Collaring Cutworms
Created on 5/1/2009
I have a confession to make: There have been times when Bill Murray’s character on Caddyshack seemed like a rational human being to me. Many mornings I’ve gone out to the garden only to find the strawberry patched pecked clean, clumps of beheaded tulips or beans mowed down at ground level. Months of carefully tending my vegetable patch or flowers just to lose it overnight is enough to make forming an explosive gopher seem like a good idea.
All of us have contended with critters that liked our gardens as much as we do – unfortunately, many would rather eat the roses than simply enjoy their beauty. While we gardeners are a generous bunch who typically loves giving as much as growing, there’s nothing more disheartening than assessing the results after Bambi brought the entire family for a late night snack in your corn, or unseen forces left other plants nearly unrecognizable. Through my entries in this blog, I’m going to do my best to give you ideas to discourage pests ranging from earwigs to elk so you don’t have to share with the entire wild kingdom.
While many of the more troublesome pests don’t rear their ugly heads until later in the season, there are those waiting in the soil for an early season snack. Cutworms are one species that do their damage during transplanting.
The first time I dealt with cutworms was far removed from the garden during my work as an assistant camera (a.k.a “pack mule”) for a natural history film on Glacier National Park. After the cutworm larvae pupates, the moths fly to the tops of some of the peaks to spend the late summer under boulders and scree. This provides an exceptional source of protein for grizzlies, which is why we hiked to the top of a mountain to film the bears turning over boulders for these tasty treats.
In the garden, cutworm larvae hold tight in the ground throughout the winter, but once warm weather hits they’re ready to start their next phase in life, which means they’re looking for something to eat. Cutworms feed at night so what often happens is you’ll plant broccoli, cauliflower or other members of the brassica family (one of their favorite snacks), and it’ll be cut down the next morning.
The easiest way to prevent damage is to place a protective collar around the base of the plant. For years I helped a friend of mine plant her garden and she taught me to use the plastic yogurt containers slightly pushed into the soil around the plant so the cutworms can’t reach them. You can also use the heavier cardboard drinking cups or anything that will keep the worms away from the stem. Although leaving the collar on throughout the summer won’t hurt the plant, I usually remove mine before the plant is too large to pull the collar over the top of it, and then store them in the shed for next spring.
