miller@mred.DEC (06/08/85)
I have a case of bullemic cutworms in my veggie garden this year. They have already polished off the majority of my swiss chard seedlings, most of my home grown Celosias, and are working their way into my Astor and tomato patches. I have tried liquid Sevin (poured directly into the soil), dusting with Sevin, spraying the seedlings, inserting cutworm collars, and yet they still manage to feast underground leaving chewed stems in their paths. HELP!!!!!!!! (I even put down slug pellets hoping they were dumb enough to go after them.) Also has anyone noticed in the Massachusetts area an increase in Japanese beetles? Other than bag-a-bug traps any other methods of reducing them? thanks in advance.... Cyndi
kolling@decwrl.UUCP (Karen Kolling) (06/09/85)
My grandmother always put little paper collars around the base of her tomato plants "to stop the cutworms from getting them". She used to slice things like milk cartons into 3 or so inch wide cylinders and slip them over the seedlings and anchor them into the dirt. Did it work? I have no idea, but she always did it, so I guess it did. I wonder if you have to use somethinmg that's waxed, i.e., styrofoam cups maybe won't do. Karen
tower@inmet.UUCP (06/11/85)
Re: Cutworms
Save the one quart plastic containers yogurt comes in.
Hack the bottoms off.
Place in the soil halfway.
Plant your seedling in the middle.
Any plastic container will do (ice cream, cole slaw, ..),
but we prefer the yogurt ones, because they are tall.
Len Tower
Intermetrics, Inc.
UUCP: {bellcore,ima,ihnp4}!inmet!tower
INTERNET: ima!inmet!tower@CCA-UNIX.ARPA
USPS: 733 Concord Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
PHONE: +1 (617) 661-1840tarnopol@ttidcb.UUCP (Lewis Tarnopol) (06/13/85)
In article <2575@decwrl.UUCP> miller@mred.DEC writes: >I have a case of bullemic cutworms in my veggie garden this year. >They have already polished off the majority of my swiss chard seedlings, >most of my home grown Celosias, and are working their way into my >Astor and tomato patches. I have tried liquid Sevin (poured directly >into the soil), dusting with Sevin, spraying the seedlings, inserting >cutworm collars, and yet they still manage to feast underground leaving >chewed stems in their paths. HELP!!!!!!!! (I even put down slug pellets >hoping they were dumb enough to go after them.) > >thanks in advance.... > >Cyndi Dear Cyndi, My chard, calendula, tomatoes, beets (tops), basil, and even lettuce were attacked in exactly the same way. Cutworm collars do NOT always work. I did a lot of research on cutworms after their appearance.... First- there are two varieties of cutworms, 1) the stem cutters and 2) the climbers. Both gestate from a dull, brown colored moth which lays eggs in the soil. There are over 18 types of cutworms, ranging from black to brown with a long black stripe. Adult cutworms are extremly difficult to kill and mortality is low with Sevin (carbaryl). (That comes from Sunset magazines' - Garden questions and Answers book) Many baby cutworms respond (die) to diazinon in granular form, sprinkled on the soil. I spoke to people at Gardens for All, Organic Gardening, Flower and Garden, and my local extension agent about the cutworm attack. Dipel (BT) does not work. Direct spraying with 50% ammonia (mixed with tap water) does not work (although it's death to slugs and snails - also providing a mild foliar feed of nitrogen). Going out into the garden with a flashlight at 10PM DOES WORK! Pick 'em up and crush 'em. Since most cutworms burrow into the soil during the daylight (some hide in the leaves during the day, too!), another mildly effective method I've found is to take my garden hose and water the area faster than the soil can absorb the water. Cutworms hiding under the surface will come up for air. Pick 'em up and crush 'em. Seedlings are often attacked by the stem cutters. Take a pencil and gently move the soil around the toppled seedling in growing concentric circles. The bugger is there, you just have to find him/her. (I just did this one yesterday when one of my radishes was missing all its leaves) Pick 'em up and crush 'em. Insect infestation seems to go in cycles. After a week of physically removing every cutworm I could find, they were there no more. My chard is now beautiful but if I see any new holes - welllllll....I'm gonna take my flashlight and pick 'em up and crush 'em!!! Good luck in your gardening. -- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Lewis Tarnopol Citicorp/TTI 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 (213) 450-9111, ext. 3082 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcb!tarnopol