How to get rid of cutworms that are at risk of damaging your plants and garden? The problem is cutworms with their small bodies can even destroy your plants in no time. Maybe you already took steps to prevent cutworms, but they still attack your plants, so you must get rid of them quickly with these help before their numbers increase and more severe damage happens.
How to Get Rid of Cutworms Easily
Handpick and Put Them in Soapy Water
If you’re not afraid to handle cutworms directly, there’s nothing wrong with using this manual method. Prepare a bucket of soapy water and head out to the garden to check for them. It’s better to do it in the evening or after dark to examine the base of your damaged plants.
Use a flashlight to scan around and make sure you’ve worn your garden gloves when doing this. When you find them, handpick the cutworms, and don’t hesitate to put them in a bucket full of soapy water. But if you don’t find them, use your hands to brush against the soil in order to get them.Use Diatomaceous Earth
If you need an alternative way to get rid of the cutworms, consider using diatomaceous earth (DE). This is known as one of the abrasive materials that works effectively at irritating cutworms in your garden or lawn. The composition of the dried DE consists of silica (80-90%), alumina (2-4%), and iron oxide (0.5-2%).
This abrasive material can help you to kill cutworms and ants as well as control aphids. Don’t worry if you see the cutworms crawling on the soil surface, you can simply use diatomaceous earth on them. Always check your plants at night and use this non-toxic way to get rid of pests in your garden.Rely on Chemical Control
How to get rid of cutworms in soil that might put your plants in danger is using chemical control. Deltamethrin, permethrin, bifenthrin, and fenvalerate are included in synthetic pyrethroid insecticides you can use to save your plants. Be careful with the high-level use because it may cause headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and even muscle cramps in humans.Use Plant Collars
Opt for plant collars to shield your young plants so the cutworms cannot even get close to them. Plant collars with their 2-3 inches of net cup can keep your plants growing in place without worrying about cutworms. Made of cardboard or aluminum foil, they won’t be visible once they’re set and sunk into the soil.
You don’t even have to make them yourself because you can buy plant collars in local stores. If you want your plants to be safe from day one, install this extra support during propagation from cuttings. There’s a season when cutworms are no longer active, so when this day comes you can remove the plant collars.Expose Cutworms to the Birds
Another natural way to get rid of cutworms from your garden is by tilling the soil. Tilling your garden soil means letting the cutworms be exposed to the air so the birds can see them. Do tilling in spring or fall; or else, you can have chickens to eat the cutworms and save your plants.
How to get rid of cutworms in your garden might not be that easy, but you can always try it. There are many ways to save your plants and garden from pests, either using natural methods or chemical solutions. Also, make sure to clean up the garden in the fall by burning and throwing all the infected plants.