Description and fight against the clicker beetle (wireworm) on potatoes
Often in the garden you can find a clicker beetle, which destroys potato tubers, feeds on stems and leaves, leaving holes in them. You need to know how to deal with a wireworm on potatoes in order to save the crop. It is quite difficult to recognize the affected fruits, only during digging them up. There are basic control methods that are more gentle on the potato and the garden as a whole.
Description of the individual
Wireworms are the larva of an adult click beetle. These are black beetles that lay larvae in the ground. These larvae then harm the crop, begin to feed on roots, eat potatoes and flower tubers.
In winter, the larva huddles in the soil under the snow. Deep in the ground, she is warm. When it gets warm, the insect crawls out to the surface. The wireworm loves warmth, moisture, acidic soil. Therefore, when dealing with it, you must first get rid of too acidic soil. They grow well when the air warms up to twenty degrees in spring.
If the wireworm is in the potato, it means that a buttercup, woodlouse, wheatgrass are growing somewhere nearby. The worm loves to eat it very much. Therefore, before planting, you need to make sure that this weed is not nearby.
The beetles lay eggs not only on tubers, but also destroy all bulbous flowers, bean roots, beets, wheat, and corn. They do not keep plants alive. That is why it is necessary to fight against them.
Beetles are also called nutcrackers for the sound they make, as if clicking. They have a long, elongated body covered with black armor. It is very hard that you cannot crush it.
Why are beetles dangerous?
Small larvae do not do much harm. The most dangerous are the larvae that live longer than two years. They already look like worms, their body is about three centimeters long. It becomes hard and durable. Its color is from yellow to brown.
Then these worms are already beginning to actively eat the crop. They feed on potato tubers, beets, plant roots, stems, seeds, without leaving the plant alive. They rot and die.
Gnawed potatoes lose their presentation, they quickly rot, they need to be cut off a lot in order to use them for food. The larvae live for a long time, therefore, if you do not get rid of them in the fall, then the situation will repeat itself next year, and the yield losses will be significant.
That is why gardeners are fighting these parasites. There are basic ways that you can handle them perfectly.
What does a damaged vegetable look like?
Click beetles cause great harm to the potato crop. Removing a wireworm from a potato tuber is very difficult if it has already settled there. The vegetable is already becoming unfit for food.
In the photo you can see what the infected potato looks like.It is all in holes, made by worms. They leave moves of a complex shape. Sometimes rot already begins inside. Holes in the tubers are already visible from the outside. Such a root vegetable is difficult to peel and cut, removing these passages and worms. It is often thrown away and not used for food.
Mushrooms, rot, bacteria, mold can enter through the holes. Such a vegetable is already difficult to save. All this greatly affects the appearance of the potatoes and the quality. It is necessary to destroy these insects, otherwise they will eventually destroy the entire crop... It is best to take preventive measures.
Chemicals to help
There are tons of secrets on how to get rid of a wireworm in a potato field. You can read their descriptions on the Internet or in books about gardening. The use of chemicals is especially effective. Indeed, some elements are very poisonous for parasites.
To protect plantings, it is recommended to fertilize the soil with ammonium sulfate in the spring. It contains ammonia, which is harmful to beetles. You can also treat the planting sites on the potato site with manganese dissolved in water. But it is important to regulate the acidity level of the soil, as this can destroy the leaves and stems of the crop.
What to do if wireworm larvae have already settled on potatoes. Many gardeners use a special preparation BB1 - an entomopathogenic fungus. It affects insects by germinating on their body. Parasites dry out, become covered with bloom, cannot develop and function normally. Mushrooms suppress their activity. Before removing parasites with this fungus, the soil must be moistened.
There are other products that can be purchased in specialized stores: Force, Cruiser, Aktara, Prestige, Tabu. These funds should be used to water the soil, as well as planting material. You can ask consultants in stores how to destroy pests.
How to use traps?
Every experienced gardener knows how to protect potatoes from the click beetle without resorting to buying expensive poisonous products. You can always make traps in the potato field from these insects that destroy plants and flowers. It is known that a trap and a trap perfectly protect the crop from uninvited guests.
You can prepare traps in the spring. In the place where insects used to live, you need to dig small holes, put grass, hay, the remains of tops, branches in them. Soon pests will run there. Then this herb must be burned. Repeat the procedure if necessary. You can also plant on the spot where there will be potatoes, barley, oats.
As soon as small shoots appear, they must be dug out. There will be worms on the roots. They will have to be destroyed immediately.
You can throw slices of beets, carrots to crawling enemies, burying them in the ground. After three to four days, they can be dug up with worms. So these nutcrackers fall into traps. They should be scalded with hot water and burned. In order not to forget where the traps are hidden, you can prick small sticks on them.
You can also bury it almost entirely in the ground. There must be some tasty bait inside. Check them every day, free from insects, add fresh pieces. In the fall, the harvested soil should also be checked for the presence of dangerous worms.
All these traps are sometimes more effective than poisonous substances against the larvae of the click beetle.
Traditional methods
Fighting the wireworm also includes folk remedies. They have been known for a very long time, and are passed down from generation to generation.
To destroy the wireworm, the places in which potatoes are to be planted should be treated with infusions of various herbs: nettle, dandelion, celandine, wormwood. The aroma and bitterness of these plants will scare away beetles. It is recommended to insist for half a day, a glass of herbs is taken on a bucket of water. They must be fresh and hand-picked.
You can water the pits with a manganese solution. This will disinfect the future harvest and scare away the worms. Potassium permanganate also protects against fungal diseases.
To get rid of pests, use onion peel, mustard powder. You can alternate planting potatoes with mustard. The black beetle cannot bear this grass and will flee.
Every year, you should dig up a section of the potato field, change the place, sprinkle with salt. If potatoes grow from year to year in the same area, then there is no hope that pests will get rid of. But you can't start the field either. An unkempt garden is a breeding ground for bacteria and insects.
Prevention and feeding
It is necessary to know the measures to prevent the occurrence of larvae, so that later you do not rack your brains over how to get rid of the wireworm. There are folk remedies that can help protect the crop.
It is very important to patiently take care of the site, then you do not have to think about how to get rid of the wireworm in the potatoes.
In the fall, it is worth digging up the garden properly. This method is especially effective just before frost. The larvae will get out and freeze. They cannot survive.
They also dig up plantations in early spring on sunny days. Direct sunlight will help kill the worms.
It is dangerous to take land from untested other people's gardens. There may be many harmful insects. Beetles love acidic soil. Gardeners sometimes make the mistake of putting too much manure in the ground. This increases its acidity. Acidic soil can be regulated by planting sorrel, plantain, fertilizing the soil with ash, lime.
The place for the potatoes should be changed periodically every two years. You do not need to plant the same plants in the same place all the time. But it is also important to observe the correct fit.
In the place where the potatoes were, you can plant something that clickers hate. It can be legumes, beans, mustard. Then the larvae will escape from the fields to places where they can feed.
After harvesting, it is important to check several times if there are any root crops left in the ground. After all, this is food for the development of worms. They grow up and become much more dangerous.
You can scatter raw egg shells over the area. Many insects are afraid of her. This is protection not only from the clicker, but also from slugs and bears. In addition, it is an excellent root dressing.
It is important to constantly combat weeds, as well as pay attention not only to potatoes, but also to other plants.
It is important for gardeners to learn all the techniques on how to get rid of the wireworm in potatoes. If you use useful and safe means, you can save the garden from uninvited guests once and for all.
