Content
Potatoes have long become an indispensable food crop for us. Both large agricultural holdings and ordinary summer residents are engaged in the cultivation of this vegetable. At the same time, the appearance of a wireworm is not excluded both on the personal plot and on the potato field. How to deal with this pest? Traditional methods, an impressive arsenal of the latest chemical and biochemical preparations, and the arrangement of traps can help. It is worth paying special attention to the prevention methods developed by farmers, which will help to forever block the wireworm's way to the site.
Gardeners have developed a special extermination tactics for each pest of hearth and vegetable crops.
Several methods are used to get rid of the wireworm on the site.
To get rid of the wireworm, you need to get to know the enemy better. To do this, consider its biological features.
Inexperienced gardeners often confuse wireworm with useful worms, but in fact this yellowish-brown "worm" is a beetle larva. The adult (imago) is the click beetle. He has an inconspicuous appearance - black elytra and an elongated body, reaching a length of up to 50 mm. The bug got its name for the clicking sound made when trying to roll over from the back. The beetle's life cycle ends in a year, when the female lays about a hundred eggs.
The worm-like larva reaches a length of 2–3 cm, has a strong chitinous membrane. If you turn the worm over, you can see three pairs of legs. The body consists of thirteen segments, the head is flat. Well-developed mandibles are located on the head, helping the parasite to bite into the pulp of root crops. Due to the dense cover, crushing the worm will not work. Larvae hatch from eggs laid by the female in plant debris. The life cycle of the pest is 4 years.
Young specimens cannot do much damage to the crop due to their small size, but specimens 3-4 years old are incredibly voracious. They damage root crops, destroy cereal grains before germination, but pose the greatest threat to potato tubers. The passages gnawed by the larvae lead to rotting of tubers, damage to the presentation, making storage impossible.
Advice
If you find even a few worms while digging holes for planting, take urgent measures to combat the growing population.
Popular methods of destroying the wireworm are based on its habits. Let us consider in more detail the features of the pest's behavior.
Knowledge of the above signs gives gardeners an advantage in the fight and the possibility of completely expelling the wireworm from the potato field.
Having noticed the appearance of a wireworm on the site, do not rush to radical methods. Chemicals are used only when the planting area is heavily populated, and proven folk methods will perfectly cope with a small population.
Our ancestors have long noticed that a pest can be lured and destroyed. Although this method will bring a lot of trouble, the result will certainly please. Experienced gardeners note that the bait allows you to get rid of a large number of larvae - 20–80%. To implement this method, let's return to the biological characteristics of the wireworm and remember what it loves.
The bait is based on the food preferences of the larvae and beetles, and should be placed in places where the concentration of pests is higher. In this case, the design of the trap does not play a special role.
The simplest trap can be built on the basis of a glass jar. Place the pest's favorite food inside the container - chopped root vegetables, sprouted corn kernels. Now the jar needs to be buried so that the neck is level with the soil. Red worms will begin to crawl to the smell of your favorite food. Once inside the jar, they cannot get out on the smooth surface of the glass. Once every 2-3 days, remove and destroy the caught individuals, update the cuts on root crops. Replace the bait completely weekly. It is advisable to put 10 jars on each hundred square meters. Chickens will help to destroy the caught wireworm.
Advice
If the containers are not enough, simplify the design. String the peeled pieces of potatoes on a string or twig and bury them in a groove to a depth of 10 cm. Leave the top of the twig outside as an identification mark.
You don't even have to invent a design, but build a hole 10 cm deep and put the bait inside. Cover the hole with tar paper or boards on top.
In addition to food, wireworms seek to find a damp, dark place in the summer, and hide in warm shelters for the winter. In autumn and early spring, build an artificial shelter for the larvae and female beetle - make a shallow hole with a flat bottom, cover with plant debris, straw, humus. Better if it is potato tops or wheatgrass, a favorite of the parasite. After a few days, burn a pile of grass along with the larvae and clutch of eggs basking in the heat.
It is advisable to soak the tubers in chemicals, then the eaten food will poison the parasite. Adult beetles are caught in the spring by making a bait from a regular board or oilcloth. Brush one side with thick sugar syrup. The bugs that flock to the treat will stick and die.
You can do bait seeding from swollen corn kernels. Plant the corn around the perimeter of the field in 50 cm increments. The young seeds will attract the wireworm. When sprouts appear, pluck the corn along with the parasite.
Potassium permanganate will help protect planting from pests and fungal infections.
This method is relevant only when the field is slightly infested.
Each individual of the animal world has food preferences and will not eat food that it does not like. Gardeners have compiled a whole menu for the potato wireworm, which will help scare them away from planting.
An uninvited guest will not like the following "dishes":
The methods of using the listed plants are described below.
The aroma of onions is not to the liking of many pests; the wireworm is one of them. You can put an armful of husks into the hole just before planting, and pour a handful of ash on top. This technique will scare off the larvae. Also, gardeners soak tubers in a decoction of onion peels - it will serve as protection against fungi.
Sowing siderates on the site brings the plants undeniable benefits. Green fertilizer enriches the soil with nitrogen in an easily digestible form, structures and loosens the soil. Large amounts of nitrogen produced by nodule bacteria phacelia, lupine, peas or mustard, will scare away the lover of juicy tubers.
Siderata are sown in early spring, and after the growth of green mass, they are mowed and embedded in the soil. It is advisable to sow only part of the field for recovery, and plant potatoes in this place next spring. You can sow green fertilizers after harvesting early-maturing cultivars, this will save time and harvest.
Advice
Throw one bean into each hole. This plant is excellently adjacent to potatoes, saturates the earth with nitrogen, regulates the level of soil acidity.
The wireworm cannot stand the aroma of pine needles. This feature is used by gardeners to drive the parasite from the site. The event is held in the fall, digging fresh pine needles in the aisles.
The smell of mustard is not to the liking of the larvae of the click beetle. Mustard powder is an excellent alternative to green manure planting and chemical treatment. It is poured into the hole just before disembarkation. If you spice up mustard powder with hot pepper, the pest will not approach the plantings at all.
Fragrant marigolds are not liked by nematodes, aphids, spider mites, wireworms and other pests. An unpretentious flower will decorate the site, help to bring uninvited guests.
how drop off marigold? Do not skimp on space for a flower, sow seeds in each row of a potato field, between the beds, along the perimeter of the site. Even the smell of the tops will scare off parasites, so in the fall, chop the greens and embed them in the soil.
Herbs that are found near every vegetable garden will help to get rid of the wireworm - celandine, dandelion, nettle.
They are crushed and soaked in 10 liters of water, then used to water the soil. To prepare the infusion, you will need a pound of nettle, or 200 g of dandelion, or 100 g of celandine.
The first two plants insist 12 hours, celandine will take three days.
Chemicals and mineral fertilizers affect the quality of the crop. If folk methods are ineffective or the population is too large, the fight against the wireworm in the potato field turns into a large-scale war.
Experienced gardeners recommend the following insecticides:
The listed drugs are toxic to humans and animals, therefore, strictly follow the instructions for use, observe the recommended dosage and use personal protective equipment. Substances have a powdery or granular appearance and are poured into the wells during planting.Gradually the granules dissolve, surrounding the well with a protective halo.
From fertilizers, the larvae of click beetles do not tolerate ammonia compounds. Use ammonium sulfate or chloride, ammonium nitrate. Saltpeter will need 15 g per m22, the remaining fertilizers are twice as much.
Wireworms, like all living things on Earth, have natural enemies. The biological defense of plantings is based on attracting natural enemies. A microscopic worm - a predatory nematode - is fatal to the larvae. The powder of the drug "Nemabakt" contains not only a predator, but also a friendly bacterium. Together, microscopic creatures help get rid of the intruder.
The beauty of the drug "Nemabakt" is complete safety for humans and other representatives of the fauna, that is, the nematode will destroy only the wireworm, not paying attention to ordinary earthworms. Another plus - for the winter the nematode will hibernate, the worm will actively fight the population of larvae for two years. The powder is diluted with water, naturally heated to room temperature, introduced into the soil according to the instructions.
Advice
A new soil "Zashchita" has been developed, enriched with predatory nematodes. It is brought into the landing holes.
Also, the natural enemies of the pest include birds, toads and beetles of the ground beetle family. Try to lure the feathered allies by setting up a birdhouse.
What else can you advise gardeners to combat the wireworm? Observance of agrotechnical rules, of course. If you monitor the condition of the soil and cleanliness in the garden, most pests will bypass it.
Use the following tips to keep the larvae out of the planting.
It is quite difficult to eradicate the wireworm due to the peculiarities of the life cycle, but nothing is impossible in this. The methods of dealing with a gluttonous pest given in the article will certainly help you preserve the harvest.
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