How to get rid of caterpillars on strawberries
Content
Strawberry is an aromatic and juicy berry, which not only children, but also many pests love to eat. Most often, it affects the caterpillars. For the voracious worms, the berries and leaves of the plant are a real find. They are soft, nutritious and very rich. If you leave the problem without attention, you can lose a considerable amount of harvest. There are a lot of methods to deal with caterpillars on strawberries.For this use both chemical reagents and folk remedies. But in order to find a suitable option, it is necessary to try several for a start.
A few words about the main pests
Before looking for methods of dealing with caterpillars on strawberries, you should try to determine what kind of pest attacked her. This will significantly reduce the search for the necessary means and increase the effectiveness of the struggle.
- Swamp scoop. It is a small shaggy butterfly that lays its eggs on the back of a leaf plate. Emerging caterpillars eat flowers, shoots, leaves, fruits, ovaries. They can also be introduced near the root collar. The larvae make moves there, and the plant begins to wither quickly.
- Strawberry leafworm. This is a common moth, but it does not harm itself, but its caterpillars. They begin their harmful activity under the leaf at the base of the median vein. Having got a little stronger, they switch to the whole sheet. You can notice their appearance by the fact that strawberry leaves will look like a sieve, they will all be eroded by small holes. Black caterpillars on strawberries live and breed throughout the summer period.
- If caterpillars appeared on leaves that have a juicy green shade, then we are talking about the attack of the larvae of the sawfly. This is a very insidious insect that can quickly destroy the crop. A characteristic feature of the destruction of this pest is that they begin to nibble the leaf along the edge and only gradually reach the median vein.
- Slugs These are very large caterpillars, the appearance of which requires special climatic conditions. They appear only in the absence of heat and high humidity. Slugs eat berries and eat leaves.
- Whitefly strawberry. A very tiny butterfly is no more than 1mm in length. They eat leaves, drink juice and hit ripe fruits. The larvae also eat the leaves. As a result, the strawberry leaves dry, curl, a fungus appears on them.
- Strawberry Nematode. These are thin and transparent long worms, which actively parasitize on ripe fruits. They cause significant damage to the crop. The active phase of reproduction occurs just during the flowering and ripening of strawberries.
The fight against caterpillars on strawberries is to establish the type of pest, the selection of tools, the treatment of plants and regular prevention.
Chemical methods of protecting strawberries from caterpillars
Methods of dealing with caterpillars on strawberries using special preparations should be based on the following principles:
- Strict compliance with instructions for use.
- Safety for humans.
- The degree of damage to plants.
The following drugs will help to get rid of caterpillars on strawberries:
- Aktara. Intestinal insecticide. Available in powder form. The average cost of 250 rubles for 10 g. Resistant to temperature fluctuations, it is well soluble in water. After processing, it retains its properties for a long time and is not washed off by precipitation.
- Marshal Can be purchased in the form of an emulsion. Disposal of the caterpillars is due to the presence of acaricidal properties. You can spray the plants and add insecticide to the soil. It specializes in fighting the Colorado potato beetle, but is often used against pests and many other cultures. 65 rubles for 5 years
- It is ashes. Insecticide broad-spectrum. It belongs to the group of intestinal and contact action. It is used during the growing season of strawberries. The dosage depends on the type of plant. It retains its properties even when the ambient temperature drops to 10 degrees. The price is 20 rubles for 10 ml.
- Nurell.Active ingredients are cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos. Available in the form of a concentrated emulsion. It has almost instant effect. Effective at temperatures up to +8 degrees Celsius. 1l costs 2000 rubles.
- Omite. Accracid preparation provides disposal of pests of fruit and berry and vegetable crops. Available in the form of a concentrated emulsion, which should be diluted in the right amount of water. Not active against eggs. The cost of 20 rubles.
- Karbofos. It helps to fight with the leafworm on strawberries and many other caterpillars. Inexpensive, effective. Available in powder form. Required to be diluted in water. To get rid of pests strawberry leaf should be processed from the inside. 40 rubles per pack.
Also, when choosing a means, than to process from caterpillars on strawberries and strawberries, you can use Karate, Aktellik, Iskra, Zemlin, Pochin.
Feedback
When small holes appeared on the strawberry, we didn’t know for a long time which insecticide was best to use. After all, the pests themselves could not be seen and it was necessary to find a universal, but safe means.Therefore, we decided to use the biological drug Bitoxibacillin. The next day after treatment, no changes were noticed. But already on 5 sheets began to depart, the plants came to life.
Margarita, Moscow
Feedback
I grow strawberries for sale. When the green caterpillars appeared, I was very scared for my harvest. I decided not to try my luck with folk remedies and immediately bought Nurell. Expensive, but very effective. If processed in a timely manner, it will not cause any harm to humans.
Ilya, Novorossiysk
Folk remedies
It is not only safe but effective to fight with strawberry and strawberry caterpillars by folk methods. Such methods will always come to the rescue when the attack of pests has reached its peak, and there is no opportunity to use a chemical drug. Also, after the use of folk remedies, you can not worry that chemicals will enter the human body. Another advantage of these methods is universality. Same means you can handle cabbage, strawberries, currant and raspberries.
How to deal with green caterpillars on strawberries, as well as other pests without the use of chemicals:
- Infusion wormwood.Very good tool that helps to solve not only the problem with strawberry bushes, but also many other cultures. To do this, fill the bucket half with wormwood grass and fill the rest with water. Insist in a warm place for at least 24 hours. Spray the affected plants with the resulting liquid.
- Field daisy. Pick up and dry the flowers. Grind and cook raw materials. For 1 liter of water take 100 g of dried chamomile. Put in a dark place for 24 hours. After that, you can process beds with strawberries.
- Ash. Its caterpillars are afraid and will not even come close. Sprinkle under the bushes and leave.
- Soap-ash solution. This combination will help not only get rid of pests on the sheets, but also strengthen the plants. Add 200 g of ash and a piece of laundry soap to a bucket of water. Stir until completely dissolved and spray the culture.
- Needles. It will itself become an obstacle for caterpillars. They can't get over it. Needles spread out on the soil near the roots of strawberries. This method is not suitable for those pests that appear immediately on the sheets.
- Tobacco dust. A safe method that can be used during the flowering of strawberries.
- Infusion of tansy.This specific plant helps to fight many summer and garden pests. Buy dry flowers can be in the pharmacy. Pour 100 g of grass with 1 liter of water and boil for 20 minutes. After that, cool and strain. Pour the prepared solution into a bucket of water and treat the area.
As a preventive measure, the following rules should be followed:
- Plant only healthy seedlings.
- Observe crop rotation.
- Strawberries should not be planted next to plants that infect the same pests.
Thus, caterpillars on strawberries are a rare phenomenon, but can cause a lot of trouble. And if the culture sheets began to fade, holes appeared on them and any bugs or caterpillars were found, measures should be taken immediately to combat them.