Well, the most natural way is to hunt them down in the immediate vicinity AFTER they have cut off a plant and squish them.

I noticed some very large whiteish worms in the partly rotted horse manure with lots of hay in it. I must have skwished 50 to 75 of them.

This post was edited by wayne_5 on Wed, Jan 7, 15 at 10:17

I take Wayne's approach for things like onions or peas. The cutworms spend their days in the dirt near plants they have munched on so you can shuffle through the dirt with your fingers and often find them. I also sometimes go out after dark with a flashlight and remove cutworms when they come out to feed. For individual plants like tomatoes or peppers, I make a collar out of an old yogurt container or something similar and place it around the plant with the rim buried about 1" when I plant. It doesn't get rid of the cutworms, but it does protect the plants. I suppose that for my peas I could use some type of barrier around the whole bed, but I haven't ever tried that.

I get what I can when I till. Then, I do something similar to to nhhabs-- instead of a collar though, I take 2-3 toothpicks and insert into soil right next to the stalks of fresh transplants so the cutowrms can't wrap around them and snip them at the soil line...haven't lost one single transplant since i started doing this.

Diatomaceous Earth is supposed to work, but I've refrained from using it since it's pretty broad spectrum. Plus, once it's wet, it's sorta useless.

Beneficial nematodes would probably be the most effective natural remedy.

Kevin

Good ideas here. Also I've found for most plants that since it is usually just the newly and tender transplanted plants that get cut off, I harden my plants in more than most out on the picnic table

Good ideas here. Also I've found for most plants that since it is usually just the newly and tender transplanted plants that get cut off, I harden my plants in more than most out on the picnic table.

Sorry for the double post but the computer or the site is doing that...every post of mine is having quirks...just on GW.

This post was edited by wayne_5 on Wed, Jan 7, 15 at 12:37

http://www.almanac.com/content/cutworms

How to get rid of Cutworms

In the spring, emerging cutworms will be waiting to feast on your garden. Cut off their food supply by delaying transplanting or planting by a couple weeks if possible.

Make plant collars. Put a 4-inch piece of cardboard around each plant stem to help stop cutworms from reaching tender stems, especially right at transplanting. This time-consuming task works though it is only efficient for a smaller garden!

Hand pick. Go out at night with a flashlight and gloves. Pick off the cutworms and drop into soapy water; repeat this every few nights.

Sprinkle used coffee grounds or egg shells around your plants.

Circle stems with diatomaceous earth, a natural powder made from ground up fossils which kills insects when they walk over it.

Apply an insecticide late in the afternoon for best control. Some readers use Bacillus thuringiensism, a natural way to kill cutworms. However, note that this bacterium may harm butterflies, an important pollinator.

Keep up with cultivation. The moths prefer to lay eggs in high grass and weeds. At the end of the season, plow or till the garden and mow surrounding areas to expose cutworms and destroy their winter habitat.

The rule of thumb for BT is it kills caterpillars and larvae but not grubs. There are exceptions, but then again a lot of different critters are called cutworms.

Here's a list from Colorado State University. Notice, no grubs except for the beetles at the end:

Insects Controlled by Bt

Vegetable insects
Cabbage worm (cabbage looper, imported cabbageworm, diamondback moth, etc.).
Tomato and tobacco hornworm.

Field and forage crop insects
European corn borer.
Alfalfa caterpillar, alfalfa webworm.

Fruit crop insects
Leafroller.
Achemon sphinx.

Tree and shrub insects
Tent caterpillar.
Fall webworm.
Leafroller.
Red-humped caterpillar.
Spiny elm caterpillar.
Western spruce budworm.
Pine budworm.
Pine butterfly.

Israelensis strains (Mosquito Dunks)
Mosquito.
Black fly.
Fungus gnat.

San diego/tenebrionis strains
Colorado potato beetle.
Elm leaf beetle.
Cottonwood leaf beetle.

This post was edited by grubby_me on Thu, Jan 8, 15 at 15:09

I think grubby_me left out what strain(variant) controls the pests he lists before getting to the Israelensis strain. I believe he meant to list these as being controlled by Bt K variant(KURSTAKI).

Kevin

Has anyone mentioned cornmeal yet? Good stuff as they love it, eat it but can't digest it so they swell up and die. Just sprinkle a light band of it around the base of the plants.

Then there is the old "big nail along side the stem" trick.

Dave

I've heard that before Dave, but always thought it was one of those "too easy to believe" tricks. But now that I've heard it from YOU, I believe it. Does it work on ALL grubs? Big difference between 30 dollar nematodes and a 2 buck box of cornmeal!

Kevin

This post was edited by woohooman on Fri, Jan 9, 15 at 0:42

Yep. Excessive simplification rears it's ugly little head yet again. It should have started out:
Insects Controlled by Bt
Kurstaki strain (Biobit, Dipel, MVP, Steward, Thuricide, etc.):
Vegetable insects

It must be true. It's on the internet.

Here is a link that might be useful: here's the original

Thanks for all of the ideas! I like the cornmeal, egg shells and coffee ground ideas the best. The tooth picks sound good too.

Thanks for all of the ideas! I like the cornmeal, egg shells and coffee ground ideas the best. The tooth picks sound good too.