Strawberry pests: how to recognize, how to fight, control methods, chemicals, folk remedies, treatment methods

Whitefly

This is a very small butterfly and is the most dangerous pest. The length of its body does not exceed one and a half millimeters and has white wings. This insect is afraid of light and hides on the lower surface of leaves. Its larvae are not at all visible to the naked eye. They drink the juice and the leaf falls dry.

How to treat strawberries against whiteflies? First, insects are washed off to the ground with water, and then the soil is loosened to a depth of three centimeters. Sticky tapes and other traps can be used. Next, the greens with the remains of the larvae are treated with a thick solution of soap or a five-day infusion of garlic.

Large leaves are moistened with a cotton pad, and small leaves are watered with a spray bottle. Unfortunately, one treatment cannot cope with the pest, and all actions must be repeated several times a season. In stores you can purchase ready-made solutions against this pest. Actellic, Confidor, Verticillin performed well.

Ways to protect strawberries from pests

Protecting strawberries from pests and diseases
Garden strawberries are treated twice a year: in the spring - to prevent the appearance of diseases and pests, in the fall - to prepare the plants for winter. The following methods help protect crops from pests:

Agrotechnical measures. Labor-intensive, but have many advantages:
do not require financial investments;
they can be combined with other methods.
Folk remedies . Their advantages are minimal financial costs, simplicity, and accessibility. The downside of folk remedies is their low effectiveness, especially in comparison with chemicals.
Chemicals. Their advantage is high efficiency, fast action, and coverage of a large area. This method has more disadvantages:
destruction of beneficial insects;
financial costs, often high;
accumulation of substances in fruits, soil, etc.

Agrotechnical measures

Mulching strawberries
Carrying out agrotechnical measures helps to get rid of many pests and increase the resistance of strawberries to their effects. Examples:

choosing strong, disease- and pest-resistant seedlings;
disinfection of bushes and soil before planting;
soil moisture control;
regular mulching of the soil, application of fertilizers;
removal of dry leaves, unnecessary mustaches, diseased bushes;
compliance with crop rotation - changing planting sites every 3-5 years;
planting strawberries in areas where green manure and root crops previously grew;
planting plants next to strawberry beds to repel pests - tobacco, onions, tansy, marigolds, calendula.

Pesticide

Pesticides for strawberry pests
Chemical agents are more effective in controlling pests, but the use of most of them is prohibited during the growing season and flowering of garden strawberries. Preparations for strawberry pests:

Inta-CM;
Spark;
Karbofos;
Nurell-D;
Karate;
Shar Pei;
Zolon;
Inta-Vir;
Aktara et al.

Folk remedies

Tobacco and ash
Treatment of strawberries against pests with folk remedies is less effective compared to pesticides. But this method is harmless to plants and humans. The best folk remedies for strawberry pests:

solutions : iodine, brilliant green, soda, whey, potassium permanganate, ash, laundry soap;
infusions : mustard powder, hot pepper, herbs (tansy, dandelion, wormwood), onion peel, garlic;
decoctions : tobacco, wormwood;
dusting with tobacco dust;
traps , bait.

Strawberry mite

This tiny insect is a huge nuisance at the beginning of summer. If there are a lot of them, they can completely destroy all the plants.

It is extremely difficult to detect these pests. They are so microscopic that their presence can only be judged by the affected foliage. If in July, August, strawberry leaves turn yellow and curl, then this is it. The bushes become dwarfed and look lifeless.

How to deal with ticks? You should not plant berries in dark places. The pest loves coolness, dampness and shade. It is necessary to weed the plantings on time. If the mite does infest, the plants are treated with a decoction of onion peels (two hundred grams of peels per ten liters of water).

A contrast shower for plants also helps. The seedlings are immersed for fifteen minutes in water with a temperature of about forty-five degrees, and then in cold water. It is recommended to plant such seedlings in a new place. Chemicals: chloroethanol, Karate Zeon, Karbofos.

Standard prophylaxis

A healthy strawberry plantation begins with choosing a variety that is resistant to diseases and pests.

For planting, it is advisable to select zoned strawberry varieties that are resistant to diseases and pests . Powerful bushes of winter-hardy and unpretentious varieties actively resist attacks. But it is also necessary to update the assortment : many new breeding products are genetically resistant to some pathogens.
Disinfecting strawberry seedlings before planting allows you to protect yourself from many misfortunes . The bushes are dipped in hot water (+46 degrees) for 15 minutes, then cooled in cold water.
The optimal lifespan of a strawberry plantation is 3 years, maximum 4-5 years . After this, it is necessary to resume planting - in a different place, with young plants.
Proper crop rotation is of great importance . Strawberries should absolutely not be planted after strawberries. Some plants have common pests and diseases with strawberries that accumulate in the soil. Undesirable precursors for strawberries: raspberries, cherries, gooseberries, hops, onions, cabbage, peas and beans, plants of the Cucurbitaceae family (cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, melons) and Solanaceae (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, petunia), asters and phlox. It is best to plant strawberries after green manure or root crops.
Mulching (organic, agrofibre) keeps plantations healthier.
Immune stimulants (Epin Extra, Zircon, Siliplant, Gumi, HB-1, etc.) strengthen plants.
Strong bushes get sick much less.

Factors that weaken strawberry plants

Any strawberry disease is usually a consequence of improper agricultural practices.

Let us consider in detail the factors that can weaken strawberry immunity to pests and diseases.

Lack of nutrition . It appears on too acidic or poor lands. Acidic soils must first be deoxidized (before previous plantings). Strawberries require a solid pre-planting filling of the soil with organic matter and minerals, as well as regular feeding of the plantation.
Fattening bushes. Overfeeding is no less dangerous than starvation.
Dry soil. The root zone should be kept moderately moist at all times. Requires watering and mulching.
Thickened planting, dampness in the aboveground part of the bushes. Excessive moisture in petioles and foliage is favorable for the development of many pathogens.
Weeds in the garden. Many weeds are “intermediaries” in the transmission of infections. In addition, they take away power, intercept solar energy, and impair ventilation.
Bad winter. It is advisable to protect the strawberry plantation by organizing dry shelter in winter and during the capricious off-season .

When replanting in winter, be especially picky about choosing a seedling.

Strawberry leaf beetle

Small, brown beetles settle on the back of the leaf and chew holes in the leaf pulp. If the strawberry leaves have holes in them, then it is most likely a leaf beetle. Yellowish larvae with a brown head appear very quickly and begin to actively feed. They eat away the juicy pulp inside the leaf, leaving a film. After some time, it becomes noticeable that there are small holes on the withered leaves.

If the strawberry leaves are in a hole, what should I use to treat them? It is worth paying attention so that cinquefoil and meadowsweet do not grow near strawberry beds. These weeds are the perfect home for the leaf beetle. It is necessary to loosen the soil under the bushes well after picking the berries.

Insect larvae overwinter in soil clods. Treating the bushes with tobacco dust helps a lot, but it is better to apply it early in the spring. Solutions of Karbofos or Karate will also help cope with the problem. The above methods must be used before the first buds appear.

Strawberry nematode

Nematodes are worms that are incredibly voracious. They eat everything, vegetables and berries and leaves. It is difficult to notice a worm whose length is only one millimeter.

They prefer to settle in the buds and axils of leaves. They hide well in the ground and successfully resist various herbicides. Because of these parasites, the buds become deformed and rot. Foliage cuttings become red and thin.

If these pests are found on strawberries, the diseased bushes are burned along with the mustache. Next time, it will be possible to plant strawberries in this place no earlier than in five years. When planting new beds, material is taken only from healthy strawberries.

If a small number of diseased plants are found, they are dug up, washed of soil and filled with water at a temperature of fifty-five degrees. Leave for half an hour. The land is treated with preparations containing sulfur.

Chafer

In another way, this pest is also called Khrushchev in garden literature. The May beetle begins to appear and harm strawberry plantings when the leaves on the birch trees begin to bloom. The danger lies not only with the beetle itself, but also with its offspring – the larvae. That is why it is advisable to destroy the beetle in time, so that later you do not have to fight its larvae.

The cockchafer leads an evening lifestyle. This insect cannot be seen in the morning or during the day. The beetle causes damage to strawberry leaves. In a few days, the pest can completely destroy the plantings if appropriate measures are not taken to destroy it. By the way, the invasion of cockchafers lasts quite a long time - about 40 days. After this, the female beetle settles in a loose bud and lays eggs there. The larvae appear after about a month. At first, small pests feed on humus, but then switch to plant roots.

During summer, plantings are treated with chemicals. Aktara, Decis, Karbofos, Zolon, Marshall, Bazudin give a good effect. You can also get rid of the cockchafer using folk methods. Build numerous birdhouses for birds near your site and on it. Feathered helpers will quickly rid the area of this parasite. You can also plant white clover in your garden. It releases huge amounts of nitrogen. And, as scientists have recently proven, the cockchafer does not tolerate nitrogen.

Weevils

When this pest appears in a garden plot, it threatens not only strawberries, but also raspberries and blackberries. These gray three-millimeter beetles damage young leaves and stalks. Often their work is mistaken for a “failed harvest.” And that’s all, because they destroy the first and largest buds.

How to treat strawberries against this pest? It is better to plant raspberries, blackberries and strawberries away from each other. In the early morning, when insects are inactive, they are shaken off onto newspapers and burned. Weevil larvae do not tolerate wormwood infusion or soap solutions with added ash. And also chemicals: Iskra-m, Karbofos.

Botanical description

Homemade strawberries are a herbaceous perennial garden plant, as popular in our gardens as raspberries, currants and gooseberries. A close relative of the strawberry is the wild strawberry. Strawberries, thanks to their unsurpassed taste, are cultivated in Europe, North and South America. The strawberry stem is erect, from 15 to 40 cm high, large trifoliate basal leaves of the strawberry, collected in a rosette, consist of ovate-rhombic leaves, wide-toothed along the edge, on short petioles. Both the stem and leaves of the strawberry are covered with glandular hairs. Large strawberry flowers with a diameter of up to 2.5 cm in quantities from 5 to 12 pieces make up a corymbose inflorescence.

What is commonly called a strawberry - a juicy red cone-shaped fruit - is actually an overgrown receptacle on which there are real strawberry fruits - small nuts. Garden strawberries have three times more chromosomes than wild or green strawberries, so they are not cross-pollinated with any other species. Strawberries are poorly transported and do not last long when fresh.

Strawberries are more likely than berries introduced into cultivation not so long ago, such as blueberries and blackberries, to be infected with fungal diseases and attacked by pests, but proper planting and care of strawberries ensures that these risks are kept to a minimum.

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Slugs

Strawberries, a favorite treat for slugs. They thrive in cool, rainy weather, or choose shady areas.

The natural enemy of these insects is sunny and hot weather. Between the rows, sprinkle the soil with salt or red pepper. In the evenings, you can water the planting with a weak solution of citric acid. Among the chemicals that help: Thunderstorm, Metaldehyde.

To obtain a large harvest, it is necessary to weed and thin out the plantings on time. Carry out chemical treatments regularly, and pests will bypass the berries.