What to do about cutworms.

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baja220
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Joined: Oct 18, 2006 6:28 pm
USDA Zone: 6
Location: Tulsa, OK

What to do about cutworms.

Post by baja220 »

Last year I had cutworm damage as early as the last week of march, but we had a really warm March last year that caused spring to arrive waaaaayyyyy too early. Then of course, the Easter freeze.
Anyway I need a way to get rid of the cutworms. If I'm gonna have the kind of damage I had last year there's no reason to have hostas. They were sooooo ugly.
I've been looking at this product from Gardens Alive.
http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=5000&ss=5003 I have no idea if it'll work and I have no idea when to spray them. Your supposed to use them within 2 days of receiving them. It's expensive too. I'd probably need the pkg of 50 million @ 99.95. But that's ok if I sorta knew how, when, and if it'd work.
Any other ideas??? I don't wanna screw around with it. If harsh chemicals are called for, then that's what I'll do.
Last year when I asked around at the local nurseries, all they could tell me is cutworms don't eat hostas, slugs do. :roll:
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sugar
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Location: Belgium

Re: What to do about cutworms.

Post by sugar »

baja220 wrote:Last year I had cutworm damage as early as the last week of march, but we had a really warm March last year that caused spring to arrive waaaaayyyyy too early. Then of course, the Easter freeze.
Anyway I need a way to get rid of the cutworms. If I'm gonna have the kind of damage I had last year there's no reason to have hostas. They were sooooo ugly.
I've been looking at this product from Gardens Alive.
http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=5000&ss=5003 I have no idea if it'll work and I have no idea when to spray them. Your supposed to use them within 2 days of receiving them. It's expensive too. I'd probably need the pkg of 50 million @ 99.95. But that's ok if I sorta knew how, when, and if it'd work.
Any other ideas??? I don't wanna screw around with it. If harsh chemicals are called for, then that's what I'll do.
Last year when I asked around at the local nurseries, all they could tell me is cutworms don't eat hostas, slugs do. :roll:
most nematodes need a decent soil temperature before applying , some can be applied from 5°C on (41F) , but most nematodes need at least 10°C (50F) for optimal result
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eastwood2007
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Location: kansas, usa zone 5b

Post by eastwood2007 »

Debbie, last year I had them, too. On the bottle of Pyrethrin/Pyrethrum spray it says it will kill them. I did spray and only saw one more after that. I didn't have them as badly as I remember you did.

I do think it is a chemical you have to watch around cats, maybe? But it is what is in many dog tick/flea shampoos that 'they say' you can put right on the animal. I use it sparingly still.

It is very inexpensive...
Charla
Latitude 38.57N; Longitude -94.89W (Elev. 886 ft.)
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Shade Tolerant
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Post by Shade Tolerant »

Debbie if you're checking out the gardens alive site look at their Escar-Go Supreme. It's the natural iron phosphate slug bait with an added attractant to kill cutworms too. I'm going to try it this year and see how well it works on cutworms. I've previously used the regular Escar-Go and it was great against slugs.
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Kas
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Post by Kas »

I find it very satisfiying to go out with my headlamp and a jar of warm soapy water and pick the little beasts off my plants. I was averaging 75 a night for a while. The next year I didn't have near as many, but I picked them anyway. So hopefully this year I won't find more than a few. I even find them hiding out in the daytime in my ornamental grasses.

Kas
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend; and inside a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
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baja220
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USDA Zone: 6
Location: Tulsa, OK

Post by baja220 »

Shade, I saw that and was gonna order that too. Wonder how it works, does it lure them out of the ground?

Charla, I've always had cutworms, just didn't know till Chris identified the problem the year before last on Daves. Before that I thought I had a huge slug problem. :roll:
What is Pyrethrin/Pyrethrum in? I got some Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer last year that has cutworms listed, but it didn't seem to help. It's doesn't have Pyrethrin/Pyrethrum in it.

Sugar, did you read the directions for use? It says to spray at temps above 50, but doesn't say anything about the soil temp. Today it's 73* but that's not normal and it'll be back down to normal Sunday night. That's another problem, this time of year the temps are crazy. 73 today, snow Sun night and Mon. :roll:
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eastwood2007
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Location: kansas, usa zone 5b

Post by eastwood2007 »

Debbie, Walmart carries a product called 'Eliminator' ant, roach, tick spray. It's active ingredient is Pyrethrin.
Charla
Latitude 38.57N; Longitude -94.89W (Elev. 886 ft.)
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thy
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Post by thy »

Do not have your sort of cutworms, but for other plants white butterfly larvas is a mayor problem here...and Pyrethrin/Pyrethrum is the answer...
Here is is used for tropeliums as well as curlyflowers ? (veggie) and do wonders :wink:
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baja220
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Location: Tulsa, OK

Post by baja220 »

Thanks Charla and Thy. I think I'll give this a try.
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