How to properly deal with wireworms: the most popular methods

Pest

The wireworm is the larva of the click beetle. It was not named this way by chance, since its appearance and strength resemble small pieces of wire. At the end of April, the beetles emerge to the surface of the ground, after which the females lay eggs in places where it is warm and humid. After 2 weeks, larvae appear, which grow and develop for 4 years, and then they become an adult beetle. How to deal with wireworms to protect them from damage landings in the garden?

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Pest control in garden crops

When such an uninvited guest appears in the garden, the owner begins to think about how to get rid of him. Potatoes often suffer from wireworms, but other crops can also be damaged. This pest goes deep into tubers, root crops, destroys rhizomes and stems. There is no potato variety whose fruits this larva could not destroy. But owners can take a number of measures to prevent wireworms from occurring. To fight it, you need to take the following actions:

  1. Systematically loosen the soil between the beds.
  2. Pull out in time weeds.
  3. In autumn, dig the soil deeply. In the spring, during the same procedure, remove the surviving larvae.
  4. After some time, add chalk, ash or lime to the soil.
  5. In the spring, add ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and ammonia water to the soil.
  6. Use beetle traps to lure them in, after which they should be destroyed.

Plant mustard. This procedure is carried out in the spring a month before the planned planting of vegetables, and in the autumn mustard is sown after the harvest has been harvested. Water the holes with a solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, dilute 5 grams of potassium permanganate in 10 liters of water. No more than 0.5 kg of the resulting mixture is poured into the wells. They use crops that will attract pests. Before planting a vegetable crop, the beds are sown with oats, barley or corn.

Wireworm

The seed material is pre-treated with insecticides. This procedure must be done 3 weeks before the planned planting of the vegetable crop. In addition, there are special preparations that are created to combat wireworms. It is recommended to pay attention to them if the parasite destroys plants. Even before planting, it is worth treating the bottom of the hole with an insecticide. After this, the product is applied to the soil in the form of granules. There are also preparations that are used to spray the plant itself. It is necessary to process the crop in the evening.

Wireworm baits

To destroy annoying wireworms, baits are used. It is necessary to attract pests in advance before the intended landing vegetable crop. For this purpose, wheat, oat or corn seeds are used. They are planted in nests. The larvae will gradually approach the seedlings. When sprouting begins, the bushes are dug up along with the wireworms. You can also make bait from pieces of raw potatoes, carrots, and beets.They are strung on sticks a quarter of a meter long.

The bait vegetable is buried, and the stick should stick out of the ground. Every 3 days it is necessary to pull out the bait, collect the wireworms and destroy them. By the way, this technique can be used throughout the summer.

In addition, it is necessary to fight adult beetles. For this, a jar with a capacity of half a liter is used. Bait is placed at its bottom, and the container itself is buried in the ground so that the neck sticks out. A dozen of these cans are placed on one hundred square meters. Every 3 days you need to remove the beetles and put in new bait.

There is another effective method. To do this, the material that has been rotted is laid out in small recesses. It is recommended to place it where many larvae accumulate. This will attract wireworms, after which they are collected and burned. If the owner decides to use bait, he needs to be careful and attentive.

Traditional methods for treating wireworms

Wireworm in the garden

Many gardeners advise sprinkling crushed slag when digging up the soil. This admixture is obtained from burning coal; it is required for 1 sq. m. one jar with a capacity of 1 liter. This method can reduce the number of larvae. In addition, it is recommended to water the soil with infusion, which is infused for 3 days. It will require:

  • 0.5 kg nettle
  • 0.1 kg celandine, pre-crushed
  • 0.2 kg dandelion
  • 0.2 kg coltsfoot
  • 10 liters of water

Water vegetable crops need to be 2-3 times, a week should pass between waterings. The wireworm can destroy crops, so it is worth using different methods to combat it.

Protection of vegetables from wireworms

Often the larvae attack those areas where the roots are densely intertwined.For this reason, it is not recommended to plant potatoes next to lawns where perennials are sown. When a crop is planted, in particular potatoes, the holes must be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate. For 10 liters of water you need to add 5 grams of powder. This liquid will be required for 20 wells. This method has shown excellent results as long as the soil is not overly infested with pests.

You can help reduce the number of wireworms by planting lettuce between the rows where the vegetable crop is planted. The larvae will feed on its roots, diverting from potatoes or other vegetables. In addition, it is recommended to treat the planting material with a special solution called “Ankara” before planting.

You can also purchase drugs in specialized stores that destroy pest. But they must be used in accordance with the instructions. So, the wireworm is an annoying parasite that can destroy the crop and damage it. Therefore, it is necessary to take all measures to combat these larvae. There are many ways to do this that are recommended to be used.

Method of dealing with wireworms in the video:

WirewormWireworm in the garden