How to get rid of the beetle larva - the best chemical and biological methods

how to get rid of the maybug larva
How to get rid of the Maybug larva

Good day. This spring I had more problems on the site than usual.

I don’t even know what it could be connected with. Well, for example: I dig myself calmly in the garden and tadam - the whole land is dotted with larvae of the May beetle!

And after all it is impossible to disregard it. I had to seek advice from my wise grandmother. Together, the problem was resolved. Want to know how to get rid of the Maybug larva? How to do it fast? Then read about it in the article below.

How to get rid of Maybug larvae (Khrushchev)

In principle, the May bug itself is beautiful and almost harmless. But his larvae give gardeners a lot of trouble.

Important!
May bug larvae develop for three to four years. Starting from the second year, they begin their wrecking activity, feeding on the roots and bulbs of plants. If you notice that some of your plants began to lag behind, wither and wilt - look at its roots.

It is likely that they were chosen by the larvae of the May beetle (chafer). You will recognize them immediately. They look disgusting - thick, white, slightly curved, with a dark head and dark end of a thick abdomen, with six legs.

Control measures

So far, the most effective way to deal with khrushch is mechanical. Crush stock is reduced only by manual sampling during digging. Experienced gardeners also catch adult beetles in order to reduce their numbers and prevent egg laying.

By the way, females are very prolific, and one such "mother" can supply your site with fifty selected pests.

Beetles are caught in the light. In the evening, a light source is placed at the bottom of the barrel. Something sticky is poured into it or a sheet is stretched and lighted with a lamp. May beetles flock to its light from all around.

In addition to mechanical struggle, there are biological methods: with the help of hedgehogs, for which the raspberries are an exquisite treat. Another effective way is to “get” a fisherman in the family: the May beetle larvae are a delicacy for fish and one of the best bait.

As for chemicals. Soil sterilizers, chemicals used to disinfect the soil, which destroy soil pests (wireworms, pseudowires, chafer beetle larvae, etc.), pathogens, weed seeds should be used with caution.

Get rid of the parasite

Everyone saw the May bugs, and their larvae, as well as what they get up in our gardens and kitchen gardens. May beetles (they are also Khrushchev) are serious pests of gardens and orchards, which, when they appear massively, cause significant damage to plants. Today I’ll talk about the danger of the Khrushchev and how to deal with them.

Stages of the development of Khrushchev

Cockchafer is a fairly large insect.His body reaches up to 35 mm and is painted black or red-brown. In nature, forest-steppes and forests are populated, mainly light-coniferous (pine).

Advice!
In spring (usually in May), years begin and the reproduction of beetles. After mating, the females dig in the soil and lay their eggs. One female May dodger lays up to 70 eggs and then dies. After 1-1.5 months, large, white, quite motile larvae hatch from eggs. They are easy to distinguish from other pests, as they seem to be twisted into a glomerulus.

Larvae of grubs live in the soil for 3 to 4 years, and then turn into immobile pupae that look like adult beetles. The final stage of development of the May beetle is the imago, when the pupae turn into beetles. This process occurs in late summer or autumn. Young beetles emerging from pupae hibernate in the soil, and spring to the surface.

Under favorable weather conditions in nature there is an increase in the population of May beetles, accompanied by massive flight. The peak amount of May khrushchev is observed 20-25 years after a 3-4 year break in their activity.

Just now (that is, in these years) there is a peak in the reproduction of these pests. It is believed that such activity can last about 10 years, so it is important to know how to deal with this pest in order to reduce the harm from it.

What eats

Khrushchev, like most insect pests, poses a double threat, since not only adult beetles do harm, but also their larvae.

If the bugs eat the leaves mainly within 1-2 months during the flight and breeding season, then the larvae are more gluttonous and dangerous.

Adult Khrushchev eat leaves and flowers of fruit trees and shrubs: cherries, plums, sea-buckthorn, blackcurrant and apple tree - one of the most favorite trees for May beetles. But they also love to eat leaves of decorative trees: aspen, maple, birch, etc.

And here's what the larvae of the May beetle eat ... They gnaw the roots of strawberries, various vegetable crops, fruit trees and bushes. They like potato tubers and corn roots. The roots of pine, cedar, birch, larch, spruce also love to eat. Do not disdain the roots of lawn grass.

Older larvae are voracious than their younger relatives. There is information that one three-year-old larva can gobble up the roots of a 2-year-old pine in one day. But a 2-year-old larva of the roots of the same tree is enough for a whole week. This is not much easier for us.

May Beetle Fight

The fight against larvae of the May beetle is carried out in the following ways:

Manually collecting grubby larvae. At different times of the year, the larvae of the horsetail live at different depths. They hibernate at a depth of 1-2 meters. They begin to dig into this depth in the fall, when it begins to get colder. Well, in the spring heat lures them to the surface. Larvae love heat and humidity and the most optimal soil temperature for them is about + 24 ° C.

Important!
Summer is the most suitable season for collecting the May beetle larvae, since at this time they are in a 10-20 centimeter layer of the earth. True, with drought, they can dig deeper. That's just to collect them you need to dig the soil, and this is not good from the point of view of natural agriculture. And to collect them all in this way is unlikely to succeed.

Soil sodding. This method is better from the point of view of ecological farming. Yes, and less labor.

As modern biologists have found out, the larvae of the beetroot do not tolerate nitrogen. Therefore, experts recommend sowing tree trunks of trees with white clover, on the roots of which nodule bacteria live. They absorb nitrogen from the air and make it available to plants.

At the same time, nitrogen accumulating in the soil makes it unsuitable for the life of larvae. Sodding is a safe method that will help get rid of not only the larvae of the May beetle, but also weeds.

By the way, it will be more difficult for female beetles to break into the blackened ground, so it will fly in search of a more convenient place for masonry.

Attraction of animals and birds. Another safe and effective way. Insectivorous birds (starlings, rooks, thrushes) pose a serious threat to larvae, as well as adult beetles. Attraction of birds is facilitated by the placement of birdhouses in the garden.

It is estimated that during the nesting period one pair of starlings catches up to 8 thousand beetles and larvae per season (among this number there are not only snakes, but also other insects and their larvae).

If this forest resident settles on your site, then he will render you an invaluable service in the fight not only with May bugs and their larvae, but also with other insects that form the basis of his diet.

Advice!
Among the insects that live in nature, enemies of larvae of larvae are also found, but they do not greatly reduce their number.

Of the folk methods, a good way to combat the larvae of the May beetle is to water the soil throughout the growing season with infusion of onion husks. You need to take 1/3 bucket of husk, pour water to get a full bucket, and withstand 5 days. The resulting infusion should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1.

It is more effective to combat the larvae of the horsetail in warm time, when they rise closer to the surface of the soil. Getting rid of adult bugs will help timely catching.

Catching beetles is carried out using various traps made by hand. Here are a few options:

  1. A shallow container (basin) is coated with a sticky liquid, such as solid oil, or glue from insects, and a light source is placed at the bottom of it. With the onset of darkness, a "light trap" is exposed in the open. Light attracts not only the May beetles, but also other nocturnal insect pests, which are also trapped.
  2. Take a 2 liter plastic bottle and cut off the top (5-7 cm). 4 holes are made in the walls of the container into which the cord is pulled. Ordinary kvass or fermented jam diluted with water (1 l each) is poured into traps and hung on fruit tree branches.
  3. Traps periodically check and remove pests that have got into them.

During the period of the greatest activity, the catching of May Khrushchev can also be carried out in the old antiquated way - shaking off trees. The best results are obtained at an air temperature of + 15 ° C. Therefore, the shaking procedure is carried out daily in the early morning (at this time the beetles are inactive - practically in a daze).

Caught May beetles are destroyed or given to feed poultry. Although I do not advise doing this, because among gardeners there are those who use chemicals to protect plants. Insecticides accumulate in the body of beetles and can cause the death of birds.

Some fishing enthusiasts use beetroot as a bait, which the chub, ide and asp are excellently pecking at.

To protect the site from the voracious May bugs and larvae, such actions will also help:

  • Mulching the soil with wood chips, chopped straw, crushed bark, which prevents the penetration of beetles into the soil.
  • Beetles and larvae are scared away by the smell of elderberry, lupine, and cruciferous plants. Ridges, turnips are planted with ridges, and mustard shoots and cabbage leaves are laid in the ground.

Khrushchev crashed: the fight against the May bug and its larvae

In recent years, due to a number of objective and subjective reasons (removal of land from cultivation, violation of agricultural technology, global warming), grains cause significant damage to industrial crops of sugar and fodder beets, potatoes, carrots, corn, crops, as well as fruit and forest plantations.

Attention!
The harmfulness of larvae in household plots, where they damage up to 35% of potato tubers, root crops, and 40% of strawberry bushes, has also increased.

May beetles are the most common and cause significant harm - western and eastern, June khrushch, marble, hairy.

Beetles and larvae of different ages winter in the soil at a depth of up to 150 cm.

Western May Khrushchev. In late April and early May, during the period of mass flowering of apricot, the trickles creep out onto the soil surface and, at dusk, begin to fly, damaging the leaves, flowers, and ovaries of fruit trees, especially plums, cherries, and apple trees.

After the apple blossoms, the beetles lay their eggs in the soil to a depth of 10-30 cm. After 24-35 days (depending on soil temperature), larvae hatch from them.

In the first year of life, they feed on dead plant roots and humus, in the second year (approximately mid-June), they rise from wintering sites to the surface soil layer and continue to feed on humus and young plant roots until autumn, then go on a second wintering.

In the spring of the third year, the larvae rise again to the surface of the soil and feed heavily on plant foods, causing the greatest harm to various cultivated plants.

In autumn, the larvae go to a depth of 1 m and remain for the third winter. The following spring and early summer, the larvae continue to harm plants. In June – July, they molt for the last time, then deepen into the soil by 30-60 cm and pupate in the earthen cradle.

Important!
After 1-1.5 months, beetles emerge from the pupae, which winter in the soil. But in years with hot, dry summers, a small number of beetles may exit the soil in the fall.

In open places in loosened ground, pupation occurs at a depth of 1 m, in dense - up to 30 cm.

Harm

Western May Khrushchev is one of the most dangerous pests of fruit stands in the Forest-Steppe, Polesie and the northern part of the Steppe of Ukraine. During the years of mass appearance, beetles completely eat up the leaves of fruit trees, reducing their growth, productivity and frost resistance, and the larvae, gnawing the roots of plants, lead them to death.

The harm from larvae manifests itself from the second year of life, when they feed on the roots of trees, berry bushes, wild strawberries and root crops of vegetable plants, as well as potato tubers, which leads to a significant decrease in high-quality agricultural products.

Species differences

Eastern, May, hairy, and marble khrushchis are morphologically and biologically similar to Western May khrushchev. They differ only in color and body size. Only June larvae that have been living in soil for 2 years are harmful in June’s khrushcha.

Having wintered twice, the larvae pupate in May in their third year of life, and in June (after 2 weeks) beetles emerge from the pupae, which give rise to a new generation. Hairy larvae are more harmful on sandy soils in orchards, nurseries, on berries and vineyards.

Marble crusher usually settles in open places with well-heated sandy soil, in floodplains of rivers. It is found in large numbers in wastelands, forest edges and in forest clearings.

Larvae of grubs are yellow-white, thick, curved, six-legged, the head is yellow-brown or yellow-red with strong mandibles for tearing solid food

According to the State Inspectorate for Plant Protection, in recent years May beetles remain dangerous phytophages in all areas of the country. During the mass summer, in most regions, beetles damage from 9 to 35% of fruit, ornamental and other plantings, in some places of Ivano-Frankivsk region - up to 60%.

Advice!
During the growing season in crops, May beetles damage an average of 2.5-12.0% of plants.

A particularly high level of damage to crops (up to 25–35%) located near forests, forest belts, which are the main source of accumulation and spread of the pest.

With good wintering in all regions, there remains the threat of an increase in the number and severity of imagoes and larvae of May and June chrysanthemums in the foci of perennial fruit and forest stands, vineyards, crops of agricultural crops, in household plots bordering forests, forest plantations, and unplanned lands.

Larva Fight

To get rid of the May beetle, carry out such agricultural activities:

  • Against the larvae of the May beetle, carefully cultivate the soil, especially during their pupation. In July, aisle loosening to a depth of 25 cm to destroy the pupae.
  • When digging the larvae of grubs, be sure to collect and destroy.
  • Dig the soil regularly in tree-trunk circles. It is important to consider that at the beginning of summer the larvae of the May beetle are in a moist root-inhabited layer, and when the soil dries up, they go to a depth of 50-70 cm.
  • Keep the areas clean from weeds, be sure to remove wheat grass not only on the site itself, but also on the neighboring ones.
  • Catch May beetles using light traps. In the morning, shake the beetles onto a lined film or an opened umbrella with their subsequent destruction.
  • Significantly reduces the number of larvae of the Khrushchev plowing soddy virgin and fallow plots, liming of acidic soils.

A wonderful way to get rid of the May beetle is the cultivation of perennial lupine.

Since weeds do not grow on the crops of this plant, the larvae of the May beetle are forced to feed on the roots of lupine, which are poison for them. In search of better food, they leave such areas.

Of the chemicals used to control the larvae of the May beetle, it is recommended to use such drugs:

  • Actara 25 WG, c. d. drip irrigation method on cabbage, tomatoes, eggplant, 0.6 kg / ha; on strawberries (after harvesting) by the method of watering plants with 0.25% solution, the consumption rate is 3.6 kg / ha;
  • force 1.5 G when added to the holes during planting of strawberries, 10-12 kg / ha;
  • prestige, c. for wet dressing of tubers (consumption rate 1.0 l / t potato).

How to get rid of Maybug larvae. Folk remedies, drugs

  • Fact 1: The larva (khrushchev) has a powerful jaw structure that can gnaw through the roots of old, centuries-old trees.
  • Fact 2: In just a few weeks, the pest can "strip" to strip a whole tree, leaving only smooth branches without a hint of a green outfit.
  • Fact 3: No weeds grow in the vicinity of the lupins. This deprives the larvae of food, and they die from hunger.
  • Fact 4: The most effective combination of folk methods with chemicals.

Along with the joy of cultivating land on his own plot, a headache comes to the gardener in the spring, how to protect this plot from the invasion of voracious pests.

Important!
Insects were, are and will be. Not a single summer resident is against the use of beneficial insects on his land. But there are those who simply sweep away everything in their path, destroying the future crop on the vine. One of such malicious creatures can be called the May bug.

The May bug is quite large in size. The color of his body is black or reddish. Beetle begins to be fruitful closer to the end of spring. The insect larvae ripen under a layer of soil for several years. The larva (Khrushchev) has a powerful jaw structure that can gnaw through the roots of old, centuries-old trees.

Closer to fall, (end of August, beginning of September) an adult specimen pecks out from the pupa and sets off to winter again in the soil. In spring, they get out and begin to reproduce again.

Harm from Khrushchev in the garden

The diet of the beetle consists of young leaves and shoots of plants. In just a few weeks, the pest can “strip out” a whole tree, leaving only smooth branches without a hint of a green outfit.

But the adult May bug is not so terrible as its offspring. The larvae are underground and actively gnaw the roots of the plant, which is why it inevitably dies.

Most of all, the insect loves fruit and flowering trees and shrubs:

  • sea ​​buckthorn;
  • apple trees;
  • Cherry
  • plum;
  • currants;
  • lilac.

But he will not refuse to spoil on a birch, aspen and other deciduous. But the pest larvae absolutely do not care which root system of which plant to destroy. Therefore, they operate under any landing.

Pest Control Chemicals

Zemlin. Means for the extermination of khrushch. It has contact and intestinal effects. Active substance: diazinon. Method of application: spraying on soil (30 g / 20m2) for flower plantings.Adding to the planting holes (10-15 g) when sowing potatoes.

Advice!
Nemabakt. Biological preparation based on selective action nematodes. Maintains soil balance for 2 years. It is safe for people, animals, environmentally friendly.

Method of application: watering when diluting the concentrate 1: 100 in the morning or evening hours. Effective at air temperature + 10 + 26С with high humidity. The death of larvae occurs on 1-3 days.

Repair. Granular insecticide for the destruction of soil pests. Method of application: mixing granules with the soil when planting crops. It stops the appearance of the pest for the entire garden season.

Aktara. A drug for the extermination of the larval form of the May beetle in contact and intestinal interaction. Release form - granules. Active ingredient: thiamethoxam.

Method of application: preparation of a solution for irrigation or application to the soil in pure form. The effect occurs an hour after application, the complete death of pests occurs within 24 hours.

Anti-crunch. Pesticide to kill larvae. Environmentally friendly, long-lasting, resistant to precipitation. Active ingredient: bifentrin, imidacloprid.

Method of application: spraying (10 ml / 10l) of potatoes before digging into the soil. Soaking the roots of tomato and cabbage seedlings (10 ml / 3 l) for 60 minutes. The rest of the product is diluted in a bucket of water and used for subsequent watering.

Watering under the root of fruit crops (10 ml / 5 l) and seedlings of other trees (10 ml / 3 l).

Attention!
Bazudin. Contact-intestinal and translaminar agent in the form of granules for the extermination of soil pests. The active substance is diazinon. Method of application: uniform application to the soil before planting. Not toxic to humans and animals (hazard class 3). Toxic to fish (hazard class 1).

Vallar. Organophosphorus compound for systemic and contact intestinal action in granular form. The active ingredient is diazinon. Method of application: root treatment of plants (8 g / 1 l) by immersion in a solution. Re-processing after 25 days.

Folk ways to fight a bug

Mechanical:

  1. Shaking off the trees. Collect fallen insects and destroy.
  2. Sticky trap. Bury a basin under the tree with the edges smeared with sticky substance. Beetles will not be able to get out of it.
  3. White sheet. Hang on a rope and illuminate with a beam of a lantern. The light will attract the males and they will gather under the sheet. They need to be collected and destroyed. Females are not susceptible to such a trap.

Biological. Birds lured by cereals or other delicacies to the affected tree will begin to eat beetles. You can use domestic chickens or hang birdhouses for birds.

Photo of Maybug larva
Photo of Maybug larva

Folk tips for fighting larvae

Mechanical. Spring collection of larvae when they are selected closer to the surface (10-20 cm) during spring heating of the soil. Not the most effective way, since it is problematic to find all the larvae, and digging the ground is not very useful.

Biological:

  • Lupins. This plant is known for the fact that no weed grass grows near it. This deprives the larvae of food, and they die from hunger.
  • Clover. White clover contains bacteria in the roots. When nitrogen begins to synthesize bacteria, the soil will become unsuitable for the pest, but good for planting growth.
  • Potassium permanganate. A weak solution is used to spray the inside of the leaves.
  • Onion peel. For strawberries and currants, a solution (100 g of husk / 10 l of water) of a five-day infusion will help well. It is diluted in a concentration of 1: 1 and treated planting and soil under them.

Preventative measures

  • The introduction of bleach with spring digging.
  • Watering strawberries with a solution of ammonia (10 ml / 10 l).

It is necessary to deal with harmful insects and their larvae. The most effective will be comprehensive measures in a combination of folk methods with chemical ones.This is the only way to save your landings from total destruction.

How to Eliminate Khrushchev

However, the May bug that appeared in the country is not a welcome guest at all. The larvae of the May beetle or, as they are also called, beetles, as well as the beetles themselves, are very dangerous pests. They love to feast on the leaves of plums, pears, apple trees, currants, cherries and many other cultivated plants.

Their gluttony is simply phenomenal. Unlike larvae, beetles can fly, so they easily get to the topmost young leaves. In addition to foliage, larvae feed on strawberry roots, potato, carrot and beet tubers.

One larva of the May beetle can completely eat the root of a two-year-old pine in 1-2 days. Imagine how long a strawberry bush lasts.

The situation is aggravated by the high fecundity of May beetles (1 uterus lays up to 70 eggs at the end of summer) and a large percentage (up to 80%) of egg survival. Within 35 days, gluttonous white larvae appear from the eggs.

How to fight a bug

Let's now look at the main ways to deal with this dangerous pest:

  • In autumn, collect from the surface of the dark soil all the white larvae of the May beetle. They are quite large, so clearly visible.
  • Clover - a natural repeller of May bugs. Plant it around the perimeter of fruit plants.
  • Attract insectivorous birds to the site. To do this, make and install several birdhouses on the territory of the garden plot.
  • Water the ground with infusion of onion husks (300 g of husk in 10 liters of warm water). This will scare off the crap from your territory.
  • To make the beetle larvae difficult, and in most cases impossible to penetrate into the soil at all, mulch it with straw, hay or sawdust.
  • In the vicinity of berry and vegetable crops, plant lupins, mustard, elderberry and other odorous plants with a pungent odor.

Trap

You can catch May bugs using simple traps:

  • Take a basin with deep edges, grease the inner surface with solid oil or glue from pests, put the included flashlight inside and put it overnight in the garden.
  • Hang plastic bottles with a cut neck on your fruit trees. Their inner surface can be treated with glue from insects. Pour fermented jam or sugar solution onto the bottom of each such trap.
  • In late April - early May, when the May beetles begin their flights, the usual procedure for shaking fruit trees is effective. Beetles that have not completely departed from the winter stupor will fall to the ground, where they can be easily picked up.

How to deal with the Maybug larva

The larvae of the May beetle (Khrushchev) are called “furrows”. It is from them that the danger to seedlings comes. The problem of damage to cultivated plants is faced by thousands of people in the summer season.

Important!
The female bug beetle lays eggs in the ground, a month later larvae appear that immediately begin to “attack” all living things, which is at the level of thirty centimeters. Favorite pest treats: strawberries, potatoes, strawberries, corn and lawn grass roots.

There are many methods to combat the May bugs in the ground, but several are really effective.

Onion husk tincture. From the moment of planting, you need to systematically water the soil with tincture. For cooking you will need: onion husk, bucket, water. At the bottom of the bucket, place the husk (one third), pour boiling water and let it brew for five to six days. Water the plants with this solution daily. This serves as an excellent method for pest control.

Chlorine solution. Before planting, fill the wells with a solution. So that he does not touch the roots, the distance should be at least five centimeters. For a bleach solution you will need: one hundred grams of bleach and half a liter of water. Use once before boarding.

Purchased funds

The drug "Antichrush" will become a reliable assistant in the fight against the larvae of the May beetle.Before using this chemical, you need to be extremely careful, otherwise you can get rid of the beneficial inhabitants of the soil with pests. It is also advisable to limit the ingress of any drug to the roots of plants. It is worth carefully studying the instructions.

The initiator preparation in the form of tablets contains both an insecticide and a mineral complex of fertilizers. It should be introduced to the depth of the root system of the plant or to the depth of the planting holes during planting of vegetable crops and during the vegetation of plants.

The drug "Prestige." This product should be diluted in a proportion of 2 mg of product per 10 liters of water and pour 200 grams of the prepared solution under the plant.

Prevention

  • Before planting cultivated plants, abundantly fill the ground with water. May beetle larvae are not moisture resistant and die upon contact with large amounts of water.
  • To speed up the processing of organic residues in the soil, annually adding to the soil micelles of the Trichoderma fungus in the form of Gliocladin or GHE BM preparations, as well as introducing beneficial bacteria using Baikal EM-1 or Radiance preparations;
  • Around the site with plants to plant turnips.
  • To bury mustard or cabbage leaves in the ground, this will push away the furrows.
  • Before planting, treat the seedlings with chemical agents. Not the best option for health, but the absence of nearby Maybug larvae provides.
  • In October, it is recommended to dig up the earth and treat it with chlorine.
  • You can dig the soil and pick larvae yourself. But this is not the best option in terms of wasting time and efficiency.
  • Dilute twenty milliliters of ammonia in ten liters of water. With this mixture, water the area where planting is planned.

Effective and proven way

In order to once and for all get rid of the larvae of the May beetle, you need to understand why it was your site that the beetles were chosen for the production of posterity.

And for this, you need to know what living conditions they need and understand what they do not like.

Advice!
The chafer beetle appears in spring, when birch leaves blossom, which are their favorite treat. Closer to midnight, the beetles are located on the branches of a birch and arrange a feast there for the whole world.

They also do not disdain the rest of deciduous species of trees and shrubs (maple, oak, poplar, willow, and from fruit trees - apple, plum, pear).

Females of the May beetle find suitable soil (which will be discussed later on which soil is suitable) and lay eggs at a depth of 25-30. One female can lay up to 70 pieces! Larvae of them come out in a month and a half.

The term of development of larvae to adulthood is 3-4 years. While they are small (first year) they feed on decaying plant debris and do not harm vegetable and berry crops. In the second year, they become larger and they develop powerful jaws.

Here they have an incredible increase in appetite, and their taste preferences change: the larvae begin to feed on the roots of plants (especially like the roots of strawberries and strawberries). They are able to completely destroy the planting of vegetable crops and berries, and can also gnaw root crops and bulbs.

You probably noticed that some bushes of wild strawberries or perennial ornamental plants lag behind in development and inexplicably fade. Dig them out - it is quite possible that you will find among the roots white thick larvae with six short legs and a dark head. This is the beetle larva.

Riddle No. 1. But why does the female May bug not lay eggs right under the birch, but choose the soil in our gardens?

The fact is that birch grows on neutral soil! And only in neutral soil (or in slightly acidic) high content of mobile (assimilable) nitrogen.

Attention!
SECRET No. 1. The larva of the May beetle does not tolerate high concentrations of nitrogen !!! This conclusion was made by biologists.

Therefore, the female carefully chooses a place for laying eggs, creating all the conditions for the normal development and growth of her offspring (like any caring mother). And our kitchen gardens turn out to be the most ideal place, on which the soil is mostly acidic, which means that the nitrogen content is low.

Conclusion: So, the most effective way to get rid of the May beetle larvae is to create a high concentration of nitrogen in your garden (we are talking about nitrogen-fixing bacteria, not nitrogen-containing fertilizers).

How to get rid of beetles and larvae of the May beetle?

May beetles, or khrushchev, are insects of the lamellar family that live in Europe and Asia.

More recently, they caused enormous damage to crops, but due to the widespread use of pesticides, their numbers have declined significantly.

After some time, there was a ban on the use of many chemicals, and the number of beetles began to increase again. The larva of the May beetle can cause enormous damage to plants, so this pest must be combated.

Description

The chafer is large, reaching a length of 31.5 mm. The insect consists of a head, legs, chest and abdomen. The body of the beetle is convex, barrel-shaped, oblong-oval. It is covered with small scales forming longitudinal strips. The body is red-brown or black in color, with red-brown or yellow-brown elytra.

There may be a faint greenish tint on the pronotum and head. Sometimes, according to the description, the May beetle resembles a green bronze, which is listed in the Red Book and is absolutely harmless to agriculture.

Important!
On the chest of the pest there are three pairs of walking legs, which are covered with hairs and have claws with which it clings to the foliage and bark. There is a mouth and sensory organs on the head, two complex faceted eyes on the sides. The abdomen is connected to the chest.

The female lays eggs in four cycles, and the total number of eggs laid can reach 70 pieces. Having laid the last clutch, the female dies. The larvae appearing after some time from the eggs have a light color. Their body is thick and curved with three pairs of tenacious little legs.

Harm

Khrushchev feeds on the young leaves of trees such as linden, poplar, mountain ash, oak, aspen, birch, and maple. On garden plots, fruit trees and shrubs become victims of the pest:

  • Apple tree;
  • black currant;
  • plum;
  • sea ​​buckthorn;
  • cherry.

Lilac also attracts the May bug, but herbaceous plants are not interested in it.

Plants are harmed not only by adults, but also by their larvae, which bite the roots of vegetable crops, ornamental and fruit trees and shrubs, lawn grass, and strawberries. One biennial larva can eat the roots of a two-year-old pine tree in a week, and a three-year-old larva does this in one day.

There are many ways to deal with khrushch. Many of them are quite effective. Some require significant physical effort, while others require investment.

Trapping and mechanical collection

Catching the May beetles is the most effective way to rid the garden of pests. It is carried out as follows:

  1. Installation of a light trap. To do this, you need to take the pelvis, coat it inside with a solidol or other viscous substance. A light source, for example, a candle or a flashlight, is installed at the bottom of the container. With the onset of darkness, the pelvis is taken out into the garden. Insects flock to the light and get stuck in a solidol.
  2. From newspapers that are smeared with adhesive, they make glue traps and hang them on trees or lay them on strawberry beds.
  3. Mechanical collection of larvae is a rather laborious process. For this, the garden plot in the summer should be dug to a depth of 10–20 cm. But if it is occupied by crops, then this method will not be possible to apply.

Biological methods

You can fight the pest with the help of biological preparations.The most effective and safe for plants and people is Nemabact.

Advice!
It was created on the basis of a nematode - a worm that lives in the soil and feeds on larvae. Nemabact allows you to get rid of the larvae pretty quickly. The worms are contained in a special bio-soil, which is ready for use.

Maybug larvae do not like nitrogen in the soil. That is why white clover should be planted in trunk circles. Its roots begin to process nitrogen and spread it to the roots of plants growing in the neighborhood.

This method of control is not only effective, but also completely safe for plants. In addition, white clover helps to reduce the number of weeds on the site.

Chemicals

In order to get rid of the larvae of the creep, the drug Zemlin is used. To do this, fill a 0.5 liter jar with пе dry sand or sawdust, add the contents of the Zemlin package, mix it and, when planting seedlings, add a teaspoon of this mixture to each well.

Antichrush is a drug based on a substance with a contact-intestinal effect that damages the pest's nervous system. The product is added to the soil, they are watered with plants under the root, the roots of the plants are moistened before planting. Antichrush is highly effective and is not washed off by a rain.

Actara is an insecticide of intestinal and contact damage. They produce it in the form of granules, which are applied in bulk to the soil, and they also make a solution. The drug fights well with various pests, including with larvae of the creeper. To protect plants that are grown in the open ground, they are watered under the root with a solution of the drug.

Bazudin is an insecticide that kills soil pests by intestinal, contact and translaminar routes. The product is released in the form of granules and for a long time protects plants from insects. To process 20 sq. m garden plot, you will need 30 g of insecticide.

Nurell-D - this agent has a poisonous effect on the larvae and adult individuals of the khrushch. The solution is treated with plants, watering it under the root.

Initiative is a chemical agent that is used to combat insect pests, including the May bug. The drug is added to the wells during planting of tubers or scattered on the surface of the soil when planting seedlings of flowers.

Folk methods

To get rid of the larvae on the site, you can use folk methods of struggle. The most effective means are infusions of herbs that process the soil around plants:

  • 1 kg of dry acacia bark for three days, insist in 10 liters of water, filter the solution and treat it with a plant;
  • a pound of sunflower flowers is poured with a bucket of water and insisted for three days;
  • pour half a bucket of poplar leaves with a bucket of boiling water and boil for 15 minutes, then bring to a volume of 10 l with water and insist for three days.

These listed funds are recommended to be used from May larvae larvae no later than 2-3 hours after preparation.

Attention!
Another method that helps to get rid of the larvae of the horsetail on strawberries and currants is to spray with a solution of onion husks. To do this, 100 g of husk must be insisted in 10 l of water for 5 days. Then the tincture is diluted with water and the affected plants and the ground underneath are sprayed.

As a prophylaxis in spring, soil in near-stem tree circles or around strawberries is shed with a solution of 10–20 ml of ammonia diluted in 10 l of water. Spring digging of the garden plot and loosening of the soil between the potato rows throughout the summer helps in pest control.

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