Effective methods of controlling the beetle larva

What the larva of the May beetle looks like is known to every summer resident. These white caterpillars twisted into ringlets are found in the soil during harvesting, and often their number is quite high. These insects can bring significant damage to the garden and garden, and therefore it is advisable to start a fight with them at the first sign of infection.

Description

The larva of the May beetle, as can be seen in the photo, has a thick C-shaped body, painted white and covered with short hairs. The larvae that have just emerged from the eggs resemble white worms. In the second year of life, their body length is about 5 cm, and larvae of the last age can reach 6.5 cm in length. Three pairs of legs are located on the front of the body. The head is round in shape with a brown hue and brown jaws.
They live in the land where they develop and parasitize.

After, the larva passes into the pupal stage and becomes similar to an adult. The pupa’s cradle is also located in the soil, at a depth of 30 to 50 cm. The pupa has short wings, and its head is bent under the chest, the body has a yellow color. After 2-4 weeks, an adult beetle leaves the pupa, which remains in its cradle until spring.

Food

In the first year of life, the larvae are unable to cause major harm, since the basis of their diet at that time is only plant debris and thin roots. But as they grow, they need more and more food, respectively, appetites increase.

The older the beetle larva becomes, the more diverse it eats. In the second or third year of life, she can already eat large roots, potato tubers, and other fruit crops. When the root system is damaged, the plant weakens, and in tubers with corroded tissues optimal conditions are created for the reproduction of various microorganisms.

Maybug larva shows special love for such plants:

• wild strawberries;
• Strawberry;
• potatoes;
• corn;
• Birch tree;
• larch;
  
• Pine;
• cedar;
• spruce;
• lawn grass.

Methods of struggle

In the fight against larvae of the May beetle, folk remedies, chemical and biological preparations can be used. But it is the integrated approach that shows the best results, especially when there are too many parasites.

On a note! It is advisable to fight the larvae of the May beetle in the warm season, since during this period they are in the upper layers of the soil!

Folk remedies

If large white larvae of grubs are found in their garden, most experts recommend using the following remedies:

• Chlorine solution. For half a liter of water, add 100 g of chlorine. The resulting product treats the soil around the infected bush. You can also shed earth between the rows.
  

  Recommendation! So that the chlorine solution does not harm the plants themselves, it is necessary to observe a distance of about 10 cm from the root when watering!

• Infusion of onion husks. We fill the bucket with onion husks by about a third and pour to the top of the water. Leave for 5 days.On one part of the finished infusion, add one part of water, mix and use to water the soil throughout the entire period of growth and development of the plant.
• Manganese solution. It is used mainly to protect potatoes. It is necessary to make a weak aqueous solution of potassium permanganate and spray it with the lower surface of the leaves.
• Ammonia. About 15 ml of ammonia should be added to a bucket of water and pour with the resulting solution of a bed with berry bushes.

In addition, there are several other methods of dealing with the larvae of the May beetle. For example, planting white clover in the near-trunk zones of garden trees. The root system of this plant is inhabited by special bacteria that absorb nitrogen from the air. This substance subsequently accumulates in the soil. Thus, the substrate enriched with nitrogen loses all attractiveness for gluttonous parasites. In addition, such sodding inhibits the growth of weed grass and helps to improve the palatability and appearance of fruits growing on trees.

Plants such as elderberry, lupine, turnip and turnip help scare away the larvae of the creep. And in order to provide reliable protection against insect pests, it is necessary to plant any of them along the perimeter of the beds. You can also bury several shoots of mustard or cabbage leaves in the ground.

If it is precisely established that the Maybug larva has chosen your site, then you can choose some with your hands. To do this, dig a garden to a depth of about 40 cm.

But since getting rid of the May beetle larvae is often quite problematic, experienced gardeners prefer protective measures. An excellent prevention is spring mulching of the soil - chopped tree bark, shavings or straw are laid on the beds. Thanks to this technique, the female bug beetle will not be able to get into the ground and lay there.

Another good preventative measure is hanging home-made traps on the trees, with which you can collect quite a few adult flying grains. For their manufacture, it is necessary to cut off the upper parts (with the neck) from plastic bottles; we do not remove the covers. We fill the resulting cups with kvass or fermented jam. This aroma is attractive to insects, and they will certainly fly into a trap. You just have to periodically shake out the dead bugs.

Chemicals

Chemical agents from chafer beetle larvae require more careful use than folk ones, and preferably limited. And always read the instructions - so you can protect yourself, not harm crops and beneficial insects.

Among the specially developed preparations for combating cartilage larvae, the following are characterized by high efficiency:

• "Zemlin" - based on diazinone. Helps protect potatoes, cabbage and flower crops from many soil-borne insects.
• "Bazudin" - has a wide spectrum of activity and provides a long-term protective effect against insect parasites in the soil.
• "Repair" is an insecticide, the active substance of which is diazinon. The release form is microgranules, which mix well with the substrate and create a protective zone around the plant.
• "Actara" - this tool is based on thiamethoxam. It is highly effective both when spraying and when applied to the soil.
• “Antichrush” is a two-component contact-system drug that is able to protect crops from a complex of ground pests.

If we talk about the fight against the larvae of the May beetle precisely in the garden where potatoes and delicate vegetable seedlings require protection, recently in recent times, such a drug as Prestige has been used most often for these purposes. It is introduced into the soil before planting, and as a result, it is possible to eliminate almost all parasites.Along with Prestige, such soil remedies as Stormbreaker, Stormbreaker 2, and Medvetox also show very high efficiency.

Biological preparations

Among the biological products that are used against the larvae of the cherries, Nemabact is especially popular. This drug is an aqueous suspension of nematodes that penetrate the body of the parasite and as a result destroy it. Wherein nematodes able to exist in the earth without its "master" for a long time - about 2 years, but because such a tool provides a very long-term protection.

As you can see, there are quite a few remedies that can help protect fruit and berry crops from May larvae. Combine the methods of struggle and do not give up - these methods and drugs can significantly reduce the population of these parasites in one season, and often completely get rid of them.