Blaming the Wrong Pest?

About 2 weeks ago I came upon an unsettling discovery in the garden.  It was a rainy day and I had decided it was time to brave the elements and head out to the garden to see how things were handling the heavy rain. 

For the most part everything was flourishing in the rain except for small, random sections of spinach, swiss chard and beets.  My first thought was maybe we had accidentally stepped on the rows, or that it was just too wet for the small seedlings.  I picked up the wilted leaves to take a closer look – they had no roots.  My heart sunk; what was eating my plants??

Swiss Chard Damage (recent)

Spinach Damage (a few weeks ago)



My first thought was cutworms.

I recalled reading a recent newspaper article about a “Pest Alert” issued by The County regarding flea beetles and cutworms.   It said recent surveys conducted by the County’s Agricultural Pest and Disease department had identified higher than usual numbers of Flea Beetles and Cutworms and cautioned farmers to be on the lookout as they could be a serious threat to this year’s crops.

Last year I think I dug up maybe 2 or 3 cutworms all season; this year I had seen at least that many in one day of weeding.  It had to be cutworms. 

Cutworms are actually caterpillars, not worms.  They are moth larvae that live in soil during the day and come out in the dark to feed on plants. They attack the first part of the plant they encounter, namely the stem and consequently cut it down; hence the name cutworm.  They typically attack small plants and seedlings as they need to wrap themselves around the stem to eat it. They more or less eat the base of the plant, severing it from the roots, leaving the leaves, and moving on to the next; kind of like a beaver cutting down trees.



Cutworm (they curl up when threatened)

The only problem is how do you get rid of cutworms? Off to the computer I went to figure out how to get rid of them.  The number one suggestion was to put “collars” around the base of your plants to keep the cutworms away.  It would be hard to do this considering they were attacking rows not individual plants.  The next suggestion was to place DE around your plants.   (DE again, go figure.)  This would work but with the garden being so wet it would be ineffective.  And then I stumbled across “cornmeal.”  Apparently the little trouble makers love cornmeal but their bodies are incapable of digesting it and die of indigestion.  Perfect! I had lots of cornmeal and what would be better then torturing them with indigestion for eating my plants.


Line of Cornmeal & DE by Spinach

 Out to the garden I went again, but this time with a container of cornmeal. (I mixed some DE in the cornmeal to create what I thought would be a lethal mixture.)  I sprinkled it along the areas where the damage was to draw the cutworms away from my plants.  And then I went back inside to wait. 
A few days later, in the rain, again, I ventured out for another inspection.  The cornmeal looked a little scattered from the rain, and possibly, hopefully from the cutworms.  There appeared to be no new damage.  Had I won the battle?? Was it that easy??  Of course not.

Last weekend when I was weeding I caught the real culprit red handed.  In the roots of my beets, I saw a small white grub gorging itself on the roots just below the surface.  Grubs? Seriously?  Great, just great.