How to deal with a wireworm on potatoes and get rid of it

Good afternoon!

At the end of the harvest season, an exhibition of garden achievements was held in our city. Professionals and amateurs shared tips on how to grow one or another garden culture so that it was not only large, beautiful, but also tasty.

Especially attracted our attention is a tray with large potatoes. She looked very much. They began to ask the gardener how he achieved such results. One of his secrets was how to deal with potato wireworms. Want to know how? Then read carefully.

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.

The moves of the wireworm in potatoes are a real misfortune. It is much easier to completely throw away such a tuber than to try to clean it. However, it is even more reasonable to prevent its damage.

When planting potatoes and tomatoes - in advance. If you plan to plant cabbage, then such flour must be introduced during the planting process. 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. Of the industrial preparations, it is recommended to use the following means: "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.

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. 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.

Keep clean and tidy in your area. Weed weekly, primarily by removing wheat grass. He is especially fond of the wireworm. You should not stack torn weeds between the beds, as the wireworm loves greens and quickly multiplies in it.

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. In autumn, it is recommended to dig deeply all the soil, lifting and turning individual boards.

An important technique in the fight against wireworms is the change of cultures. The fact is that the wireworm, as a rule, does not affect the culture that grows on this site only the first year. So, you can significantly ease your task.

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.

In conclusion, the editors 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.

All of the above recipes are great for fighting wireworms, so they will certainly help you. But the main thing is to always keep clean and tidy on your site. Then you will not know the problems with pests, and it will be a pleasure to work.

10 ways to deal with wireworms

The wireworm is the ubiquitous nutcracker beetle larva. She is able to stay in the ground for 4 years and eat almost any crop. But especially wireworms damage potato plantings.

There are many ways to combat pest, but the best option is still to use several methods of control.

Method 1. Traps

Traps of cans filled with young potato leaves help fight the adult pest - the nutcracker himself. For one hundredth it is enough to place 10 such traps at an equal distance from each other.

And every 2-3 days it is necessary to change the bait in them. This method is aimed at preventing the appearance of larvae, since one female can lay up to 200 eggs per season.

Method 2. Onion peel

In each hole when planting potatoes you need to throw a decent armful of onion husks. However, this method is not effective if the event is carried out in windy weather - the husk will quickly fly apart.

Alternatively, you can use onion broth, which is soaked before planting potato tubers. Not only will the wireworm not like it, but it will also protect the plants from some possible diseases.

Method 3. Siderata

Sowing siderates refers to a fairly effective way to combat wireworms. Mustard, peas, phacelia - these cultures perfectly scare away an uninvited guest, however, of course, growing additional crops on the site requires additional effort, time and money.

Method 4. Mustard Powder

If there is no desire to tinker with siderates, then when planting potatoes in a hole, you can pour mustard powder. This option is much safer than using “chemistry”, and the wireworm’s dislike for mustard plays into the hands of gardeners.

By the way, you can use this method of struggle when planting radishes or turnips. If desired, even hot pepper can be added to mustard powder.

Method 5. Bait from root crops

If there is time, then at a depth of 5-10 cm in the soil, you can make special baits for wireworms using potatoes, beets or carrots. However, they need to be done constantly, given the life expectancy of the pest.

Method 6. Reducing the acidity of the soil

Together with the rest, this method of struggle is also good. To destroy the wireworm, lime is scattered directly on the surface of the soil or added when planting potatoes directly in the hole. In addition, it is also possible to reduce soil acidity by adding ash, ground eggshells to the wells or planting legumes.

Method 7. Cleaning the site

If we fight weeds in time on the site (especially wheat grass), then the amount of food at the wireworm will sharply decrease. In addition, it is useful immediately after harvesting to remove from the garden and the whole tops, as well as small tubers of potatoes. The less food for the pest, the less its number.

Method 8. Seasonal digging

In the fall, just before the frosts, it is necessary to dig a whole area deeply. After this procedure, many pest larvae will be on the surface of the soil, and simply die from frost. It’s worth repeating a similar deep digging in the spring, because such a land will be drier, and therefore less nutritious for the pest.

Method 9. The solution of potassium permanganate

Before planting potatoes in the hole, you can also pour 0.5 l of potassium permanganate solution. However, this option requires a significant amount of water. This method is more appropriate for small landings. To prepare the solution, it is necessary to use 5 g of potassium permanganate per 10 l of water.

Method 10. Coniferous needles

Conifers also help fight wireworms. It is better to pick needles immediately before planting potatoes - day after 2. The best option is considered to be branches of young pines. During planting, potatoes are first laid in the furrow, then ash and humus are poured, and from above the whole furrow is covered with pine branches.

Wireworm

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.

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. It should be remembered that the favorite delicacy of the larvae is the roots of the creeping wheatgrass.

Female beetles lay eggs in the soil to a depth of 1-3 cm. Egg development lasts 2-3 weeks depending on the weather, from them appear larvae that live and develop in the soil for 3-4 years. After development, they pupate in June-July at a depth of 10-15 cm. After 15-20 days, beetles emerge from the pupae, which winter in the soil until spring.

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 in no way 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.

There is a more gentle method for reducing the number of wireworm larvae. This is the introduction of ammonium-containing nitrogen fertilizers or simple ammonia water into the soil. This method was used before and now it is used in rural joint-stock companies on such crops as corn and other silage.

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. Firstly, this is a late autumn digging of a site or dump plowing to the full depth of the arable horizon.

The tillage period is mid-October and even the end of the month, that is, on the eve of the onset of stable frosts. In this case, wireworm larvae, once on the surface of the soil, die from the cold.

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 chicken millet roots.

Such a method of tillage as surface loosening in May-June, along with the preservation of moisture and the destruction of weed seedlings, makes the eggs of the nutcracker under sunrays become non-viable, that is, the larvae of them do not appear.

This operation is repeated several times.We can recommend such a rather laborious, but effective method. 1.5-2 weeks before planting potatoes, 10-15 grains of barley (or oats) are sown in nests on the plot after 60-70 cm. When seedlings appear, they are dug up and wireworms selected.

Well, and for those who are engaged in the reproduction of especially valuable or rare varieties of potatoes, I want to advise short-term soaking of tubers in the infusion of celandine.

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.

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 control not only insect pests, but also weeds. This path is the most important one in agriculture, which provides organic food.

How to get rid of wireworm?

The Colorado potato beetle is traditionally considered the main enemy of potato plantings. But if the damage from this pest of potatoes and its larvae on the tops is visible to the naked eye, then losses from the stay of the wireworm are detected only after digging the crop.

The danger of wireworm as a potato pest

If the site is infected with rigid, up to 3 cm long larvae of the nutcracker beetle, about 60% of the tubers are penetrated by the complex moves of the potato pest.

The range of nutcracker beetles is extremely wide, therefore yellow larvae with a surprisingly dense shell are found everywhere and eagerly feed not only on potatoes, but also on juicy roots of such crops as, for example, wheatgrass and bluegrass.

Due to the abundance of succulent feed, potato plantings are extremely attractive to larvae. At the same time, the pest actively acts on the beds throughout the growing season, from the germination of tubers to the drying of the bushes. But no matter how hard the gardener tries, it is unlikely that he can completely get rid of the wireworm on the potato field.

Ways to get rid of wireworm on a potato field

You can only significantly reduce the number of these dangerous insects and, with the help of special measures, protect plants from pest attacks. Moreover, the fight against the larvae of the nutcracker beetle can be carried out in several directions. This includes:

1. soil cultivation and the introduction of substances that ensure the death of potato pests and prevent their reproduction;
2. arrangement of various traps and lures for wireworms and adult beetles;
3. processing potatoes before planting with solutions of active substances;
4. mechanical digging, loosening of soil on the site and other agricultural techniques.

Prestige: processing potatoes before planting

Measures aimed at protecting planted tubers from wireworm attacks include the treatment of planting material with such active substances as Prestige. As a result of pickling seed potatoes after planting, it loses its attractiveness for wireworms and other pests, including the Colorado potato beetle, bear and horsetail.

The action of the drug "Prestige" in the processing of potatoes, according to the instructions, lasts up to 60 days.Even with the appearance of the first leaves above the garden bed, you can notice how the Colorado beetles react to the chemical. Adults die quickly, but how do you know if a wireworm has died?

Here, only digging up the bushes and observing the plantings as they grow and bloom will help. It was found that the number of affected plants during the action of "Prestige" is sharply reduced, and the young tubers that have begun to grow are healthy. But when the 60-day period expires, the potato pests again rush to the plantings.

Since tubers for winter storage are dug up much later than two months later, gardeners cannot do without additional measures to protect the crop.

But the early varieties of potatoes ripening faster than 60 days, it is better not to pickle "Prestige".
How in this case to get rid of wireworm on a potato field? What plant protection products can be used to get rid of wireworms.

Methods for getting rid of wireworms in potatoes

In most cases, the simplest agrotechnical methods become a serious help:

During spring work on the site, fertilizers containing nitrogen and ammonia are introduced into the soil, which are extremely unpleasant for wireworms. In addition, the pest is uncomfortable in soils with low acidity. Experienced gardeners advise adding several granules of superphosphate to the holes when planting.

Another effective technique that helps get rid of wireworms in potatoes is the application of special soil containing predatory nematodes under the tubers when planting. For these microscopic worms, potato pests become a tasty prey, and for plants and humans such organisms are completely safe.

Safe ways to deal with wireworms

To remove pests from the potato plot, various baits and traps are often used, which are located along the perimeter of the plantings or located between ridges.

Juicy slices of potatoes are strung on a string, and such garlands are dug along the ridges to a depth of 5 to 15 cm. The bait is changed after two to three days.

Every half meter across the site, several grains of cereals or corn are planted. When shoots appear, succulent roots will certainly attract pests.

Adult beetles and larvae usually accumulate under straw, leafy foliage or tops, which can be placed along the border of the potato field.

Using such baits, it is important to inspect and change them regularly in case of accumulation of dangerous potato pests. As measures of repelling wireworms, you can use:

1. watering the beds with infusions of coltsfoot, dandelion, celandine or nettle;
2. soaking tubers in the infusion of celandine before planting;
3. onion husks, which are put in the holes when planting tubers;
4. marigolds along the perimeter of the site or in the aisles;
5. fresh pine or spruce needles dug along the ridges.

If the area allows, a properly organized crop rotation will help get rid of wireworm on the potato field. Soil pests do not infect plants if they are planted in the first year.

After harvesting, it is useful to sow mustard, alfalfa, clover on the site of the potato.These crops are not edible for potato pests, changing the diet will result in the death of insects or their departure from the affected area.

Fighting wireworms in the garden with folk remedies: how to get rid of wireworms in potatoes with ash and salt. Today, a healthy lifestyle, sports, and proper nutrition are gaining popularity.

To eat properly, many people buy summer cottages where they grow vegetables, herbs, berries with their own hands without using any chemical agents (poisons and fertilizers).

The wireworm lays long, winding passages in potatoes and other root crops, which are often impossible to cut when peeling. As a result, such root crops are simply thrown away.

Today, the fight against wireworm folk remedies is no less relevant than the fight against the Colorado potato beetle. And if the damage of the latter is immediately visible, then that the wireworm has destroyed part of the crop can only be known when it is already harvested.

Folk remedies for wireworm in the garden

The wireworm is the larva of the nutcracker. The larvae have a hard coating, for which they got their name. In the larval stage, these beetles live for 2-5 years; therefore, several generations of larvae are present on one site.

In addition, the nutcracker beetles are quite prolific and tolerate winter and cold well, burrowing into the ground. Therefore, it is necessary to observe whether larvae have appeared in the garden and begin to fight them as early as possible.

All folk remedies for wireworm in the garden can be divided into 3 groups:

Mechanical wire control methods

A good way to combat wireworms is to simply dig up the soil. Moreover, you need to dig up quite deep (at least 10-15 cm) in spring and autumn. In spring, beetles lay their eggs; digging will prevent this process. Eggs, beetles and larvae raised to the surface become easy prey for birds.

In autumn, beetles and larvae (wireworms) lie down for wintering. It is best to dig with the advent of the first frosts, then the wireworm raised to the surface will surely die. But the September digging will also help to get rid of a lot of eggs, larvae and beetles, which birds will easily notice and peck or they will die in an unusual environment.

When planning crops, it must be taken into account that in order to effectively control the wireworm, crops must be alternated. Potatoes need to be grown in places where legumes (peas, beans, beans, soy, lentils) grew 3-4 years before.

Trap control of wireworms

Potato cut in half can be used as traps for luring wireworms. It must be dug into the ground to a depth of 15-20 cm. After a few days, pieces of potatoes need to be dug. There will be many larvae on them.

In order not to forget where the bait potatoes were dug, these places should be marked with wire, sticks or twigs. The whole procedure must be repeated several times. Each time, the larvae will be smaller.

Another type of wireworm trap is leaf lettuce or corn crops between rows of root crops. The wireworm necessarily settles in the roots of these plants. And the owners will only have to remove the seedlings along with the larvae.

The wireworms are also attracted by heaps of grass left in the garden, which begins to chatter and becomes an attractive treat for the larvae of the nutcracker beetle. After several days, it remains only to carefully collect and discard (destroy) the flowering grass along with the wireworm. Instead of grass, you can use straw or hay.

Catching wireworms with baits is best done in the spring, even before planting root crops. But traps can be used both in summer and in autumn, if there are many larvae and it threatens plantings.

Control of wireworm ash, mineral salt, potassium permanganate

A proven tool to get rid of wireworms in the garden with folk remedies is the use of chemicals of own production that do not have any negative effect on the crop.

Ashes sprinkled aisles. The larvae of the nutcracker are killed. Ammonium salts (mineral salts) will not only help get rid of wireworms, but also serve as a good top dressing for root crops.

Some summer residents are against not only insecticides used to kill pests, but also against mineral fertilizers. Therefore, the use of mineral fertilizers to combat wireworm is not suitable for everyone.

In any case, folk remedies will help get rid of the wireworm in potatoes. And it is best to combine various types of folk remedies.

A wireworm parasitizing on potato beds can severely damage the tubers.

If a large amount of potato wireworm is found on the site, then the main part of the crop can be saved only by urgently taking measures to combat this pest. By the size of the damage caused to the potato plantings, it is slightly inferior to all the famous Colorado potato beetle. But, unlike the latter, it is much more difficult to deal with wireworms.

Potato Malicious Pest - Wireworm

The Colorado potato beetle appeared on the potato is hard not to notice, and the tops eaten by its larvae are visible from afar. Pesticide treatment carried out on time allows you to get rid of this pest without noticeable crop losses.

It is quite difficult to deal with this pest, since it lives almost everywhere, but it is quite possible to reduce the population to the size when the wireworm causes minimal damage.

The wireworm is the larva of the nutcracker. In our country, there are several hundred varieties of these insects. They are distributed practically throughout the territory. The insect development cycle lasts from 2 to 5 years.

In early spring, from April to June (depending on the region), female beetles lay their eggs in secluded places on the soil - under lumps of earth, in cracks, under plant debris, and heaps of dry tops. In each clutch there are from 3 to 5 eggs, and only one female lays up to 150 pieces.

After a year, the larvae of the nutcrackers become much larger and more mobile. The shell of their body becomes very durable - an insect is easier to tear than crush. From the second year of life, the wireworm transfers to potatoes, damaging its roots and tubers.

The spores made by the larvae get spores of the fungus and bacteria, causing rotting of root crops and making them unsuitable for winter storage.The damage caused by the wireworm is very significant, therefore, it is necessary to take systematic measures to combat this pest.

Methods of struggle

Nutcracker beetle larvae are ubiquitous, and not only on potato plantations. These pests are able to feed on the roots of various, including wild, plants. The increase in the number and choice of places for oviposition on planting crops is explained primarily by the large amount of food available for wireworms.

It is practically impossible to completely get rid of the nutcracker larvae on potato plantings, but using special control measures, it is quite possible to reduce the number of pests several times so that the damage they cause becomes insignificant.

It is very undesirable to deal with wireworms using pesticides introduced into the soil, because, firstly, toxic substances will inevitably get into potato tubers, and secondly, they will destroy not only these larvae, but also living organisms useful for soil formation ( earthworms, various microorganisms, etc.).

Therefore, in most cases, various agrotechnical methods of control are used. Digging the soil to a great depth before the onset of stable frosts (approximately in the second half of October) reduces the number of pests. Larvae from the lower layers of the soil, falling into the upper layers, die from the cold.

Early spring plowing also helps fight wireworms. Sedentary birds after winter are happy to collect birds, since there is still little feed. In addition, the larvae are killed by direct sunlight.

An effective control measure is the removal of weeds, primarily wheat grass, including along the edges of the fields. Bushes of this grass are a favorite place where nutcrackers lay their eggs, because small larvae are happy to feed on wheatgrass roots.

Therefore, weeds should be removed along with the roots, even the smallest, thereby depriving insects of food.
Properly organized crop rotation also helps get rid of annoying “worms”. It is advisable to plant potatoes after beans or peas, which these pests "do not like."

If you plan to plant potatoes in areas heavily contaminated with wireworms, it is advisable to carry out bait sowing. For this purpose, 4-5 grains of corn, barley, wheat or oats are sown in the pits in a square-nesting manner every 0.5 meters. Emerging seedlings should be dug up together with the roots in which the pests gathered, and destroyed.

You can get rid of a large amount of wireworm using bait from pieces of potato, carrot or beetroot, which are buried to a shallow depth (5-15 cm) before planting potatoes. After 2-4 days, the bait is dug up and destroyed along with the larvae that climbed into it (you can cook and feed the animals).

To facilitate pest control in this way, pieces of the bait are strung on long cords and buried in grooves. To get such a "garland" will be much easier.

As a distracting measure, you can sow salad in the rows of potatoes, the tender roots of which the wireworm gladly eats, with less damage to the potatoes.

When using pesticides in order to reduce the damage they cause to the microflora of the soil, it is advisable to use granular forms that can be made by ourselves.

Granular superphosphate scattered on a film in a thin layer is sprayed with insecticides (Decis, Karate, Actellik) diluted in a 5: 2 solution of acetone and water (200 ml of acetone is taken per 5 kg of superphosphate).The granules are dried in the shade, scattered over the site and immediately digged.

You can use the processed superphosphate pointwise when planting potatoes - 5 granules per hole. As folk methods against wireworms, you can use watering potatoes with infusions of celandine, coltsfoot, dandelion or nettle.

By systematically applying wireworm control measures in a complex, it is possible to reduce the number of this dangerous pest to the extent that the damage it causes is insignificant.

How to deal with potato wireworms

In a household or summer cottage, wireworms can be fought with agrotechnical methods without the use of chemicals. Problems with it most often occur on lands where wheat grass grows. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to get rid of this weed, which must be chosen with rhizomes - an important means of life support for this pest.

There are also many wireworms in areas where perennial cereal grasses have been grown for several years in a row. In such plants, in the first year after plowing, it is better to sow legumes: beans, peas, beans, but not potatoes.

Larvae can be caught and destroyed from early spring to autumn with the help of baits. Slices of raw potatoes are strung on a cord or fishing line, the ends of which are tied to pegs and buried in soil to a depth of 10 cm.

Pegs mark the location of the bait. Every 2-3 days, the baits are dug out and wireworms are selected from them. You can string potato slices on thin twigs and dig them to the same depth (10 cm) after 1-1.5 m from each other.

The bugs gathered there are destroyed. Damage to tubers and root crops by the wireworm can also be eliminated chemically: using the Prestige preparation, which is used to process seed material before sowing or planting.

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 the 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 wireworms when carrying out agricultural work:

1. plant legumes (beans, peas, soy and others);
2. to extract and destroy wireworms in gasoline when digging the earth (in the deep, deep digging up to 25 cm deep, in the spring - shallow);
3. Liming soil with acidic pH. An egg shell, lime, chalk is suitable for this;
4. make fertilizers with ammonia, such as ammonium sulfate and ammonia water;
5. fight weeds especially wheat grass;
6. clean the tops after mowing;
7. do not thicken the landing.

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:

Chemical methods of controlling wireworms

1. 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!
2. Potassium chloride, introduced in the fall into the soil with digging, will help destroy wireworms in 2-3 years.
3. Of the drugs to combat a large number of wireworms, Pochin and Bazudin are effective. When planting: dilute it with sand and add 1 tsp to each well.
4. In the fall, fill the area with lime, when the snow melts, the lime will fall into the ground and the wire will leave.
5. Liming and adding phosphorus to the soil before planting potatoes is effective, but the quality of the tubers may suffer!

Wireworm is a malicious pest for beetroot, carrot, potato root crops, 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.

Chemical methods of controlling wireworms are simple, quick and effective, but toxic, so try to get by with agrotechnical methods for a small infection of the soil with wireworms. Of course, the nutcracker bug itself will not bring harm, but the damage will be substantial to your crop from its larvae.

Wireworms are called the larvae of nutcracker beetles. These are polyphagous pests that harm corn, onions, sunflowers, potatoes, root crops (carrots and other crops). They also harm melons, to a lesser extent - annual legumes (peas, beans).

Getting rid of wireworms is very difficult. But you can try. This can be done by agronomic methods or by using chemical agents. Agrotechnical methods include:

Chemical measures include the following:

1. Introduction of ammonium-containing fertilizers (15 g / m2 of ammonium nitrate or 30 g / m2 of ammonium sulfate) before sowing root crops and planting potatoes.
2. Watering the soil with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
3. The introduction of a diazinon insecticide (bazudine) at a dose of 40 g / m2; the measure is justified only with a large number of pests.

In conclusion, I note that although the chemical method is the simplest, it is advisable to resort to it only as a last resort, since diazinon is highly toxic (highly toxic) to humans and other warm-blooded people. Therefore, with a relatively low number of pests, try to limit yourself to agricultural practices.

At the same time, if potatoes cannot be included in the crop rotation, then the most populated by larvae part of the land allotted for this crop should be occupied with early potatoes, so that after harvesting it can be grown in mustard on green manure.

How to deal with wireworms in organic farming

Greetings to you, curious readers! Today's article on how to get rid of wireworms. Usually they annoy in the first years of development of sites, but also found in those who have long been cultivating the soil. Many gardeners see the wireworm as such an indestructible creature that “steals” and destroys crops and even flowers.

Are these larvae indestructible and why do they even live on our sites? Should they be so afraid to run after poisonous chemistry? Let’s figure out this “hard” pest today.

By the way, why tough you probably know. Anyone who has ever seen these worm-shaped creatures live and tried to crush them knows that the wireworm’s body is very solid, like a wire. That is why the larva got such a name. Yes, this is not a wireworm bug, namely a larva. And the “parents” of this larva are the nutcracker beetles.

By the way, there are also false strangers. They are very similar to the larvae of the nutcrackers, but their “parents” are dark beetle beetles. It is very difficult to distinguish between the larvae of these 2 species, but it is encouraging that the measures to combat them are very similar. So from one article you will learn how to deal with wireworm and false wireworm.

An obvious difference between wireworms and false wireworms is the lifetime of the larvae before pupation. If the first live in the land for 3-5 years, then the second in a year turn into beetles.

Darkling beetles, as well as false stalks, live mainly in warmer regions. If you want to know more about the features and differences between beetles and larvae of these 2 species, you can read Zhirmunsky’s book “The Secret Life of Pests”.

Nutcracker Beetle and Wireworm

Features of the Nutcracker Beetles:

Features of wireworms:

1. live in the ground in the same area where the beetles laid their eggs;
2. at first, their larvae are white and with a delicate coating. At this time, they are more vulnerable and become easy prey for predatory insects, such as ground beetles;
3. after a few links they become more yellow and even with an orange tint, and also become more rigid. Insectivorous birds such as starlings and rooks can eat such larvae. Chickens can eat them;
4. larvae live in the upper 5-centimeter layer of soil, and under adverse conditions (at low temperatures or during drought) go deeper - up to 50-60 cm;
5. favorite cultivated plants - potatoes, beets, carrots, wheat, corn, barley. Do not disdain and onions, sunflowers, seedlings;
6. She loves to “swarm” in the roots of cereal plants (wheat grass is a close relative of cereals, therefore wireworms love it too);
   Most of the harm is done by sowing seeds in cool ground. Therefore, so that the earth warms up faster after winter, remove the mulch from the garden. On the contrary, dark mulch can be left - compost or peat contribute to the warming of the soil. Only nuance: peat oxidizes the soil, and wireworm loves just such;
7. In dry times, the roots and tubers of plants are especially eagerly eaten (they also need moisture).

In contrast to wireworms, falseworms can damage fruit tree seedlings, like pumpkin crops and sugar beets. True, crops are also their delicacy.

How to get rid of wireworm and whether peaceful coexistence is possible

Sepp Holzer always says that every plant, insect or animal - even useful, even pests - is needed by nature. I’m sure it is, it’s just that we don’t always understand their purpose. Wireworms can be one of the creators of soil fertility.

Why not? We don’t always understand our neighbors, but here is the underworld ... Maybe they point to some kind of problem in the territory of their residence.

But we want a crop of various crops, and carrots, beets and potatoes are some of the most favorite root crops and somehow we don’t want to give them to the larvae. Let them live in a different place, and not in our garden. At least we do not need them in the beds and flower beds.

I immediately warn that liming the soil and sowing of green manure does not immediately expel the larvae, but simply reduces their appetite and “speaks” of the need to leave this place. Some larvae die from starvation, and some pupate, turn into beetles and leave in search of a better house.

If you want to get rid of them faster - use a set of measures: siderata, ash, bait, getting rid of wheatgrass. The main thing is to be patient for the next 2-3 years. It may turn out to get rid of them earlier, but this is unlikely. The main thing is that you spoil their appetite and they will do much less harm than if you leave everything to chance.

How to get rid of wireworms. Choose the right way to deal with wireworms. The wireworm does not like such plants:

It is recommended to sow these crops for 2-3 years on the site and during this time all the wireworm larvae that lived in the land will either die or turn into beetles and leave in search of a better place for them.

The wireworm does not like a neutral and alkaline environment, so when planting plants, you can throw a little ash in the holes or rows. Sometimes they also throw onion peel or ash and onion peel together.

The wireworm loves marigolds (tagetes), BUT it is believed that the juice of these flowers is poisonous to him. So here is an additional plus for planting marigolds on the site.About other benefits of tagetes here.

A great method is wireworm bait. Since they love potatoes, feed them to them. Old potatoes must be cut (in half, into quarters or circles) and buried in some places on the bed (preferably at the edges and at a distance of 1 m from each other). Do not dig deeply - 7-15 cm deep.

Depth depends on the layout time of the bait. If it is still cold, then it is possible to a depth of 15 cm, but if it is warmer and the earth warmed up, then it can be higher. In any case, if there is still nothing to eat in the garden, the wireworms will crawl onto the bait.

Be sure to mark these places in order to check the bait from time to time (every 1-3 days) and destroy the wireworms gathered in them. You cannot add ash to the bait, otherwise they will not crawl there.

It is better to start making such baits long before planting cultivated plants (1-2 weeks before planting). You can continue to place the bait and at a time when planted seedlings or sown seeds.

Since the nutcracker beetles and their larvae love wheat grass, we must get rid of this weed in the beds. I’ll tell you how to do this in the next article. However, getting rid of wheatgrass is only part of the fight against wireworms.

It is believed that the wireworm (and wheat grass) does not like the dahlia neighborhood. Well, try planting some bushes on the flower beds, for example. You can read about dahlias here.

Sowing rye against wireworms in doubt. Some believe that it helps to get rid of them, but in fact, it attracts these larvae to itself more. You can use it as a bait and just pull the plants along with the root, where there will probably be a lot of wireworms. But I would hardly bother like that, but as you wish.

In addition, rye takes on a lot of moisture, which can lead to a decrease in the yield of other crops. It is believed that the wireworm lives exclusively in the soil and does not crawl to the surface by itself. This is exactly what gardeners of natural agriculture use when growing potatoes on virgin soil.

What are they doing? When planting, they do not bury potatoes, but only lay them on the surface. Then they fall asleep with straw and another mulch (a very thick layer). Thanks to this, the potato gives a good harvest, and the wireworms remain in the ground. Personally, I have not tried such a method, but there is common sense in such actions.

And if next to the potato toss 1-2 seeds of black beans (they are low and do not need to be tied to a support), and add a little more ash, then the chance of success will increase significantly.

Some summer residents make traps for the beetles themselves, collect them in jars and then destroy them. Someone crushes everyone in a row of dark and black bugs. BUT, are they sure that all these bugs are harmful? Maybe there are a lot of useful creatures among them? By the way, ground beetle is also dark ...

But for those who use chemicals, I can only sympathize. Such people probably have a lot of sores, first spent on chemistry for the garden, and then on chemistry for the treatment of diseases, then again on chemistry for the garden, and then again on medicines for themselves, their children and grandchildren.

Such people do not have joy, their life is a continuous struggle ... Unfortunately, such people are difficult to convince and they do not even want to associate their illnesses with “vegetables and berries grown at home”. But fortunately, every year there are more and more thinking people and those who understand the fallacy of the “chemical” path. As you can see, wireworm control measures are diverse.

And now about preventive methods:

DO NOT Bring THE LAND FROM OTHER SITES, otherwise you can bring with it both larvae of pests and seeds of various weeds. Also, do not abuse rotted manure (I am silent about fresh ones), as it makes the soil more acidic.

If you still want to grow “forbidden” cultures, then you will have to take a little more time for traps.
Well, that's all for today. I tried to fully describe how to get rid of the wireworm. I hope I succeeded.

If you have questions, ask. If you still know interesting methods of how to deal with wireworms, I will be glad to know about them. By the way, maybe you have an idea or knowledge about what is the use of wireworms and nutcracker beetles? I wish you harmony in your gardens!