How to get rid of wireworm: effective methods

It's nice to collect your own crop grown on your land in autumn! And how painful to notice that some of it has already been eaten or spoiled by pests. That is why the fight against wireworm on potatoes must necessarily be included in the list of important actions for the gardener. Otherwise, autumn disappointments can not be avoided - the larvae of this pest can cause serious damage to the crop.

How to get rid of wireworm with baits?

To deal with insects, without affecting the state of planting, it is worth paying attention to simple and eco-friendly ways. For example, try to dig deeper in the season in order to destroy the creeping couch grass. These weeds are very attracted to wireworms and serve as their favorite treat. Another good tool is the planting of bait plants. Before planting potatoes, you should plant oats, wheat, corn or barley with nests. After a while, you can dig up the seeds that began to grow together with the larvae gathered to them. Their destruction seriously reduces the number of pests.

Another way to get rid of wireworms is bait from cut vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots or beets. They, too, need to be left in the ground for a while to attract the larvae, and then dig it along with the insects. Of course, fighting with baits requires some attention and effort, but this method produces good results and does not harm the condition of soil and plants. As a more convenient lure can serve as a salad. Spread it between beds with potatoes - and the larvae will feed on its roots. To attract the insect's females, it is possible to lay out a few heaps of grass and straw in which they will settle and lay eggs. By destroying these heaps, you will reduce the wireworm population.

Chemistry against pests: we use special means

For garden on alkaline soil, watering with manganese solution is suitable. Take five grams of potassium permanganate per 10 liters of water and pour the plants under the roots or in the wells. This method will be quite effective if you do not have a lot of pests. You can also make ammonium fertilizers - ammonium sulfate , nitrate or ammonium chloride. Valuable varieties of potatoes can be treated with a solution of celandine. But it should be borne in mind that the celandine itself is poisonous, and it is not necessary to talk about the safety of such a method. There is another way of getting rid of the wireworm - ready-made compounds that destroy parasites. These are such means as "Aktara" or "Prestige". Using them, carefully read the instructions and do everything as described there. Those who do not want to use such substances, you can advise make a decoction of celandine, dandelion, nettles and coltsfoot, brewed for 10 liters of water. You can water this plant composition every few days.

How to get rid of a wireworm? Another more environmentally friendly option is to sprinkle the soil when digging with ashes. Try to spend the autumn digging right before freezing to destroy the maximum number of larvae. You can use not only ashes, but also chalk or lime to make your soil completely unattractive to pests. Such methods are safer than chemical compounds and do not require as much attention as bait.