Worms help!
I have sea lavender and verbena getting decimated by the worms. What are they? What will kill these destructive critters? Thank you in advance.
- applestar
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That looks like a cutworm. Does it coil into a circle if you poke at it? If they are cutworms, they climb up and feed at night and climb down to hide in litter/under leaves, mulch, or dug in under the soil. It helps to shallowly rake around under the plants to unearth them as you seem to have done in the photo, and get rid of them. You may also find brown pupae in the ground.
What part of the plants are they eating? Since they are moth caterpillars, Bt (thuricide, dipel) should work, but be very careful not to spray the flowers (and upper foliage) which are butterfly magnets since this pesticide will infect them and could potentially transmit the bacteria to their caterpillars.
What part of the plants are they eating? Since they are moth caterpillars, Bt (thuricide, dipel) should work, but be very careful not to spray the flowers (and upper foliage) which are butterfly magnets since this pesticide will infect them and could potentially transmit the bacteria to their caterpillars.
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- Greener Thumb
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