Cut worm control?

[gardengalrn]

I think I've got a fairly bad case of cut worms. LOL, well, my garden does. I've never dealt with them on this scale, lost several toms, cabbage/broc and various other plants. I've heard putting a foil collar around the base of plants helps but I should have done that at planting to be proactive but didn't. It will be quite an undertaking to try to do that now with all the plants in the garden. Any broader measures I can take?

[saltmarsh]

A 16P nail inserted against the base of the plant works. If you use galvanized nails they are easier to see and can be reused in the following years. I haven't lost a plant to cutworms since I started using them years ago. Claud

[gardengalrn]

Thanks Claud, I had read that too. I may have to do that with my toms but I sure hate to have nails all over the garden for everything else.

[snippits]

I use two toothpicks against the stem of tomato plants. One on each side of the plant. Old farmer told me about that years ago, and to this day it works for me.

[ginger2778]

I think I saw a post from Carolyn about what to do. She said the cutworms need to completely surround the stem to do their dirty work, so she puts a straw against the stem so they can't completely surround it. The theory is the same for the nail or the toothpicks, so they would work very well too. The stem has to be thin and small for a cutworm to completely surround it, that's why it doesn't happen to more mature plants with thicker more woodu stems.

Thanks Carolyn for teaching me this.

Marsha

[Worth1]

The small moths that hang around street lamps are the culprit.

No Light at night.
Will help in the cutworm fight.


Worth

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

I think I saw a post from Carolyn about what to do. She said the cutworms need to completely surround the stem to do their dirty work, so she puts a straw against the stem so they can't completely surround it. The theory is the same for the nail or the toothpicks, so they would work very well too. The stem has to be thin and small for a cutworm to completely surround it, that's why it doesn't happen to more mature plants with thicker more woodu stems.

Thanks Carolyn for teaching me this.

Marsha

Marsha, others might use plastic straws, but I never did. What I used was some broken stems from dried out plants of Queen Anne's lace which were all over the place, but any sturdy twigs will do, as long as they are placed up against the main stem.

Toothpicks aren't that strong, and they may have worked since there were few to no cutworms around. The number of cutworms in the soil is variable almost every year according to the moth population.

Collars of any kind don't work since the cutworms can come up between the collor and the stem, and again, who really knows if they work if no cutworms in a given eyar.

How to prevent cutworm damage? The best way is to raise seedlings for tranplant that have very sturdy main stems b'c the cutworms can't encircle them. if you look in your tomato patch you'll see that they prefer the rather weak stemmed plants.

And don't give up on a plant that the cutworms have been after, especially if it's a rare variety and hard to get seeds, b'c sometimes, if you just leave it inground, it will start growing again/ maybe not a beautiful plant, but enough to get it to maturity and save some seeds from the fruits. I've had to do that a few times, when I was the only person who had seeds for a variety.

Carolyn

[gardengalrn]

Thanks everyone, I think I will try the toothpick/twig suggestion. Carolyn, one of my Dwarf's were the first plants that I noticed with damage (before I realized what I was dealing with). It hadn't been cut totally off so I dug around the stem, found the culprit and removed, mounded dirt up over the gnawed area and watered. It is doing fine now. I can't believe I never had this problem before (that I knew of) and now it seems quite severe this year. A friend of mine had just commented that she had noticed how abundant moths and butterflies were this year. I knew the cutworms come from those little moths but I have seen some really spectacular butterflies during the day. We've had a dry, cold winter so I wonder if they are the only "bugs" that will have a good year?

[beeman]

Get the little bug..ers at the source!! I use beneficial nematodes, these seek out the cutworm, wireworm and other nastys, infiltrate and eat them from the inside out. There are a number of suppliers in the USA.
http://www.naturalinsectcontrol.com/index.php
That link is Canadian, but you can learn about them, then order them locally. Sounds strange when we normally abhor nematodes, but these are 'beneficials'.

[solid7]

I pile coffee grounds around the base of the plant, and then circle it with corn meal. The corn meal makes them really tummy upset. They will often be lying - as if immovable - in the open when I get up in the morning, (from eating the corn meal) and I just take the opportunity to dispatch them. My favorite way to do this, is to throw them in front of the hedges on the sidewalk, and wait for a lizard to come grab them. LOL

[b54red]

I have been using the toothpick method for years and it works. I haven't had a single plant cut down since I started using them. Get the round toothpicks as they are much stouter and just put one on each side. I have heard that one toothpick works but two definitely works and they don't cost much either.

Bill

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by b54red

I have been using the toothpick method for years and it works. I haven't had a single plant cut down since I started using them. Get the round toothpicks as they are much stouter and just put one on each side. I have heard that one toothpick works but two definitely works and they don't cost much either.

Bill

May be but 2 toothpicks would cost twice as much as using 1 toothpick.

A cost many of us cant afford.

Worth

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Worth1

May be but 2 toothpicks would cost twice as much as using 1 toothpick.

A cost many of us cant afford.

Worth

I know that would be a hardship. Maybe we could apply for a government grant to study the subject of toothpicks and their ability to stop cutworms. I think with a few million in grant money we could do some real good in that field of study.

Seems to me it would be a better way to spend the money than some studies I have seen funded.

Bill

[Stvrob]

Well you could always carve your own if money is tight

[clkeiper]

Worth, Maybe just set up a collection can at the local diner and ask for used ones...that should be real economical.