What a wireworm looks like
The wireworm – is a merciless and voracious predator. In a short time it destroys even sown seeds. The wireworm, in addition to potatoes, does not spare other vegetable crops either.
By and large, the click beetle is to blame for all of the gardener’s troubles. To be precise, its brown larvae, reaching 1 cm in length. They crawl under potato tubers and also find a place for themselves in garden sheds. Securely sheltered, the wireworm gnaws through the flesh of the root vegetable and makes numerous tunnels. In this case, the potato loses its natural protection and becomes susceptible to fungal diseases.
The body of this pest is, indeed, hard as wire. Hence – its name. Usually one female click beetle lays up to 200 eggs. Surprisingly, the hatched wireworm larvae live in the soil for up to 5 years. And with their slow growth, they manage to inflict significant damage on the harvest. If the wireworm doesn’t find its favorite treat on the plot – potatoes, it eats everything in sight. The roots of grapevines, strawberries, onions, and carrots are doomed to perish under this pest’s immense appetite.
Signs of infestation
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Detecting a wireworm in the garden is fairly easy. A multitude of flying click beetles – is one of the signs that wireworm larvae have already set about destroying the future harvest. If you tug the stem of a plant that has been eaten away at the root, it comes out of the soil with ease.
How to get rid of wireworms: 5 methods
The fight against this pest is waged in various ways. The natural enemies of this pest – are frogs, ground beetles, and starlings. Eggshells are considered a good preventive remedy. They are usually collected, then dried and crushed. Already in spring, the eggshells are worked into the dug-over soil to keep the ubiquitous pest away from the plants.
Ash and onion peels also serve as effective remedies in the fight against wireworms. They disinfect the soil, leaving no chance of survival for the numerous larvae.
This method of getting rid of wireworms is fairly popular among gardeners. Take 100 g of dandelion greens, 200 g of nettle, 50 g of celandine, 100 g of coltsfoot, and place them in a deep pot. Then pour 5 liters of warm water over this mixture. The mixture is left to infuse for 24 hours. The infusion does an excellent job: it destroys wireworm larvae and repels click beetles.
In the fight against wireworms, a simple trap is often used. Pieces of potato and carrot are placed in a small glass jar. It is buried so that only the neck sticks out from the ground. The wireworm larvae, of which a considerable number will gather, will not be able to climb out of the jar.
