with a volume of 0.25 liters, 0.5 liters in an amount of 10 pcs per 1 hundredth of a plot. Bury them in the shade on the site to the neck. At the bottom of each jar, put sliced ​​raw potatoes, carrots or beets in pieces, check every 2-3 days, collect insects and renew the bait.
3. Wireworms like to gather in a pile of straw, tops or dung, so in the fall all this can be laid out on a site, and when frost sets in, collect and burn it. In the spring, you can also lay out the piles and burn them after a while.
4. If the site is heavily populated with wireworms, then you will have no choice but to plant all the beans. The wireworm will leave the site very quickly if it finds nothing else for itself.
5. If wireworms are found, observe crop rotation: plant annual legumes before planting root crops.
6. When planting potatoes, plant 2-3 beans in each hole, so you drive the wireworm away from the potatoes, and feed the soil with nitrogen.
7. Marigold flowers, white mustard will help to decorate the site and compete with the wireworm.

Chemical methods of controlling wireworms

If there is a lot of wireworms: during spring planting, holes or grooves are watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

10 liters of solution should go to 20-25 holes.

Get a good result!

The wireworm is a malicious pest for the root crops of beets, carrots, potatoes, as well as sunflower, corn, and melon. Especially dangerous wireworms when deep planting seeds. The pest wireworm can be recognized by its characteristic traces - perforated tubers.

Of course, the nutcracker bug itself will not bring harm, but the damage will be substantial to your crop from its larvae.

How to get rid of wireworm, means and methods of dealing with it

There are many methods to combat wireworm, as well as means against it. When choosing the optimal one must proceed from specific conditions. Some may immediately help if the land on your site is not very infected with this pest.

But tune in to a long fight. Getting rid of wireworms will not work right away. To understand the mechanism of crop protection from the pest, it is necessary to understand its lifestyle. I’ll try to explain how I understand this.

How? This is our conversation with you.

A wire in a potato tuber

A wireworm lives in the ground, damaging stolons, roots, the base of stems, especially potato tubers. The larvae of the nutcracker beetles bite into the tuber, perforate it. In other crops, they drill holes into the underground part of the stem, they can even destroy the seeds before emergence.

For example, in maize, the wireworm drills the seeds, making them impossible to germinate. This pest has a yellowish or tan very hard cylindrical body with a length of 15 - 25 mm, a diameter of 1 - 2 mm.

The wireworm has a flat head, three pairs of legs of the same size. Crush it will not work, you can only tear with your fingers. That is, it will not be possible to get rid of it by mechanical means, or it will be difficult to do so.

Adult individuals - nutcracker bugs live no more than a year. Larva - wireworm can live 2-5 years in the soil, feeding on the roots of weeds, grass and other crops. They do most harm in the 4th-5th year of life - it is difficult to get rid of them. Larvae 1-2 years of life damage plants slightly, as they are small in size.

In the spring, when the weather is finally set with positive temperatures, wireworms gradually begin to rise to the surface of the earth in order to find food. This feature must be used to completely get rid of them.

Therefore, in the spring, with liquid disinfectant (for example, Prestige), you can destroy only that wireworm that enters directly into the pickled potato. And if he rises up, being 20-25 cm from the tuber, then he will not try the poison - he will remain alive. This feature of the pest's lifestyle should also be used to get rid of it.

In 2015, the potatoes I dug were damaged by wireworms - this is about 15-20% of the crop. It was necessary to do something, so I planted the tubers with Prestige before planting in 2012. The instruction for the drug says that it protects the potato crop from both the Colorado potato beetle and the wireworm.

I must say that Prestige "works" in seed tubers, potato stems for up to 60 days. Until the end of this period it is not recommended to eat potatoes. For the same reason, Prestige is not recommended to treat tubers of early potato varieties.

I dug up young potatoes - there were no tubers damaged by wireworm. But some time later, when weeding and hilling, I saw nutcracker beetles crawling to the surface of the earth.

My fears were confirmed in mid-July, it was then that potatoes were dug up for storage in the Kuban - the percentage of the crop damaged by the wireworm practically did not decrease. Therefore, Prestige will not help get rid of the second wave of wireworm.

That is, in mid-summer, the liquid disinfectant is no longer working. Here the question arises of how, what plant protection products (CZP) can be used to get rid of wireworms.

The potato sprouted; the tops grew quickly. But the nutcracker bugs did not disappear. How to get rid of them? I made traps for them: I put slightly mashed potato leaves at the bottom of the cans. I pierced the banks from the sides with a nail - I made holes.

The nutcracker beetle will be trapped from above, and the wireworm will crawl through the holes in the bank. Traps were set on the potato plot in the morning. I tried to choose a day without rain. In the evening I examined the banks - I found a number of nutcracker beetles and Colorado beetles.

In some banks, in addition to leaves, she put slices of chopped potatoes and carrots. I found several wireworms in these banks. Not many, but they were. There were a bit of them at the end of May-June (second wave).

That was the result of my struggle with the pest. I didn’t completely free my garden from the wireworm, but there were much fewer damaged potatoes than last year.

But experienced potato growers shared with me such methods of combating yellow pest.

1 way. Peel the potato, string it on a stick, bury it to a depth of 5-6 cm. After 3-4 days, dig up the potatoes, and destroy the wireworms that stick to it, destroy it, pour boiling water over it or burn it with kerosene.

2 way. When planting potatoes, pour 5-10 g of finely chopped eggshells slightly moistened with sunflower oil into the wells. As soon as the wireworm tries such a treat, he dies almost immediately. By the way, according to reviews, this method works well against the bear.

3 way. Two weeks before planting potatoes, sow swollen corn grains: per 1 sq. Km. m - 2-3 nests of 15 grains each. As soon as the corn is hatching, dig it together with the ground, put it on a film or plywood, select the larvae and burn them. Below you can watch a video on how to get rid of wireworm using a trap from sprouted corn grains:

4 way. To add ammonium sulfate to the soil - 2 tbsp. l per 1 square. m. This fertilizer destroys larvae, fertilizes the soil with nitrogen.

5 way. Sprinkle the granular superphosphate with a thin layer on the oilcloth. Moisten it with a water-acetone solution (80 ml of water + 200 ml of acetone) of any of the pesticides: Actellik - 15 ml, Decis extra - 4 ml, Karate - 1 ml. Dry wet superphosphate in the shade and scatter over the area (5 kg per 100 sq. M). Try to dig the site right away. You can also plant a potato and drop a pinch of superphosphate treated in this way into each well.

6 way. Carefully dig and lime the soil. Wheat grass and thistle are weed out - a pest settles in their roots. In each hole, planting potatoes, put a handful of onion husks. Plant marigolds around the perimeter of the potato plot, as well as between the rows.

7 way. It is possible to completely get rid of wireworm with the help of the nemabact predatory nematode. This is a microscopic worm, which is contained in the "Protection" soil. When planting potatoes, it is enough to add a pinch of this soil into each well. Even once is enough - the nematode will eat 60-100% of the wireworm. This soil is safe for both humans and the environment.

8 way. At one of the forums I read about such a method: dig ordinary pine or spruce needles on the site - get rid of the bear, too.

9 way. Wireworms love to gather under piles of straw, tops or dung, so in the fall all this can be put out in a plot, and as soon as frosts come, they can be collected and burned. In the spring, you can also lay out the heaps, and after a while they can be burned. This procedure can be repeated in the summer more than once.

10 way. This method will also help you get rid of nutcracker beetles. Beetles are very fond of sweets. Lay on the surface of the earth, for example, a film, an oilcloth. Pour it with sugar syrup. Of course, not only the nutcracker bugs, but also other "lovers" will flock to the smell of sweet. Nevertheless, having done this several times, you will be able to destroy many pests, including nutcracker beetles.

11 way. Siderates will help. Sow mustard, buckwheat, alfalfa, and clover in the pest infected field. The wireworm cannot stand these plants. He will die or leave your site.

That's all I managed to figure out, how to protect potatoes from wireworms, how to get rid of them.

Do you know any other ways? Please write in the comments.

How to get a wireworm from your site

The harm caused by the wireworm to planting potatoes (as well as beets, carrots, even cucumbers) is not inferior to the Colorado potato beetle. But if there are many effective drugs to protect potatoes from the American pest, it is extremely difficult to save plants from wireworms.

What kind of bird is this wireworm?

Nutcracker beetles live and breed well in gardens and orchards throughout Russia.

They called them so for the characteristic clicking sound that they emit. By themselves, these bugs are harmless. The real danger is their larvae, which are also called wireworms.

The larvae look like yellow or brown worms (depending on age). Their length is 12-15 mm, diameter about 2 mm. They are very hard: it is impossible to crush them with your fingers, such as, for example, the larva of a Colorado potato beetle, you can only tear it apart.

Combating this pest is extremely difficult. If the wireworm has settled on your site - tune in to a long war with him.

Wireworm control methods

One - the only magical tool that destroys the wireworm, has not yet been invented. You have to resort to different methods to reduce its population on the site.

Since this pest is very fond of weed roots, and especially wheat grass, it is necessary to regularly destroy all weeds on the site. In autumn, it is necessary to dig the soil deep, and do this just before the frost so that part of the larvae freezes.

In the spring, digging can be done shallow, picking all visible larvae from the surface of the earth, as well as weed roots without fail. If the soil is heavily infected with this pest, in the spring, 2 weeks before planting potatoes, sow the seeds of corn, wheat, barley, oats in the holes - 5 grains per hole are enough, the distance between them is 50-70 cm.

When the seedlings appear, they are dug out along with the roots on which the wire will gather, and burned. It is also a rather laborious, but effective way to destroy the wire wire - catching it on bait.

Bury potato slices, beets, carrots strung on twigs throughout the plot. After a few days, dig this bait, collect the wireworm from it and repeat the whole process again. Position baits of 2 pcs. per 1 square. m. During the season, this procedure must be carried out several times.

Sprinkle over the site and dig the soil with it. This amount is enough to handle 100 square meters. m of land. You can also lay the resulting preparation immediately in the wells of 5 granules when planting potatoes.

If the site contains alkaline soils, it is recommended to pour 500 ml of potassium permanganate solution into the hole during planting. Good results in the fight against wireworm are given by processing potato bushes with the following infusion:

• take 500 gr. nettles
• 100 gr. celandine and coltsfoot,
• 200 gr. dandelion
• cut all the plants,
• pour a bucket of water and insist 3 days.
• Water in dry weather 2-3 times during the summer, making an interval of 7 days.

In the spring a few days before planting and in the fall, sow the site with mustard seeds - it repels pests well and fertilizes the soil. Collect eggshells during the winter. In spring, it is necessary to grind it and add vegetable oil to it.

Marigolds are also planted along the perimeter of the plot and between the rows of potatoes. Nemabact nematodes give good results to completely get rid of wireworms. This is a microscopic worm, which is contained in the prepared soil “Protection”.

When planting potatoes, it is enough to add a pinch of "Protection" in each well. The nematode will destroy up to 100% of the wireworm. This bio-soil is absolutely harmless both for gardeners and for the environment. As you can see, there are a lot of methods for controlling wireworm.

Experiment, try different methods and do not give up - as practice shows, if you start an active comprehensive fight against this pest, then in 2-3 seasons you can completely clear your site of it.

How to get rid of wireworm in the garden

Autumn is a great time for gardeners. Harvesting and preparing for the next season. Time to think about how to achieve the best result next year.

If your crop is not as large as you expected, then perhaps you should pay attention to the pests that have settled in your garden. Often our crops suffer from wireworms. Our article will help you learn a lot of useful information about this pest.

Since these pests do not like legumes, try planting potatoes where beans or peas used to grow. Or plant these plants along potato beds. If you are faced with the problem of the appearance of wireworms in your area, then use our tips that can help you quickly get rid of this pest.

Wireworms are the larvae of nutcracker beetles, they got their name for their durability. You cannot crush such a larva with your fingers, and there is no less harm from it than from Colorado beetles. Larvae of the beetles cause the greatest damage to the potato crop in the second year of development.

They love moisture, and acidic soil. With decreasing temperature, they move to the lower layers of the soil. Larvae can damage already sown seeds, can profit from the roots and the underground part of the stem. Root crops are especially harmful.

If you find that potato tubers are perforated, then this is their job. How to deal with wireworms in the garden, causing minimal damage to planting, we will tell in our article.

Wireworm Measures

Lures

If you want to effectively deal with the pest and not harm the plantings, then the destruction of larvae by chemical means will be unacceptable.

When choosing a means of combating wireworms, focus on the benefits for your site.

The simplest and most effective way is a deep digging of the soil with the thorough destruction of the creeping wheatgrass. This weed is a favorite treat for pests. Sowing the so-called "bait" is a good tool, although more time-consuming. This must be done before planting potatoes.

Seeds of oats, wheat, corn, barley must be sown with nests, and then dig out the sprouted seeds along with beetle larvae. By destroying them, you will significantly reduce the number of pests in your garden.

Similar "bait" can be made from cut tubers of potatoes, slices of carrots, beets, which are buried in the ground.Then it remains only to dig them out and the number of larvae will noticeably decrease.

The process of fighting with the help of baits requires constant attention, but it is quite effective and safe. As a bait, you can plant lettuce leaves between rows of potatoes. The larvae will feed on its roots, and your potato will remain intact.

To lure females, gardeners often lay out small heaps of straw and grass, which are then collected and destroyed along with the females who settled there and the eggs laid by them.

Tillage

If the soil on your site is alkaline, then the following method is suitable for you. Water the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate (5 g per 10 liters of water) of about 0.5 liters per root or per well. This method is quite effective, only with a small population of beetles.

True, celandine itself is quite toxic, so this is not the safest way. Seed potatoes can be processed with Aktara and Prestige; specify the dosage in the instructions.

You can use the following composition for watering potatoes: celandine (100g), dandelion (200g), nettle (500g), coltsfoot (200g) per 10 liters of water. Watering is necessary several times with an interval of several days.

If you put chalk and lime into the soil, this will make your site not attractive to the wireworm beetle. These methods are safer than using chemicals and less time consuming than machining your garden.

Wireworm preparations

Sometimes it’s difficult to cope with the wireworm, then special preparations will come to your aid. "Bazudin" is a potent drug, but should be used in strict accordance with the instructions, as it is highly toxic to humans and animals.

The drug "Diazinon" or bait "Gromoboy-2" made on its basis, as well as "Medvedoks-U", can be bought in specialized stores. The Calypso drug deserves good reviews. Carefully read the instructions for breeding these funds, then you will reduce the harmful effects caused by the soil.

The latest biological method, a unique remedy for wireworm - the drug Nemabakt. This is a symbiosis of a bacterium and a predatory nematode (filamentous worm). A favorite food for nematodes is the wireworm, penetrating into its insides, the bacterium destroys it and then searches for a new victim.

In general, you will not envy the wireworm here, his fate will be resolved quickly and without harm to landings. The drug Nemabakt, applied to the soil, will become your faithful assistant in your fight against pests. There is also a specialized Vermion soil, which is already populated by these nematodes.

If there is a toad on your site, then you are lucky, it will help in your struggle, the same applies to ground beetles, these insects eat the wireworm. Using mechanical methods in your garden, or taking risks using chemical means to destroy the wireworm in potatoes, is your personal decision.

If you can negotiate with the neighbors in the areas and will carry out work on the destruction of wireworms all together, then you will achieve better results in record time.

hsource: ttp: //kakizbavitsyaot.ru/