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Grubs & Cutworms

I've had issues getting my garden started this year.  Seedlings typically are not coming up, and young plants are being shredded down.  I can't grow anything, except the irises, they are doing great.

 

In digging up my seedlings, I find they are being eaten before emerging, and I have grubs and probably cutworms.

 

Is there a way to treat these, so I can still be able to grow in my garden this summer? 

 

Merit?

Grub-X?  

Milky Spores?

 

Any input and experience is GREATLY appreciated - I'm kinda still green on my greenthumb.  :-)

 

Thank you all!

 

Kelly

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Permalink Reply by Jack Ellis on April 21, 2011 at 1:41pm

Kelly, use a soil drench of any broad spectrum insecticide, as long as it's not systemic- bifenthrin is good for that (sold retail as Bugs-B-Gone). I would mix that retail product at least twice the label strength for a soil drench. It's not taken up by the plants and you're not spraying the crop itself. I imagine a drench of Sevin would also work - it kills lepidoptera larvae.

 

There are also granular products - just make sure they are labelled for veggies. If you have those problems, you should treat the soil at the beginning of the season before you plant anything.

 

Jack

Permalink Reply by STEVE HICKERSON on April 24, 2011 at 11:10am
KELLY TAKE A SMALL STICK AN PLACE IT DOWN BESIDE THE PLANT THAT WAY THE CUT WORM CAN NOT RAP AROUND THE PLANT AN CUT IT DOWN IT WORKS YOUR FREIND STEVE
Permalink Reply by Kelly G. Riney on April 26, 2011 at 10:57am
Thanks Guys! I'll try a soil drench, because something is getting the seedlings just as they sprout. Kinda a bummer. For plants I buy from a greenhouse, I'll probably try the stick too. :-)
Permalink Reply by tulsacityfarmer on May 1, 2011 at 12:02am
 There are also natural ways to deal with those grubs and cut worms. There are several

Beneficial  nematodes  that can control Grubs, Fleas, & Caterpillars. Safe, Effective, & Easy To Use.

Permalink Reply by Jack Ellis on May 1, 2011 at 6:11am

The only good nematode is a dead nematode! :-) Safe and easy to use, yes. But effective, no. I got suckered into that nonsense thirty years ago and basically wasted ten years of my gardening life before I wised-up.

 

Jack

 

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by tulsacityfarmer on May 1, 2011 at 1:01pm
 There are many types of nematodes beneficial and some who kill certain crops. I had a terrible problem with cucumber beetles and I learned about beneficial nematodes, which did the job and got the larva of the cucumber beetles! Happy ending for me. 
Permalink Reply by Devlin Reynolds on May 5, 2011 at 11:58pm

We sell Dazitol for agricultural use sites and Nemitol for turf sites. Both are approved for organic production and excellent soil insect and nematode control.

 

The key is getting the product to the pest. So watering in is essential.

 

Devlin Reynolds

704-892-9952.

Permalink Reply by Kelly G. Riney on May 6, 2011 at 9:01am

Thanks everyone.  My hubby decided the only product to put down was bayer advanced season-long grub control, with Merit.  So, we've applied this and watered it in.

 

I'm still having issues with getting seedlings up.  At least my sweet corn came up this time.  However, my tomatoes, peas, and peppers are not making it out of the ground.  And I'm finding dead beetles here and there.

 

My young sweet broom shrub seems to be recovering without being eaten.  And I've found a few dead beetles around it.

 

I may sneak some of the other stuff in the ground and see what happens.  :-)

Permalink Reply by Jack Ellis on May 6, 2011 at 11:32am

Kelly, what does your hubby think about Dazitol. It's made from chili and mustard and other "natural" extracts". Sounds like some really bad stuff! LOL

There have been many biological nematicides on the market over the years and none of them has proved effective except in soils very rich in organic matter (which tend NOT to have nem problems anyway). Organic matter alone is an effective nem control - if you have that, you don't need any additional "natural extracts". etc.

 

Jack

Permalink Reply by tulsacityfarmer on May 7, 2011 at 11:48pm

 

Send those researchers to my place, then. I add about six 15 ton trucks of wood chips into my soil every three years. This is in a section not to grow veggies in this year, but the next .It is covered in a cover crop of clover until next spring. I had cucumber beetles until a two year addition of nematodes .I still get them, but not the infestations I used to get. I'm glad you see dead beetles, but what about the cutworms?

Not to argue, but I guess everyone has opinions and whatever gives you the results you need is all that matters good luck.

Permalink Reply by luke ottinger sr on May 27, 2011 at 9:26pm

Kelly are you trying to plant tomatoes and peppers from seed in the soil? if so that would be a problem, cuz that would make for super tender eating for the cutworms. You should start toms and peppers in cell packs at least min. 4 weeks ahead of time.

Permalink Reply by Claudia Kord on August 2, 2011 at 2:06pm
I use Neem Oil and found it very affective.  You may have to use it several weeks in a row, but it has many benefits.  It also fights dampening-off and other diseases.

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