How to get rid of the wireworm on potatoes once and for all

  • Dec 13, 2020
click fraud protection

Wireworms (click beetle larvae) are common garden pests that inhabit the topsoil. Inconspicuous larvae, undermining the roots, tubers and shoots of plants, are not always visible. When gardeners discover a wireworm invasion, it is almost impossible to save vegetables. However, there are a number of remedies that can help you get rid of the wireworm on potatoes once and for all.

It is much easier to prevent the appearance of pests than to fight them later, so every summer resident should know and apply simple preventive techniques. Illustration for this article is used under a standard license © ofazende.com
It is much easier to prevent the appearance of pests than to fight them later, so every summer resident should know and apply simple preventive techniques. Illustration for this article is used under a standard license © ofazende.com

Please put your likes and subscribe to the channel "About Fasenda". This will allow us to publish more interesting garden articles.

Prevention

It is much easier to prevent the appearance of pests than to fight them later, so every summer resident should know and apply simple preventive techniques:

  • Place birdhouses on the site to attract the biological enemies of the wireworm - rooks, thrushes, starlings and other birds.
    • instagram viewer
  • Don't let the weeds grow. First of all, destroy thickets of wheatgrass and burdock, in which the larvae of clickers are often found.
  • Observe the crop rotation (especially important when growing potatoes).
  • Timely harvest ripe tubers (this will deprive insects of food and heat).
  • Reduce soil acidity. This indicator can be checked using special meters or natural "indicators" (for acidic sorrel, rhubarb, plantain, horseradish, horsetail, viburnum, rhododendron, hydrangea, goldenrod, lupine, primrose).
  • Periodically sprinkle ground eggshells over the garden.

For prevention, you can also use plants that scare off larvae:

  • dahlias;
  • legumes (sweet clover, beans, peas, beans);
  • rape;
  • buckwheat;
  • spinach.
Mustard sown in autumn will be an excellent deterrent. If you let it grow up to 10 cm, mow and embed it in the ground, and repeat the procedure in spring, then you can be sure that the clickers will not appear on the site. It's all about essential oils, which are released into the soil when the green mass decays - the wireworm does not tolerate this smell.
If pests appear on the beds with potatoes, you will have to use biological or chemical agents. Illustration for this article is used under a standard license © ofazende.com
If pests appear on the beds with potatoes, you will have to use biological or chemical agents. Illustration for this article is used under a standard license © ofazende.com

Biological and chemical agents

If pests appear on the beds with potatoes, you will have to use biological or chemical agents. The first group of drugs is safer, so the fight against larvae should be started with it:

  • Chalk, ash, lime, dolomite flour. Apply any of the listed components when loosening or digging a site with high acidity.
  • Potassium permanganate solution. Dilute 2-4 g of potassium permanganate in 10 liters of water and water the plants under the root with the resulting composition (200-300 ml for each well).
  • Ammonium nitrate. When digging, apply at the rate of 20-30 g per 1 m² (the increased concentration of ammonia in the soil will make the pests go into deeper layers of the soil). Ammonium sulfate can be used in the same way.
  • Infusion of nettle. Insist 500 g of stems and leaves of fresh nettle in 10 liters of water, water the beds with a ready-made solution before planting potatoes (0.5 liters per hole). Re-etch the wells 2 more times with an interval of 2-3 days.
  • Dandelion infusion. Use in the same way as nettle, only take 200 g of dandelion for 10 liters of water.
There are many different traps for eco-control advocates. For example, place several rotten potato tubers in an insecticide solution for a day, then remove and bury them in an area infected with a wireworm. Mark the places with pegs. After 2-3 days, dig up the tubers and burn them along with the insects that have crawled inside.

Potatoes, carrots and beets can be used differently:

  • cut root vegetables into large pieces;
  • strung on a thin wire and bury in the place of future beds to a depth of 10-15 cm;
  • after a few days, remove the bait and feed it to the poultry (the chickens will eat both vegetables and larvae).

The transition to chemicals should be done in extreme cases. The following insecticides are suitable for killing wireworms:

  • "Taboo";
  • "Provotox";
  • "Actor";
  • "Barguzin";
  • "Zemlin";
  • "Initiative";
  • "Prestige";
  • Rubit from wireworm and bear.

Chemicals should be used strictly according to the instructions on the packaging.

Original articleand many other materials, you can find on ourwebsite.

Please put your likes and subscribe to the channel "About Fasenda". This will allow us to publish more interesting garden articles.

Read more:How to use iodine in the garden and garden - instructions for using iodine on the site