Who can eat potatoes in the ground: parasites that gnaw the tubers from the inside, treatment

Asked by: Soldatenkov, date: 05/22/2021

Answered by: Daria Korobova, date: 05/30/2021

Ground rats are excellent swimmers. You can identify them on the site by gnawed potatoes or other root vegetables. They act in the same way as mole rats. Unlike mole rats, their burrows and passages are not so deep - approximately 15-25 cm from the surface of the earth.

Who can eat potatoes in the ground. Potato tubers can suffer not only from insects and their larvae. No less dangerous are rodents who are not averse to eating nutritious and tasty root vegetables. The most common of them: vole; mole rat; earth rat. These rodents vary in size and appearance, but they all pose a danger.

Asked by: Rasim Koveshnikov, date: 07/01/2021

What bugs eat potatoes?

Answered by: Rostislav Polushkin, date: 07/09/2021

Insects - potato pests

Andean weevils
Greenhouse whitefly
Potato ladybug
Potato moth
Potato flea beetles
Colorado beetle
Chafer
Medvedki

Contents: Colorado potato beetle Golden potato nematode Wireworm Khrushchi Mole cricket Potato aphid Potato cutworm Onion root mite Potato flea beetle Potato moth Colorado potato beetle. The most common pest of potatoes and other nightshade crops. Nature of damage. Beetles and larvae are extremely voracious. They eat the leaves, leaving only thick veins and stems.

Asked by: Magomed Avvakumov, date: 08/28/2021

Who damages potato tubers?

Answered by: Daria Bondareva, date: 09.27.2021

The pest is the cutworm butterfly, which leaves its larvae on the inside of leaves. Cutworm caterpillars gnaw through the stem close to the surface of the ground and damage the tubers. Pests can be controlled using the same chemicals that are used against the Colorado potato beetle.

Colorado beetle

The most famous enemy of potatoes is the Colorado potato beetle, which damages its vegetative organs and tubers. Beetles and larvae eat leaves, not disdaining young shoots.

Asked by: Varvara Malkova, date: 10/16/2021

Who gnaws potato stems?

Answered by: Dina Krasovskaya, date: 11/04/2021

On potato plantings, the most harmful are winter and potato armyworms. The fall armyworm can cause great damage during the period of emergence and formation of the third pair of leaves. Potato stems are gnawed at the soil level, and cavities with the skin intact at the edges are gnawed out in tubers.

The cutworm potato pest gnaws at the stem and makes its way along it into the tuber, where it continues to actively feed and grow. It turns out that the fruit looks quite healthy and attractive, while its core has already been eaten away.

Asked by: Alena Voronchikhina, date: 07.15.2021

Viral diseases of potatoes

Potato viruses are the most dangerous because there are no drugs against them yet. As for prevention, there are a lot of such methods, but they do not provide a complete guarantee of protecting potatoes from viruses.

Mosaic

This disease usually occurs in hot summers. Mosaic can destroy a third of the crop. It manifests itself as an abundance of spots on the leaves (as in the photo), which ultimately leads to the death of the bush. To prevent mosaic or rust, a week after germination, the bushes are sprayed with an aqueous solution of fungicides.

Necrosis

This disease causes slow rotting of tubers. In the above-ground part, in the initial stage, the disease does not manifest itself in any way. At the height of the disease, when the bush is already doomed to death, foci of rot appear on the leaves and branches in the form of stripes, spots or rings. There is no cure. Necrosis cannot destroy the entire potato crop, but it will destroy at least half of the crop.

Gothic

This is a very interesting disease. Under its influence, the bushes take on an unsightly appearance, but the tubers do not suffer at all and do not even lose their taste. True, the percentage of starch content in them decreases.

The Gothic virus has the ability to quickly spread throughout the area. The disease also cannot be treated, and the only preventive measure is compliance with the rules of crop rotation.

Twisting (L-virus)

From the name it is clear that the disease manifests itself by curling the leaves into tubes, which later dry out. The virus of this disease lives on the surface of the soil, and therefore is quickly spread by insects or rain. Only correct crop rotation gives a chance to avoid this disease. There is no treatment for leaf curl.

Stolbur

The causative agent is phytoplasma. The first signs of the disease are a change in the shape of the upper leaves on the affected bush and their redness. Later, all the tops begin to fade. If the disease occurs at the flowering stage, then under its influence the flowers take on an ugly appearance.

The tubers of the affected bushes do not die, but also do not grow to their normal size.

The stolbur is manifested on the seed by the fact that the sprouts emerging from the tuber are too thin.

The disease is incurable. Its prevention involves careful care and spraying the bushes with an aqueous solution of Karbofos.

Who eats the flowers on potatoes?

Answered by: Edgar Logvinov, date: 04/23/2021

There are also those who adore potatoes from tuber to flower (Colorado beetle). The main potato pests in most regions are the mole cricket and the Colorado potato beetle. There are many more less common, but also harmful insects.

A characteristic sign of the presence of a mite on potatoes is a silvery small cobweb entwining the underside of leaves and flowers.

Potato scoop. An inconspicuous gray butterfly is capable of destroying potato plantings over a large area. Female pests lay up to 60-70 eggs, from which caterpillars emerge in late spring.

Asked by: Alevtina Litvinova, date: 03/13/2021

Common potato pests

There are more and more complaints that the potatoes are poorly stored and that someone else and something else is laying claim to them at the same time as the person.

In addition to the fact that potatoes are greatly degenerating, they are damaged by non-parasitic diseases, and pests have recently become more active. In addition to the Colorado potato beetle, potato moths have appeared and are actively causing damage during cultivation and storage.

This common and very dangerous quarantine pest of potatoes severely damages food and seed potatoes stored for storage, and makes them absolutely unsuitable for food, much less for reproduction. Damage to potatoes occurs at elevated temperatures, so it is better to store seed planting material until germination or warming up at a temperature not exceeding 3-5 ° C. At higher temperatures, potato moth multiplies very quickly (gives 3-4 generations), and by the end of the storage period, only rot remains from the tubers.

These photos show what the potato pest moth looks like:

The most dangerous thing is that potato moths are difficult to notice. Therefore, against this harmful pest, it is necessary to carry out proactive spraying with systemic preparations such as “Aktara” or “Apache” with strict adherence to waiting periods. To treat potato planting material against pests, it is permissible to use the drug “Prestige”, which protects potatoes throughout the growing season from most soil and other pests. When potatoes are infected while still in the field, the potato moth (caterpillar) causes the main damage in the basement, where the potatoes are stored all winter. Potato moth caterpillars gnaw holes in tubers starting from the eyes and pass through the surface layer of the pulp. The peel above the passages dries out and wrinkles, and excrement entangled in cobwebs accumulates at the entrance hole.

The main pests of potatoes also include wireworms. These are the larvae of click beetles that lead a secretive lifestyle, live and develop in the soil for 3-4 years. They bite into tubers, root crops, and damage underground parts of many plants.

Due to their secretive lifestyle, the fight against wireworms is very difficult. The use of chemicals in household plots is undesirable from an environmental point of view. The list of drugs for combating soil pests of potatoes is extremely limited; not many are allowed, for example, such as “Provotox”, “Zemlin” or “Pochin”. And here, every amateur gardener should know that when using chemicals, root and bulbous vegetable plants cannot be planted; for other green plants there are waiting periods that must be observed. The use of biological agents to protect potatoes from pests is generally ineffective. It follows that only agrotechnical measures can solve the problem.

Liming helps reduce the number of wireworms, provided the soils are acidic. Weeds are eliminated on any soil, especially creeping wheatgrass.

Wireworms are considered one of the most dangerous pests not only of potatoes, but also of other tuber crops. Before planting potatoes, you can catch wireworms in the area using bait from slices or small potato tubers with wire rods stuck into them. The baits are buried in the ground to a depth of 5-7 cm every 0.5-1 m. And after 2-3 days the baits are removed and the larvae are selected from them. And finally, to combat these potato pests, you can use such a measure as manual sampling of yellow wireworm larvae that come across during digging and loosening, and chicken owners can use poultry for this purpose.

What is the name of the worm that eats potatoes?

Answered by: Mark Zhuchkov, date: 04/04/2021

Colorado potato beetle This native of distant America is, unfortunately, familiar to absolutely everyone who grows potatoes. Beetles and larvae of the Colorado potato beetle feed on the leaves of representatives of the nightshades: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, which makes them dangerous agricultural pests.

One of the most dangerous quarantine pests, called the potato nematode, is a miniature worm measuring 0.6-1 mm. The body of females is slightly smaller than that of males. The nematode lives on the roots of cultivated and weed plants belonging to the nightshade family. In addition to potatoes, it can parasitize peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, physalis, black nightshade, henbane and others.

Asked by: Igor Rakov, date: 06/10/2021

Preventive measures

Preventing disease is the best way to grow healthy vegetables and harvest voluminous harvests.

Timely processing of bushes

If tops are found infected with Colorado potato beetle larvae, the bushes are sprayed with an infusion of wormwood, celandine or tansy roots. It is advisable to spray beds of significant size with insecticides.

When potato plantings are damaged by cutworms, wilted stems and caterpillars are removed. Biological products (Fitoverm, Akarin, Bicol) have proven themselves well.

Soil care

For preventive purposes, deep autumn digging of the soil is most often carried out. For disinfection, the soil is treated with a fresh solution of potassium permanganate (5 g diluted in a ten-liter bucket of water).

A good way is to sprinkle the bed with lime and dolomite flour (800-900 g of powder is used per square meter of bed). This will reduce the number of pests by a couple of times.

Wireworm larvae do not tolerate soil treatment with ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate. Apply 20-30 g of the drug per square meter of area.

What is wireworm on potatoes?

Answered by: Nadezhda Smagina, date: 06/12/2021

The wireworm is the ubiquitous larva of the click beetle: the insect is dangerous for potatoes precisely at this larval stage, and it can last a long time - from 2 to 5 years. The wireworm owes its name to its hard, wire-like chitinous shell; the color of the insect is from yellow to light brown.

The problem of many gardeners is wireworm. The pest itself is the larva of a click beetle, which looks like a caterpillar - a worm. The pest received this name due to its elongated, rigid body, which resembles a short (10-45 mm) piece of yellow-brown shiny wire. The larva lives in the soil, seriously damaging and destroying crops.

Asked by: Azamat Rukavishnikov, date: 08/02/2021

What plants does wireworm damage?

The wireworm is not a species of insect, but a click beetle larva. The beetles themselves do not cause much harm - they feed on the leaves of cereals. But their females lay up to 100 eggs over the summer, from which a serious enemy of potato plantations emerges - the wireworm.

The larva is a long-liver among insects: if there is food, it can live in the ground for up to 5 years, eating crops. It is difficult to physically destroy a wireworm - it lives underground, breaking through winding passages through which it quickly escapes from the threat.

click beetle and larva (wireworm) enemy of the gardener

2-4 year old individuals are considered dangerous. These wireworms are easily recognized by their clearly segmented body (which makes them look like a worm) with many legs. The length of the larva is 2-3 cm. The color varies from yellow-chestnut to dark brown.

Adult worms have a very thick chitinous shell. It is almost impossible to crush an insect - if you catch a pest, it is easier to tear it apart, cut it into two parts. Although potatoes are considered its favorite food, the wireworm does not disdain almost anything:

Corn, tomatoes, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage.
A plant at any stage of development: from seed to fruiting stage, dying.
Any parts of plantings: root system, fruits, stems, leaves.

The cunning of the pest is that it tolerates wintering well in frozen ground. If you do not control the wireworm this year, the larva will continue to destroy plantings in future seasons.

How to deal with wireworm?

Answered by: Boris Agarkov, date: 08/15/2021

We have collected the most effective ones.

Dry mustard powder. Used as a remedy for wireworms when planting potatoes.
Onion peel. Grind and apply to the ground before planting.
Herbal collection. For 10 liters of water take 200 g of dandelion infusion or 500 g of nettle infusion.
Celandine.

Among the chemicals used by gardeners to combat wireworms, the most common are: Aktara, Prestige, Bazudin. There is a means of biological attack, Nemabact, but the use of such methods must be carefully weighed and thought out, since in essence it is the breeding of insects that prey on wireworms.

Asked by: David Agayev, date: 07.29.2021

What do wireworm larvae look like?

Answered by: Felix Serkov, date: 08/14/2021

The larvae are segmented, yellow, covered with dense chitin, durable, for which they received the name wireworms. They live in the soil, damaging the underground organs of plants. Various types of click beetles can damage crop plants. The most common is the dark click beetle.

Wireworms are thin larvae of click beetles ranging from 2 to several centimeters in length. The body of the larva is yellow, the head is brown. The insects resemble pieces of smooth, rusty wire, hence the name. The body of the wireworm is covered with a durable chitinous shell of yellow-orange color.

Asked by: Olga Shubina, date: 07/19/2021

Should I pick flowers from potatoes?

Answered by: Kirill Portnyagin, date: 12.12.2021

Flowers should be picked only when all the flowers on the peduncle have bloomed. Potato flowers pollinate themselves. When pollination has occurred, the plant receives a signal from the flowers that new buds are not needed. Potatoes do not waste time and energy on restoring lost organs.

Asked by: Tigran Borodulin, date: 04/17/2021

Why pick flowers on potatoes?

Answered by: Diana Zavgorodnyaya, date: 04/30/2021

Whether to pick flowers on potatoes or not, everyone decides for themselves. If you cut off the buds, the potatoes will actively supply nutrients upward to produce new flowers. Because of this, the ripening of tubers will be delayed. In addition, cutting off flowers leads to degeneration of the potato variety.

By cutting off flowers on potatoes, farmers eliminate one of the links in nutrient consumption: the plant enters the active growing season, the bush begins to grow additional stolons, and, accordingly, new tubers.

Asked by: Marina Dubrovskaya, date: 11/09/2021

Ways and means of struggle

Each of these pests can be controlled using mechanical or chemical methods. The choice of method depends both on the pest itself and the scale of the infestation. It is possible to destroy insects manually only if their numbers are small, and if a large area is infested, it is impossible to do without the use of chemicals.

Mechanical methods

This method is most applicable in the fight against mole crickets and wireworms, or rather the click beetle.

To combat mole crickets, several options are applicable:

destruction of larvae and eggs during digging;
setting traps with poison or bait;
shoveling compost and manure in winter.

Important! If there is a compost site on the site, it must be shoveled in winter during periods of especially low temperatures. When exposed to frost, mole cricket eggs and adults will die.

There is another effective method that has been proven over the years. In the second half of September, holes are dug 50-60 cm deep and filled with warm horse manure. The mole crickets will definitely settle in these pits for the winter. With the onset of frost, manure is removed from the pits and distributed in one layer. When exposed to low temperatures, mole crickets and their eggs die.

It is impossible to fight the wireworm mechanically, but the beetle itself, the click beetle, should be destroyed when detected. You can also install special baits on the site.

Chemical methods

Chemical control methods include treating the soil with preparations that destroy pests. Also, for prevention, you can treat the tubers before planting.

Important! If pests were detected in the phase of active development of plantings, then treatment is carried out by spraying the plants with insecticides.

Why do we need flowers on potatoes?

Answered by: Evgenia Bukharova, date: 12/07/2021

During flowering, intensive formation of tubers occurs, the number and size of which largely depend on the conditions in which the flowering bush grew. During this important period, potatoes require watering, fertilizing and protection from Colorado potato beetles.

The leaves are the plant itself, and the flowers are needed for reproduction. The potatoes we eat are just growths on the roots.

Asked by: Elizaveta Sazonova, date: 01/08/2021

How can you get rid of wireworms on potatoes?

Answered by: Vera Gruzdeva, date: 01/22/2021

Take old (spoiled) potatoes and soak them in any insecticide for 24 hours. Then bury it in the ground in places where wireworms accumulate and mark these places with sticks. After two days, collect the potatoes into which the wireworm has crawled and destroy them.

In order to get rid of pests, you need to take old or spoiled potatoes and soak them in any insecticide for a day. The next day it should be buried in places where wireworms accumulate. After two days, the potatoes should be dug up and destroyed along with the pests. All baits can be used in turn. This will allow you to quickly and effectively get rid of pests.

Asked by: Antonina Trapeznikova, date: 03/20/2021

Instructions for getting rid of wireworms in the garden

I have put together a pest control system that can remove it from the site forever. This is a step-by-step instruction of 10 stages - from the easiest to the most effective, but labor-intensive and harmful.

Attracting exterminators

An effective method is to “invite” the natural enemies of wireworms and click beetles into the garden - starlings, tits, wagtails, rooks, crows, doves, blackbirds. Set up feeders and birdhouses, and don’t forget to leave treats there. Ground beetles also feed on wireworms.

“Repellent” plants

Adult click beetles and their larvae do not like plants:

Green manure. They are especially disgusted by mustard: plant the crop in the fall, wait until it grows to 10 cm, then cut it with a sickle and dig it up. For greater effectiveness, repeat the procedure in early spring: mustard secretes oils that the pest cannot tolerate. A similar effect is observed from rapeseed, buckwheat, spinach, rapeseed, sweet clover, lupine, alfalfa, and phacelia.
Legumes. Plant peas, beans or beans between the rows of the plantation affected by the wireworm. Not only will you repel insects, but you will also enrich the local soil with nitrogen.
Dahlias. The wireworm does not settle next to these ornamental plants.

An interesting observation: wheatgrass does not like being near dahlias.

Changing beds

If you notice affected plants on plantations with carrots, potatoes and other favorite delicacies of the wireworm, next year plan crops that are resistant to the larvae in these areas: legumes, greens, pumpkin, grains. You should not plant tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, cabbage, or root vegetables in this place.

Digging

Wireworms burrow to a depth of 1-2 meters only before winter. In the warm season, they live in surface layers, where it is easy to get food. Therefore, an effective method of control is deep autumn and spring digging. Once on the surface of the earth, insects become defenseless against birds. They can be collected manually by the gardener himself.

Another effective method is deep digging before freezing. This method will help destroy up to 90% of the wireworm on the plantation.

"Test" landings

After root vegetables, wireworms love oats, corn, wheat and barley. Therefore, before planting a potato plantation, pre-sow these “test” plants. As soon as the time for potatoes comes, all that remains is to dig up the grains, corn, and wireworms.

The effectiveness of “trial” plantings can be increased with the help of insecticides - soak the seeds in a toxic solution before sowing. But you should be careful with such plants - they can poison beneficial animals. Therefore, after digging, the tops are immediately destroyed along with the wireworm.

Traps

Resourceful gardeners and gardeners take advantage of the fact that wireworms easily fall for simple baits:

Take spoiled, inedible potato tubers and soak them in any insecticide for 24 hours. Bury the bait shallowly on the ridge where the wireworm lives. Mark the traps, dig them out after a few days, and destroy them. Repeat the procedure if necessary.
In the spring, place pieces of last year's carrots and potatoes on pieces of wire. Bury the bait in the ground on the plantation affected by the pest. After a few days, remove the trap by the wire “tail” and burn it along with the wireworm.
Cut carrots and potatoes into small pieces into a jar. Bury the wireworms up to the neck in their place of residence. Both the larvae and the click beetles themselves fall into such bait. To make it difficult for the last ones to get out, cover the jar with paper or foil, making openings in it.

Don’t forget about adult click beetles – “producers” of voracious larvae. They like shady, cool and damp places. You can lure beetles with freshly cut grass or manure. All that remains is to collect the insects from the baits and burn them. The procedure can be repeated until it gets cold.

Reducing soil acidity

I have already mentioned that wireworms prefer acidic soils. To resist the pest, carry out liming in late autumn, and add dolomite to the substrate in early spring. In summer, turn to wood ash and eggshells.

I advise you to add deoxidizers in doses, in accordance with the acidity level. Otherwise, you will end up with harmful excess calcium in the soil.

Folk remedies

If the above remedies do not help, I recommend turning to proven folk remedies. Do not be discouraged if the wireworm cannot be removed from the first application: repeat the procedure or change the active components.

But from my own experience I can say that folk recipes are effective only in the early stages of the struggle. If there are a lot of mature larvae in the area, drastic measures are required.

Chemicals

I do not recommend starting with this unsafe method. It is good only if all the above remedies do not help. Refer to proven drugs: “Bazudin”, “Zemlin”, “Provotox”, “Metarizin”.

Be sure to follow the instructions for dosage and method of application. Take care of your safety: respirator, gloves, closed clothing, safety glasses. Be sure to meet the harvest deadlines.

Special Service

When insecticides do not help, the last option is to call a special pest control service. “Pleasure” is expensive and dangerous. They resort to it in late autumn, after harvesting.

The method is radical - specialists use potent drugs that literally destroy all life on the site. The consequences of treatment are significant: the destruction of beneficial insects and soil microorganisms. Plantings become poisonous for some time - you should not invite children to the site or take pets with you.

What is the name of the beetle that eats potatoes?

Answered by: Gulnara Kamaeva, date: 04/18/2021

Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is a species of insect from the family of leaf beetles. Beetles and larvae of this species feed on the leaves of plants of the nightshade family: potatoes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, wolfberry, physalis, eggplant, henbane, which makes them dangerous agricultural pests.

Asked by: Liana Abdurakhmanova, date: 03/03/2021

Harm from wireworm

Much damage is caused precisely by the larvae of beetles called wireworms.

The following beetles are considered dangerous for agriculture:

Agriotes – sowing, species: dark (dark yellow with shine).
Athous – appearance: black (black, with a brown tint).
Selatosomus – species: shiny (light yellow with shine).
Melanotus – species: pointed (the color of the body on the back is orange in all shades, including brown).
Limonius – species: yellowlegged (yellowish-brown, caramel shade).

Their larvae damage potato tubers and stems (up to 60% of the harvest), buds and shoots of grapes, and affect other garden and horticultural crops. The plant stops developing, the fruits lose quality.

The larvae gnaw through passages into which pathogenic bacteria (rot, mold, etc.) penetrate. They harm:

Zernov.
Vegetable.
Cabbage.
Paslenov.
Root crops.

The gluttony of pests increases with the onset of hot, dry weather: they look for root crops containing moisture, and accordingly cause more damage to the plant. In dry months, it is worth moistening the soil more.

There are benefits from this pest: they destroy the root system of weeds, promote soil ventilation, are beneficial insects in the food chain, and alert people to the presence of acidity in the soil.

Who eats the Colorado potato beetle?

Answered by: Albina Gladkova, date: 03/20/2021

Ladybugs, ground beetles, and lacewings feed on the eggs and larvae of the Colorado potato beetle. Also, natural enemies of the Colorado potato beetle are birds such as pheasants. In some farms, guinea fowl (turkeys) are used to effectively combat the Colorado potato beetle.

The ladybug exterminates the Colorado potato beetle in the early stages, eating exclusively small larvae and eggs of the potato parasite. The lacewing is known for its gluttony and unpretentiousness in its choice of food. In appearance, it resembles a small dragonfly of a light green color. Due to its modest size, the lacewing, like the ladybug, eats small larvae and eggs of the pest.

Asked by: Vladimir Odintsov, date: 07/10/2021

Prevention instead of wireworm control

Click beetles often settle in areas with a large amount of wheatgrass: it is considered their most favorite shelter and food. Therefore, the weed must be eradicated first.

How to distinguish click beetles from other species:

Place the beetle on its back.
When he begins to roll over onto his belly, a click is heard.

Ground toads and ground beetles (predatory beetles, polyphagous) love to feast on wireworms. Some farms are experimenting, specifically breeding them for the purpose of pest prevention.

Rules of preventive methods:

Neutralize the acidity of the soil with liming (egg shells, chalk): wireworms develop well in acidic soil.
Maintain certain distances between plants: the larvae gather in dense plantings.
Disinfect the soil by humus with a hot solution of potassium permanganate.
Use mineral fertilizers containing ammonium (ammonium sulfate).
After autumn harvesting, collect all remnants of vegetation (weeds, crop roots) from the area of the beds and take them outside the site or destroy them.

Where one click beetle is found, there are sure to be their larvae (wireworms), laid eggs, and other adults.

Start fighting them immediately: the beetles multiply quickly and without taking measures to destroy them, within 2-3 seasons they will fill the entire potato bed.

How can you treat the ground against wireworms?

Answered by: Ivlev, date: 07/20/2021

Add minerals to the soil

Place straw and manure in small piles on the site, and after the onset of frost, burn them along with the pests that have gathered on the bait. Another folk method will also help - onion peels or ground eggshells.

Among folk remedies, we can recommend ash and potassium permanganate. Ash is an excellent remedy for wireworms. When planting potatoes, it must be added to the hole or trench. In addition, you can sprinkle dry ash between the rows. Planting material is sprayed with a solution of potassium permanganate or the soil on the site is watered as the cultivated plants grow.

Asked by: Eleonora Bagautdinova, date: 01/14/2021

What is an effective remedy for wireworms?

Answered by: Tamara Goncharova, date: 11/24/2021

Pest control products

Taboo TRIO protects potatoes from wireworms, Colorado potato beetles and other insect pests.
Aktara VDG is one of the strongest insecticides with enteric contact action.
Provotox G is a granular insecticidal preparation for the control of wireworms.

For treatment, wireworm preparations such as Actellik, Karate or Decis are used. Superphosphate is scattered in a thin layer and the granules are sprayed with a solution prepared according to the following recipe: Actellik (or other insecticide) - 15 ml, water - 80 ml, acetone - 200 ml.

What are the preventive measures against wireworms in the garden?

Now you know how to get rid of voracious wireworms. But it’s still easier to prevent their appearance:

Maintaining crop rotation. This is especially important for potatoes - do not be lazy to move the plantation to a new place from season to season.
Full harvest. Do not leave small, low-quality root vegetables in the soil - thereby you are sharing a treat with the wireworm during the hungry winter season.
Controlling soil acidity. A decrease in soil pH can be judged by the dominance of weeds - plantain, sorrel, horsetail, fern.
Weed control. Burdocks and wheatgrass are favorite “hotels” for wireworms. With their destruction, the number of pests also decreases.

I recommend not to forget to prevent the appearance of larvae, even if there are no signs of them in the garden. I advise you to start fighting insects by observing crop rotation, planting green manure, attracting birds, and folk methods. Only as a last resort switch to potent insecticides.