• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

Cutworm Hell

Eephus Man

Eephus Man

Have now lost four plants in six days since plant out to these little brown bastards. I now have a bit of a soft spot for horn worms, since they at least give me a fighting chance by eating the leaves first and not just sawin' it off.

My understanding is that at this point, I'm pretty much just screwed. I'll mitigate damages each morning to the best of my abilities. BT works, but not before the seedling is a sacrifice.

But I'm curious if anyone has any family-secret suppression tips to prevent this onslaught in the future.

I'm all ears.

Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but a splattering of entrails just isn't nearly as satisfying as creating an undesirable neighborhood for these little killers.

They killed my last Biker Billy in my raised beds. And I REALLY like my Biker Billys!!

Also, good to be back 'round here...
 
Cut a toilet paper roll or Paper Towel roll into 2" lengths.
Cut a slit in the length, and wrap around stem.
Push down into soil so it won't blow away in the wind.
Those little BASTARDS won't be able to wrap around the stem and have their chew party.

It works. trust.
 
Last year Highalt told me of a trick she uses that's non-chemical, quick and easy... take bamboo skewers and stick them into the ground an inch deep in such a way that the skewer is right up against the plant stem. The Cutworms only have a brain the size of a pinpoint and can't tell the difference between the plant stem and the skewer. They can't chew through the skewer, so they leave the plant alone. I used this method from the day of plant-out and had no losses to cutworms at all. The 2 years before that, I had significant losses, so I'd say this method really works. http://thehotpepper.com/topic/28300-stickmans-2012-gochu-pepper-glog/page__st__40#entry599337
 
And this is why I love this place. Thank so much, y'all. Will try one/several of the above. I'm going to try physical methods at this point, I have no idea why they're so bad this year.
 
Yeah Stickman, CJ (wife) read somewhere to place a popsicle stick next to the plant stem,
they can't wrap their body all the way around the stem and the stick so they move on.
It worked well for her too.

They are pretty easy to fool once you realize how they operate.
They need to wrap around the stem like a doughnut when they go to work. little bastards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top