Liz76
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Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 9:55 am
Location: u.k

lettuce - I have something burrowing inside them - HELP!!

I'm at my wits end.. I've been tenderly looking after my lettuces, I grew them all from seeds now I've found something eating them from the inside! they look like see through worms bit tiny, and there are hundreds! they have started on my mustard lettuces and the rocket.. but now ive found them in my mixed lettuces too - obviously they like ALL of my lettuces!
I've tried washing up liquid, but this hasnt worked - what are they??
someone said they are white butterfly lava, but, they are inside the roots and the stem.. not on the leaves?
surely someone knows what I should do to get rid of them before I lose the lot.. Is there something that I can plant along side them to deter them?

HELP!! (please) :?

DoubleDogFarm
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Posts: 6113
Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:43 pm

Look up wireworm. I've lost a few Redsail lettuce to these little %$#$%$%#. :x The chew right up the main root.

garden5
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Posts: 3062
Joined: Fri Aug 07, 2009 5:40 pm
Location: ohio

[url=https://www.planetnatural.com/site/xdpy/kb/wireworm-control.html]Here is something that may help you. I've never heard of these worms before this.

DoubleDogFarm
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https://www.planetnatural.com/site/xdpy/kb/wireworm-control.html

garden5, URL is not needed. :)

Liz76
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Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 9:55 am
Location: u.k

thanks for the tips guys, but they don't look like this.. I've pulled more of them out of my remaining lettices today.. tomorrow I'm going to take a pic then figure out how to put it on here.. maybe this will shed some light on my problem x

Liz76
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Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 31, 2010 9:55 am
Location: u.k

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/root-eating-insects-identifying-vegetable-root-maggots-and-root-maggot-control.htm

Root Maggots

looks like I have a bit of an up hill battle in front of me :(

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nes
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Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:20 am
Location: Rural Ottawa, ON

I would definitely try diotomaceous earth, get it at your local garden centre, it's cheap & effective organic control :).

DoubleDogFarm
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Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2010 11:43 pm

liz76,

Half the battle is identification. Good work. :D

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jal_ut
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Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

garden5, URL is not needed.
If you wish to make a hot link you can use the url tags to do it.

It would look like this: {url=paste url here}Click me{/url}

You must use the square brackets though, not the curly ones. Then all that shows up in your post is "Click me" . Of course you can type anything you want in that space, even use a photo to click on by inserting the img tags and a url to the photo.

[url=https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/pond7.jpg][img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/camera.GIF[/img][/url]

I know....... off topic. Sorry.



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