Help! Young corn plants being butchered
Hello, new forum-goer here praying someone has a solution for me. I have a fairly small garden in which I have planted corn. Tried it last year with modest success so trying again this year. However, every few days something is getting into the garden and cutting the young plants off at the ground. Nothing is being eaten, it looks as though they have been cut with scissors. In some cases soil around the plant is excavated, but not always. Seed and root are undisturbed. I am going out of my head trying to protect my garden and failing. I'm not even sure what I am up against. Anyone seen this before? Thank you so much!
Cutworm... Had not heard of them before today. I had suspected some kind of rodent but for the fact that nothing appeared to be eaten; the plants were just cut and left to lay. Guess I will need to find a pesticide to try to remove them before I lose the rest of my plants. I've already lost probably 60% and given the growing season in Western NY it may be too late to reseed and have a decent yield.told2b wrote:Google black cutworm and young corn.
Thank you!
The thought had crossed my mind lol. But none of my other plants were touched; only the corn. Plus the garden is enclosed to keep the deer away, and it's a hassle to get inside.tillency wrote:It's crazy. Maybe your neighbor doesn't like you
I JUST went through this with my broccoli - see topic: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=74354
This year, for my peppers, tomatoes and now broccoli, I use 3 of those little wooden skewers around the stem. You know like the ones you would make shish kabobs out of. It has helped.
Funny thing is, I have been planting sets of corn in succession this year (have one more set to go) and no cutworms yet (knock on wood). The corn is like 25 feet away from the broccoli - don't know if the cutworms travel or not but my corn has no protection. I hope I'm not jinxing myself here! If I start to have a problem I will try the skewer method with the corn too.
This year, for my peppers, tomatoes and now broccoli, I use 3 of those little wooden skewers around the stem. You know like the ones you would make shish kabobs out of. It has helped.
Funny thing is, I have been planting sets of corn in succession this year (have one more set to go) and no cutworms yet (knock on wood). The corn is like 25 feet away from the broccoli - don't know if the cutworms travel or not but my corn has no protection. I hope I'm not jinxing myself here! If I start to have a problem I will try the skewer method with the corn too.
Good luck! Hoping you manage to avoid the cutworms. I don't know what time of night they emerge, but I just went out with a flashlight and no sign. I am seriously ready to pull my hair out with these things. I'm on my third round of planting with the corn and will likely need a fourth, and as each round has reached about 3" in height 75% of them get butchered overnight. Never seen anything like it before. I'm hoping they mature to pupae before I completely lose my mind.SLC wrote:I JUST went through this with my broccoli - see topic: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=74354
This year, for my peppers, tomatoes and now broccoli, I use 3 of those little wooden skewers around the stem. You know like the ones you would make shish kabobs out of. It has helped.
Funny thing is, I have been planting sets of corn in succession this year (have one more set to go) and no cutworms yet (knock on wood). The corn is like 25 feet away from the broccoli - don't know if the cutworms travel or not but my corn has no protection. I hope I'm not jinxing myself here! If I start to have a problem I will try the skewer method with the corn too.
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applestar
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That’s a pretty significant loss! I’m so sorry for the disappointment and frustration.
Has anything changed since last year? Why do you suppose there are so many? What did you grow in the same spot last year?
In my garden, larger birds tend to strut around and gobble up cutworms if they can find them. They’re the kind that toss mulch and debris around — grackles, flickers, I think maybe even blue jays. I used to get towhees and wood thrush but not any more.
I find a few myself when I’m prepping a bed, raking and hoeing. I put the cutworms and grubs I find in the birdbath.
I also have resident moles in the garden. One year, I had cutworm chopping down cucumber seedlings, one or two a night... then one morning , there was a mole tunnel right next to a felled cucumber seedling... then no more cutworm damage! I won’t begrudge the moles the earthworms as long as they also eat cutworms.
Has anything changed since last year? Why do you suppose there are so many? What did you grow in the same spot last year?
In my garden, larger birds tend to strut around and gobble up cutworms if they can find them. They’re the kind that toss mulch and debris around — grackles, flickers, I think maybe even blue jays. I used to get towhees and wood thrush but not any more.
I find a few myself when I’m prepping a bed, raking and hoeing. I put the cutworms and grubs I find in the birdbath.
I also have resident moles in the garden. One year, I had cutworm chopping down cucumber seedlings, one or two a night... then one morning , there was a mole tunnel right next to a felled cucumber seedling... then no more cutworm damage! I won’t begrudge the moles the earthworms as long as they also eat cutworms.
The only thing that's changed since last year is the appearance of the cutworms. Oh, and I planted a few marigolds around the bed because I heard they keep some pests away... Guess not lol. The bed is small, so I suspect the infestation is also small but it doesn't take many to wipe out a lot of plants. Last year I had peas and lima beans in this area.
I had thought the problem was rodents, so I purchased a horned owl decoy and put it near the garden. Maybe I should remove it in hopes that birds will come back and eat the dang worms. I know I have grackle, robins, and a few other species in the neighborhood.
I will definitely be taking more care to screen the soil for worms when I prep the bed next year!
It's funny... This is only the second year I've planted the garden - I took it over when my father passed. Last year I was fighting deer all season (thank you neighbor); this year its the worms. I don't think dad ever had any trouble with pests. Wish I could ask him how he managed!
I had thought the problem was rodents, so I purchased a horned owl decoy and put it near the garden. Maybe I should remove it in hopes that birds will come back and eat the dang worms. I know I have grackle, robins, and a few other species in the neighborhood.
I will definitely be taking more care to screen the soil for worms when I prep the bed next year!
It's funny... This is only the second year I've planted the garden - I took it over when my father passed. Last year I was fighting deer all season (thank you neighbor); this year its the worms. I don't think dad ever had any trouble with pests. Wish I could ask him how he managed!
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applestar
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To me, it seems strange that SO MANY seedlings are being affected each night if by cutworms. Is it normal for other gardeners?
Like I mentioned, in my garden they are rare (knock on wood!) and 2 or 3 seedlings down at once are about maximum I’ve ever found.
If it wasn’t corn, I would mention baby bunnies like to chomp varieties of plants at the base to try them out especially in the beginning as they are weaning and learning to eat solid food, not actually eat them and leave them lying on the ground . Is your garden *baby* bunny-proofed? I use chickenwire and rabbitwire fence around almost ALL my garden beds. Corn is “grass” and rabbits love them until the plants get thick enough to be less interesting. So if young - adult rabbits are getting in Then they would be mowed down for sure.
Like I mentioned, in my garden they are rare (knock on wood!) and 2 or 3 seedlings down at once are about maximum I’ve ever found.
If it wasn’t corn, I would mention baby bunnies like to chomp varieties of plants at the base to try them out especially in the beginning as they are weaning and learning to eat solid food, not actually eat them and leave them lying on the ground . Is your garden *baby* bunny-proofed? I use chickenwire and rabbitwire fence around almost ALL my garden beds. Corn is “grass” and rabbits love them until the plants get thick enough to be less interesting. So if young - adult rabbits are getting in Then they would be mowed down for sure.
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applestar
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Here’s an old thread which has a link to another one suggesting cornmeal might work as “bait” in another post. I tried the link to the cutworm story and it’s still there.
Subject: Baiting Cutworms?
Fri Apr 03, 2015 2:12 pm
Subject: Baiting Cutworms?
Fri Apr 03, 2015 2:12 pm
applestar wrote:I never find more than one or two at a time, so I never tried, but this might work?
Subject: CUTWORMS ahhhhh
applestar wrote:Robins and Flickers are digging them up in my garden... and I saw a Towhee yesterday
Hey! I was pretty sure moles eat them too (last year, I panicked about a wee little mole with a cute pink nose in my veg garden and was reassured that the small non-hilling kind is pretty much harmless, and actually beneficial except for a few earthworms they eat in exchange) and did a search -- came up with this: https://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?a ... story=lazy
I assume the hoe-handle hole is a simple trap and you can come back and collect them for disposal (I would put them in my birdfeeder)
You know to put cutworm collars on all your transplants, right?
I am pretty sure it isn't rabbits, because they seem to nibble from the top down and when they stop they leave a ragged stump of the stalk sticking out of the ground. The corn shoots look like they've been cut with scissors and the root and stalk appear uneaten. The green part of the plant is just left lying on the ground.
Also, I am pretty sure the barrier I wound up putting up to keep the deer out will also prevent rabbits from getting in. I'm not 100% sure, but I've not seen any sign of rabbits since the barrier went up... knock on wood!
I did do a quick search on cutworms to see what others have experienced and how they solved the issue. Saw some good ideas, including the corn meal. May give that a try, since a bag of corn meal is less than $2 at the grocery store. Collars look like a great idea too but are more effort-intensive. Diatomaceous earth might also be a winner, but gotta be careful applying it and if it rains it has to be reapplied.
Also, I am pretty sure the barrier I wound up putting up to keep the deer out will also prevent rabbits from getting in. I'm not 100% sure, but I've not seen any sign of rabbits since the barrier went up... knock on wood!
I did do a quick search on cutworms to see what others have experienced and how they solved the issue. Saw some good ideas, including the corn meal. May give that a try, since a bag of corn meal is less than $2 at the grocery store. Collars look like a great idea too but are more effort-intensive. Diatomaceous earth might also be a winner, but gotta be careful applying it and if it rains it has to be reapplied.