The worms are here!

[arivaraci]

So Beryl is dumping untold amounts of water on my garden right now, and all I can think about is that the rain is washing off the Bt. I have killed upwards to a hundred armyworms and hornworms in the last few days. Even began enjoying it, unlike last year, when I only noticed when the worms were huge and smooshing them disgusted me to the point of retching.

So if I am having this kind of worm infestation this early (all of the worms I have killed are between 1"-1.5") what can I expect in the next few months. Last year I lost a few fruit to the hornworms, but it was no where near this infested!

[kath]

Pray for dry weather so you can resume spraying Bt and continue to monitor and squish. I've never had amount you have but they sure can do a lot of serious damage to fruits and foliage in a small amount of time.

[b54red]

If you know the rain will continue for a few days you can wait for a break in the weather and go out and spray with Sevin. Even though it may only stay on the plant for a couple of hours before being washed off it will kill a huge amount and slow the infestation down. Of course this is all dependent upon you getting an hour or two with no rain.

[livinonfaith]

I can't squish them. Just can't.

So I keep a container of water around. Just toss them in when I find them. They sink and I keep my hands clean!

[kath]

Originally Posted by livinonfaith

I can't squish them. Just can't.

So I keep a container of water around. Just toss them in when I find them. They sink and I keep my hands clean!

Don't they climb out of the water if you don't put a bit of soap in it?

I can squish the armyworms now if they're small or for those and small hornworms, I squish 'em between two leaves that are close together on the plant; for large hornworms I need scissors to snip them in half or DH to hand pick if they're above a tomato.

[mysidx]

I've got armyworms too, I've knocked them down a bit until I find new ones on another plant. Slugs have increased, so I have set out some shallow lids of beer.

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[arivaraci]

The rain cleared out around 3. And I did do a cursory inspection and couldn't see more damage, nor did I find any more worms of either variety. Of course they have been smaller so the damage has been "smaller". Very anxious to control it before they get big. I will be spraying Bt tomorrow. I hope to avoid sevin as I would have to sneak it by my dear husband, who is on an organic trip(that I more or less support - until it involves getting my tomatoes to harvest.)

Slugs here too! They're the grossest creatures! And they are chewing my peppers.

[Chrissykin]

I can't touch them. They just gross me out so much. I snip the branch/leaf off the are on. I keep an ice cream pail of soapy water nearby and toss the whole thing in.

[livinonfaith]

Kath, I used to try to keep a bottle of soapy water with me when I went out to the garden. But sometimes I would forget. Being basically a lazy person, I started just tossing them into any nearby container of liquid.

I soon found out that Hornworms can't swim. I don't know about any of the others, though.

[meadowyck]

mysidx

if you are having a slug problem, get a small sprayer, fill with 15% ammonia in water. Spray all around plants, this will keep the slugs away from eating on your plants.

When I lived up north, my hostas were prime food for slugs, starting spraying and had beautiful hostas from then on.

now, after I've suggested this, I'm not sure this would be ok around food plants.

oh forget this idea for any food plants, although if you are the type that likes to experiment, please do and give feed back.

Jan

[arivaraci]

I actually don't have ammonia. But I have salt, so have sprinkled it around with some success.

[Lcottomsvcs]

Originally Posted by meadowyck

mysidx

if you are having a slug problem, get a small sprayer, fill with 15% ammonia in water. Spray all around plants, this will keep the slugs away from eating on your plants.

When I lived up north, my hostas were prime food for slugs, starting spraying and had beautiful hostas from then on.

now, after I've suggested this, I'm not sure this would be ok around food plants.

oh forget this idea for any food plants, although if you are the type that likes to experiment, please do and give feed back.

Jan

Here in Indiana, the farmers spray ammonia on the corn when it is growing, to feed it. The ammonia converts to nitrogen in the soil. It should be fine for food plants.

[mysidx]

Well, the lids I set out filled with beer is doing the trick. I've gotten about ten per lid that have crawled in and drowned by next morning.

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[arivaraci]

The beer is a funny thought for me - My husband drinks beer, but expensive beer. SO I will need to go to a convenience store that just sells singles? Do they still do that?

[janezee]

Walgreens sells a 6-pack for $2.99. Works great for the slugs. I've never tasted it. Yuck!

j