The wireworm is the larva of the click beetle, which is an oval elongated body. The larvae of these pests are very tough and have a shiny surface. Wireworms, like the Colorado potato beetles, can cause serious harm to potato tubers. However, unlike the colorful Colorado potato beetles, which eat the green parts of the plant, these pests are difficult to spot as they destroy the potatoes underground. For this reason, wireworms are difficult to fight.
Characteristics and description of the wireworm
Wireworms feed on almost all vegetative parts of the plant: roots, stems, fruits, leaves and seeds. They eat up the inner flesh of tubers and root crops. As a result, the fruits become unsuitable for food. To get rid of the misfortune, first you need to find out what this pest looks like. The larvae reach a length of about 10-50 mm, have an elongated and strong body. It's quite difficult to crush it. The color of the worm is brown, orange or yellow. The life span of click beetles is about 5 years, and the larvae persist from 3 to 4 years. At the beginning of development, they do not cause much harm to root crops, but after a year they can destroy the crop. After 4 years, an adult beetle is born from the pupa.
Fighting the wireworm in the vegetable garden
Many insects can be easily removed from your garden by spraying with special chemicals. The war with the wireworm could drag on. What should be done to get rid of an unwanted neighbor in the beds? Its main habitat is soil, so getting to it is quite problematic. It is necessary to take a comprehensive approach to solving the problem and use simultaneously agrotechnical, chemical and mechanical means of control.
How to deal with a wireworm
- Weeding and loosening the soil in spring, removing particularly harmful weeds, for example, wheatgrass, quinoa, as well as pupae and larvae of beetles;
- Application of crop rotation rules, which involves planting potatoes in front of beans or peas;
- Planting green manure plants that effectively repel wireworms. This can be mustard, alfalfa and lupine;
- Planting lettuce bushes next to potato ridges. In this case, the procrastination switches to eating the roots of the lettuce;
- Digging up the soil in late autumn, which significantly reduces the risk of pests in the spring.
Wireworm control chemicals
As effective chemicals, many gardeners and gardeners often use superphosphate fertilizers, which are pre-treated with an insecticide. Along with them, Aktellik, Dencis and Karate effectively help.Superphosphate granules are poured into the wells, which are sprayed with a special solution. The composition includes water, acetone and Actellic.
With an increase in the number of larvae over time, it will be necessary to use the highly toxic Bazudin, Diazinon. Both drugs are very dangerous for pests and no less poisonous for humans. Prestige, which is also used in the fight against Colorado beetles or wireworms, has a low toxicity. As for Provotox, this drug does not pose a danger to earthworms, it acts for a long time in the soil. Some breeders use Kapkan, Zemlin, Force or Dohlox. However, each of the above insecticides requires special handling, the preparation of chemical solutions must comply with the instructions, and spraying must be carried out with protective gloves.
Fighting wireworm folk remedies
It should be borne in mind that the use of chemicals can cause serious harm to a person when consumed, therefore it is recommended to contact them only as a last resort. Folk remedies are a great alternative.
As folk methods of struggle, you should take into account:
- Infusion of celandine is watered on the soil in the garden;
- Wood ash is strewn between the rows of planted plants. Thanks to her, the larvae of the clicker die over time;
- Nitrogen fertilizers not only provide top dressing for root crops, but at the same time are an excellent method of influencing wireworms. When watering, you can add ammonium to the water;
- Lime is a means that is introduced into the soil and deoxidizes it, as a result of which the number of larvae decreases markedly. Instead of lime, chalk or dolomite flour is added to the soil every few years;
- The cheapest and most effective ingredient is eggshell;
- As bait for pests, peels from beets, carrots or other vegetable peels are placed in the pits, and they are covered with plywood on top. Sometimes hay, grass or straw is used. After a few days, beetles accumulate in these pits, which are then set on fire. Such baits are installed before planting root crops and repeat the activities several times per season. With the onset of autumn, the larvae can be lured by the remains of manure or straw, which are evenly distributed throughout the site. As soon as the temperature drops, the larvae are collected and destroyed;
- For growing potato tubers in soil that has an alkaline or neutral environment, a solution of potassium permanganate is used. You need to take 5 g of the substance in a bucket of water. Wells are treated with this solution before planting. If the soil is acidic, then such procedures can harm the roots of the seedlings. In this case, instead of potassium permanganate, the holes are sprinkled with ordinary onion husks, as well as coniferous needles.
Preventive actions
It is not so easy to remove the wireworm from the site, so it is better to try to avoid such a problem and regularly carry out a set of preventive measures aimed at reducing the risk of larvae appearing in your garden.
- Periodically change the place of growing potatoes, but at least once every 2-3 years.
- Every year in the spring and autumn, dig up the soil in such a way that the depth of digging is as wide as a shovel. In the fall, carrying out such work is especially important, because all the larvae appear on the surface and die with the onset of frost. Spring cultivation ensures that weeds are removed from the soil. Their rhizomes serve as the main food for wireworms.
- It is also necessary to loosen the soil in the garden in May and June, since in this case the larvae of the beetles fall to the surface, and then burn out in the sun.
- It is required to regularly weed the entire area from various weeds that provoke the appearance of larvae. To effectively combat them, the chemical Roundup is used.
- After harvesting, it is required to remove excess grass and tops. In old rotten grass, beetles often arrange comfortable and warm wintering places for themselves.
- To scare away clickers, you can plant marigolds next to cultivated plants. Pests like their aroma very much, but the juice of the stems will be poisonous. The legume family, such as peas, beans, and beans, repels wireworms because their roots are rich in nitrogen. The effect is enhanced when a phacelia is planted next to the legumes, which is able to neutralize the acidic environment.
- Mustard and oil crops: rapeseed, radish, spinach, buckwheat, mustard are natural remedies for wireworm control. For this reason, it is periodically recommended to organize sowing of such plants next to the potatoes, then the larvae quickly die or become beetles and free the garden.
- Be wary of dubious advice on using rye from pests. Rye makes the soil infertile and attracts insects, so it is worth looking for a replacement for this plant.
- To cope with the threat allows a thorough treatment of the soil with table salt, which is carried out 1 time in 7 years.
- On an area that has not been cultivated for a long time, the soil will contain a large number of wireworms. Initially, you need to get rid of all the larvae and roots, sow the treated area with oil or legumes, and only then plant the potatoes.
How to get rid of a wireworm in an area
Wireworm in potatoes
If prevention did not help, and the larvae appeared in the potato field, then you should not postpone the solution to the problem on the back burner. Take prompt action to place baits and traps in the area. The most effective baits are slices of carrots and beets, which are covered with something on top. Such pieces of root vegetables are placed in glass jars. Insects and larvae gather in them. After a few days, the containers are taken out of the ground and the insects inside are removed.
An infusion of medicinal herbs from the leaves of nettle, celandine, dandelion is considered an effective means of combating larvae. The prepared collection is filtered, after which the affected area is watered.
The duration of growing a crop in one place should be no more than two years. Before planting, potato tubers are treated with Prestige solution. It protects them from insects and bears. Do not forget about preventive measures.
Wireworm in carrots
It is not recommended to use toxic chemicals in this case, as they accumulate inside the root crops. Folk remedies, traps, soil treatment with herbal infusions will be no less effective and effective measures. It is better to grow marigolds, mustard, beans, peas and soy next to carrots.
