cutworms ...

very early spring devil for me.. surprised they are still around for you.. that you are so far behind this summer ....

if you scratch the soil.. you will find the grub not to far from the stalks ... see link ..

and but for that one decimated plant.. maybe only 1 or 2 per plant ...

they pupate pretty fast .. so i usually ignore using sevin ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Cutworms. Usually I battle them with my tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Didn't know they would attack hostas as well.

they pupate pretty fast .. so i usually ignore using sevin ...

Not sure what you mean. You just ignore the damage? Or you use sevin? I would prefer not to use sevin. I think you mean that they will stop soon? And I should try to find the buggers near the plants and take care of them?

Oh, and that "decimated" plant is Stained Glass - my favorite :(

i ignore them..

if i were to act.. sevin works ... but who wants a dust covered plant

ken

i ignore them.. because they are usually gone by the second flush ... which covers LITTLE damage ...

if it were like her SG.. i would scratch around and manually get rid of the ones i found ..

ken

It may be both cutworms and slugs. That last plant definitely has slug holes in it.

Steve

Looks like a blend to me, too. Ken, I've never used Sevin dust- would you have to coat the whole plant or couldn't you just apply it near the base where they access the hosta? I lucked out this year- killed a few cutworms I happened to find, but otherwise no real damage from them. Some years have been bad.

That last plant definitely has slug holes in it

So how do you tell them apart?

The slugs can get to the plants even with the bait I put out (Sluggo)?

Yes, bait is not 100% effective. Especially when the infestation is severe. Those small round holes that you see in the last picture in the leaf that is at about 5 o'clock are definitively slug holes. Cutworms are more likely to eat from the edge in.

For slugs I use a combination of Sluggo, hand picking, Ammonia and water and traps. Simple traps like flat rocks or boards in places where slugs are likely to be, and checked every morning. This year in New England the slug population is booming with people seeing them on plants they haven't been on before. I found one on a daffodil leaf! So a multipronged offensive is called for.

Steve

Ah hah. Thank you. I believe I have others that have both the small holes and the nibbled edges. I will work on additional slug control methods.

Thank you all!

I've been picking off cutworms this week.

Paul

I saw baby slugs crawling on driveway and walkways, had a bottle with bleach handy, brought them a slimy end. They seem to climb into pots where they liked BugGeta Plus.

When clearing out spent flower stalks of companion plants (columbines) I got slimy residue on hands and under my sneakers. That seems to indicate that as I had companion plants I also created a safe haven for slugs. Companion plants seem to be a safe place for them to attack hostas from.
Bernd

I was just out looking for cutworms around my hostas. I found a few. I didn't realize that they eat hostas, so thanks for the info. A website - organicgarden info.com- claims that cornmeal sprinkled around hostas kills them. Apparently cutworms enjoy eating it; they cannot digest it and die from indigestion. The site also provides a recipe using molasses and sawdust. Since I have used cornmeal in the past to increase the beneficial microbes in my soil. I'm going to use the cornmeal.

Hm, that's worth a shot! They may not be as plentiful as slugs, but I hate them more because their damage is so much bigger...it just jumps out at you. Aside from eating from the edge in, they also tend to eat in those long rows between veins that you see in the pics. Slugs make smaller, more random holes allover.

I use Bug Geta Plus for the slugs and Ortho Eight spray for the cutworms.

I haven't had so much damage from cutworms as I have this year. This years weather anomalies seems to really favor them.

Just listening to the weather forecast by Tom Skilling with WGN TV. He is one of the most accurate weathermen I have seen. Skilling says we are on the verge of the hottest, dryest weather for the next month in history. Not good since I have had slightly less than 1" of rain in the last month.

Les

Les

Cindy,

Bug Geta Plus is supposed to take care of both slugs and cutworms. It's a Methaldehyde bait along with Carbaryl (Sevin) and it's made by Ortho. What is in "Ortho Eight Spray" that makes you think you need that also? I can't find any reference to this insecticide anywhere.

Many people choose to use Methadehyde bait because it is proven to be effective. However, those of us with curious pets have chosen not to use it because it is very toxic. If a pet eats just a small amount of Methadehyde it could be fatal.

Here is what it says on the label:
"Application of this methaldehyde product is prohibited unless children and domestic animals can be excluded from the treated area from the start of application until the applied product is no longer visible."

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Bug Geta Plus

I have used the BugGeta from Steins three times this year already, and I still have problems. Now I know why it was on sale; doesn't work. What does the Bug Geta PLUS have in it that the other one doesn't?

Steelskies- Steve answered your question in the response just before yours.

-Babka

All slug treatments, BugGetaPlus and Sluggo are poisonous, though I never noticed any effects on squirrels and cats of my neighborhood when I use BugGeta Plus. Bill Meyer wrote about the hidden effects of Sluggo, I think in the AHS website. My BugGetaPlus works, no slug damage yet here.
Bernd

Bernd,

While that is true about baits, the extent to which each is toxic differs significantly. The pet deaths that have occurred with Iron Phosphate baits are a result of pets eating a significant quantity of the stuff by getting into a bag full and eating it.

Methaldehyde baits have bitrex added which makes them bad tasting to mammals. However, just a small amount of Methaldehyde can be fatal for pets. The label on Bug Geta says that a user must keep pets and small children out of the treated area from the time that the bait is put out until the time it is no longer visible. Since I can't do that, I choose not to use it.

I think you are right, though, it's more effective than Iron Phosphate.

Steve

Steve, I found that the Bug Geta Plus was good for slugs and pill bugs but I still had issues with cutworms until I applied the Eight. And Steve, my bad! The Eight is made by Bonide and is for cutworms along with a bunch others. I only had to spray it once.

Ahh. Bonide Eight. That's a permethrin based insecticide. It works well on cutworms and others as you have said. You might want to save yourself some money and use the regular Bug Geta with Bonide Eight. Using both Carbaryl (Sevin) and permethrin is somewhat redundant. Just make sure the bees aren't around when you spray it.

Steve

This talk of cutworms reminds me of a joke of the "We were so poor..." category.

When I was growing up we were so poor that some days we had nothing to eat but Collards and momma had to tie rags soaked in coal oil around our ankles to keep the cutworms away from us.

Today I found a round shiny EGG of a cutworm on top of a leaf. Not sure if the wild birds found it and dropped it there, but bird poop was on the hosta.

So now it is cut worm damage control time.

Steve, you know a lot about insecticides. I go what works for me and what is cheap, BugGeta Plus from HD. As I said, I have not seen any problems with wild life and neighbor's cats. Concerns are probably way overblown. In my neighborhood young kids stay with their parents and do not need to scrounge around for food under my hostas. My live-in grandson grew up in my garden, has now his own vegetable garden, and since he is smart does not consider BGP pellets as candy, LOL.
Bernd

And I'm finding the Bug Geta Plus is darn close to the same price as regular. I have only had to spray with Eight once this spring for cutworms but the slugs and pill bugs, that's another story!! I will say hitting it hard this spring has got me in a honeymoon phase with all of the pests.