Effective pest control: how to get rid of wireworms in a potato plot

The body of the wireworm has a hard, wire-like shell, hence the name of this insect. Yellow or orange worms are the larvae of the click beetle, the appearance of which on the site indicates that it is time to be alarmed so as not to be left without a potato harvest.

How to get rid of wireworms in a potato plot, what techniques, folk remedies and chemicals are more effective, you will learn from our article.

What does wireworm look like and why is it dangerous for potatoes?

Wireworms are the larvae of click beetles that live in the ground for 3 to 5 years, after which they turn into adults. Beetles come in different colors: dark brown and black. They differ from other beetles in their ability to roll over from their back to their paws, making a characteristic click. It is thanks to this feature that they got their name.

The most common click beetles are the dark striped and steppe beetles.. During the day they hide under leaves, topsoil, boards, etc. Insects live in areas with damp and acidic soil, covered with weeds, and overwinter in the soil.

Females lay 200 eggs from June to July, from which white larvae with a delicate covering emerge. During this period, the wireworm is most vulnerable and often becomes prey for ground beetles, chickens, and turkeys.

After several molts, the outer shell of the larvae changes color from white to yellow or orange and becomes denser.Such larvae become a treat for rooks and starlings.

Wireworms live in the top layer of soil (no deeper than 5 cm), and when the air temperature drops or there is drought, they go 50-60 cm deep. The larvae often concentrate in the area of ​​​​the rhizomes of weeds.

The pest's favorite food is potatoes, corn, carrots, beets, wheat, barley.. During drought, the wireworm eats potato tubers and roots especially zealously, because they contain large reserves of valuable moisture.

Reference. The greatest threat to the harvest comes from 2-4 year old larvae. They reach a length of 2-3 cm and resemble worms with clear segments on the body.

Signs of a pest appearing on the site

The following signs indicate the appearance of a pest on the site::

• through holes in tubers;
• small dark depressions on the peel;
• single flaccid bushes among healthy plants (the larvae move in a vertical direction, penetrating 1-2 m deep, but do not move further than 20 cm from the root system, so usually isolated bushes and very rarely entire beds are attacked);
• during the process of harvesting young potatoes, individual wireworms appear on the soil surface;
• the appearance of click beetles on the site.

Fighting methods

Pest control is carried out comprehensivelyusing agricultural techniques, chemicals, herbal infusions and traps.

Other potato pests and diseases:

How to escape from the Colorado potato beetle

What is potato nematode and how to fight it

Chemicals

Treating potato plantings with chemicals is a last resort. Fungicides have a toxic effect on the environment and require strict adherence to instructions. The table contains the most effective drugs.

Biological drugs

Biological products have a gentle effect on ecosystems and the environment. Their effect on wireworms is based on microscopic pathogenic fungi.

Preparations "Entocid" or "Metarizin" contain mycelium and spores of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. When it gets into the soil, the fungus is in an active state and is waiting for its “finest hour”.

After the wireworm enters the body, the fungus begins to break down its adipose tissue, digestive system, respiratory system and nervous system.

Fungal spores germinate within 12 hours. The larvae die after 40-120 hours. Subsequently, the fungus uses the pest’s body for further development. Regular use of the product helps to significantly reduce the wireworm population.

The table shows methods of using biological products.

Another modern biological remedy against wireworms is Nemabakt., contains a predatory nematode. Penetrating into the body of the larva, the nematode infects it with a deadly bacterium. The drug is safe for plants and earthworms.

To prepare the solution fill the bucket with water, lay a mosquito net on top so that the edges hang down. Empty the package of the drug. The water temperature should correspond to the soil temperature. Leave the liquid to sit for an hour. Remove the net and water the soil in the morning or evening, in cloudy or rainy weather. After an hour, water the area again. Consumption - 1 bucket of 10 liters per 100 sq. m.

Traditional methods

Plant-based folk remedies are safe for the environment. In practice, gardeners use such improvised means to get rid of wireworms:

• lay out ground eggshells on the beds;
• pickle the holes when planting with infusion of nettle and dandelion (0.5 kg of grass per 10 liters of water);
• treat the tubers with infusion of wormwood and celandine (300 g of herb per 10 liters of water);
• water the beds with coltsfoot infusion (200 g per 10 l);
• in areas where walnuts grow, fresh leaves are placed in the holes;
• pour ash, onion peels, moss into the holes and add a pinch of salt;
• spill the holes with a solution of birch tar (200 ml per 10 liters of water);
• roll each potato in mustard powder before planting it in the ground;
• pour the recesses under the seed material with a strong solution of potassium permanganate (2 g per 10 l).

Lures and traps

Making baits and traps is a troublesome task, but the result will certainly please you:

1. Rotten tubers are soaked in any insecticide for 24 hours and buried in the ground, in places where larvae accumulate maximum. After two days, the baits into which the pest has crawled are collected and disposed of away from the site.
2. Place pieces of carrots and potatoes into a 500 ml jar, dig the container into the ground, leaving the neck at soil level. Larvae and beetles will fall into the trap.
3. A vegetable “kebab” is made from pieces of carrots, beets and potatoes, strung on a thick wire, and before planting the potatoes, they are buried in the ground to a depth of 10 cm.
4. 1.5-2 weeks before planting potatoes, sow the area with corn, oats, barley and wheat, then dig them out along with the larvae, which “love” to settle in the roots of these crops. Before sowing, treat the seeds with a solution of any insecticide.

Agrotechnical techniques

Agrotechnical methods are used to repel adults and larvae.:

1. The area is sown with green manure. Wireworms do not like mustard, rapeseed, spinach, rapeseed, buckwheat, and sweet clover. Rotten plants release essential oils that repel larvae.
2. Peas, beans and beans are planted next to the cartel beds to repel the pest and enrich the soil with nitrogen.
3. It is believed that the wireworm does not tolerate the smell of dahlias. Weeds cannot stand their proximity to them either.
4. Reduce soil acidity. In the spring, when digging and loosening, add lime, ash, chalk, and dolomite flour.
5. The soil is fertilized with ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate (20–30 g per sq. m).
6. The area is mulched with pine needles. The smell of pine or spruce needles repels the pest.
7. Black beans are planted next to potatoes to repel insects.

Read also:

How to fight potato cancer

What is potato late blight?

Application of the drug "Prestige" for potatoes

Features of the fight against wireworms in spring and autumn

Agrotechnical techniques for controlling wireworms in spring and autumn are not much different. All actions are aimed at stabilizing soil acidity levels (larvae do not “like” neutral soil), increasing fertility and removing weeds.

Later In the fall, when digging a site, a soil deoxidation procedure is carried out. This creates favorable conditions for the growth and development of potatoes and allows you to get rid of wireworms that have left for the winter.

Additive rates:

• dolomite flour - 400 g per square meter. m;
• slaked lime (in acidic soil - 500 g per sq. m, in medium acidic soil - 300 g per sq. m);
• chalk - 300 per sq. m;
• wood or peat ash - 400 g per square meter. m.

In the spring, work is carried out to destroy click beetles. During the day they hide in shady and damp places. Manure heaps or mowed grass are used as bait. After 4-5 days, the bait is removed from the site and thrown into the fire. A similar procedure is carried out in the fall, but the grass is left to lie until the onset of cold weather.

Prevention

Compliance with preventive measures can significantly reduce the wireworm population. It will be possible to completely remove the pest after 2-3 years of hard work.

Prevention rules:

1. Compliance with crop rotation. It is not recommended to plant potatoes in the same place year after year. This is especially true for contaminated areas.The best predecessors of potatoes are alfalfa, rapeseed, legumes, onions, garlic, wheat, rye and oats.
2. Timely removal of tops (two weeks before digging) and tubers. After drying, the potatoes are put into storage.
3. Disinfection of tubers before boarding.
4. Reducing soil acidity. Horsetail, plantain and sorrel grow on strongly acidic soil. These are unique indicator plants.
5. Attracting Wireworm Enemies and click beetles: starlings, crows, thrushes, doves, rooks, wagtails, tits, ladybirds, ground beetles.
6. Weeding. The wireworm uses burdock and wheatgrass as a hiding place.
7. In uncultivated areas It's better not to plant potatoes. After digging the soil, it is recommended to wait at least a year and sow the area with green manure, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, beans, zucchini, and cucumbers.
8. Planting potatoes in compliance a certain interval - no thicker than every 30-40 cm. When planting thickly, plants are acutely aware of the lack of sunlight and air. Such conditions create an ideal environment for the development of wireworms.

Tips and reviews from experienced gardeners

At various thematic forums, gardeners share recommendations and effective recipes for eliminating wireworms on the site.

Ivan, Lobnya: “Every gardener is probably familiar with the worm that eats potatoes. Agricultural techniques help me fight the pest. Before planting potatoes in the spring, I sow the field with rapeseed. The wireworm does not like him and leaves the site. I advise you not to bring soil from unfamiliar places to the site. There are probably larvae in it, and all your work to cleanse the soil of the pest will go down the drain.”.

Maria, Smolensk: “All summer residents know what a wireworm is.These are click beetle larvae. They are very dense and difficult to crush. If you don’t want to share your harvest with a pest, pay attention to modern insecticides. I use Provotox in case of mass spread. I try to comply with the norms for applying manure. Remember that the soil can only be fertilized with rotted manure, avoiding an excess. This makes the soil too acidic.".

Denis, Stavropol: “It’s very unpleasant to find a worm on a potato. Many people fall into despair because they know how difficult it is to get rid of it. I want to share one effective method that I learned about several years ago. First of all, I took care of normalizing the acidity of the soil and added dolomite flour. Then, when planting potatoes, I added ash and onion peels to each hole. I planted marigolds near the beds. The juice of these flowers is poisonous to wireworms.".

Conclusion

Fighting wireworms in the garden is not an easy task, but it is doable. It will be possible to destroy the “enemy” in the shortest possible time if: you follow the rules of crop rotation, sow green manure, treat tubers before planting, deoxidize the soil by liming, regularly apply chicken manure or cow manure to the soil, remove weeds and tops in a timely manner, and harvest.

Agrotechnical techniques are recommended to be used in combination with heavy artillery - fungicides (Medvetox, Prestige, Aktara, Barguzin) and biological products (Entocid, Metarizin, Nemabakt). For small affected areas, plant solutions, walnut leaves, and onion peels are effective.