Wire Worm

[yduj]

Does anyone know how we can get rid of wire worm. We have been cultivating a small corner of a grassy field to grow vegetables for the last 3-4 years. Most crops are fine but onion type veg and potatoes are destroyed by these beasties.

[Chipchopper]

This is the grub of the click beetle, they are a typical pest in newly cultivated grassland. After 3-4 years the problem should start to subside. I would advise lifting crops as soon as they mature, this will help break the cycle.

You can treat the soil with insecticide, such as 'Pirimiphos-methyl.

[yduj]

Thanks Chipchopper but that chemical was withdrawn from sale in 2003. We will just have to keep cultivating and hope they get less each year.

[Chipchopper]

Hi yduj,
Sorry, I didn't realize that one had been withdrawn, I'll make a note of that.

I once had a small lawn area at the front of my house, in which I made a circular flower bed in the middle and for the first couple of years I too was pestered with wire worms but fortunately they became less and less over the following years.

[Alston]

http://www.ehow.com/how_5530318_rid-wire-worms-garden.html

[Chipchopper]

Not sure if it would be financially viable ? but you could try biological control, if the problem persists, using live nematodes, watered in between May to September.