[Apostrophes]

I mentioned in another thread that I lost my squashes to the cold nights, but some had already fallen to the dreaded cutter worm. Is there anything I can do to protect the stems against that little so-and-so?

I am thinking of wrapping silver foil around the base of the stems.

[Trillium]

Cut worms work by completely curling around a stem. When they can touch head to toe (so to speak), they start chewing. If they can't curl around totally, they can't work, so something as simple as placing a thick stick, twig or such immediately beside (and touching) the stem, the cutworm can't do any damage. Some folk lengthwise split a bit of poly drinking straw and wrap that around the base of the stem. Whatever you use, it must be rigid enough to resist chewing jaws. 

[gillie]

Do we have cutter worms in the UK?  I have never come across them.

Gillie

[Trillium]

Yes, they are widespread across the UK>

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/advice/pests_and_diseases/nonflash_index.shtml?cutworms

[mumofstig]

Yes we have them they ate my cucumber stems clean through 2 years ago

Look here
you beat me to it Trillium  

[andy135]

According to the link, they should not be active for about another 4 weeks yet.

[1st time veg grower]

Having read that article it sounds like what happened to a couple of my brassicas - severed totally at the stem! Grrr! 

[mumofstig]

According to the link, they should not be active for about another 4 weeks yet.

Second generation larvae will over-winter in the soil, coming to the surface to feed when environmental conditions are favourable.

The overwintered ones obviously feel that conditions are now favourable  Twas this time of year that they ate my cukes

[andy135]

It must be getting warmer then...............?

[sunshineband]

Charming little critturs aren't they 

[Salmo]

Never heard of the stick solution before?

Leatherjackets do similar damage. Usually not so tidy a cut. See if you can find the bugs that are doing the damage. Dig round the base of damaged plants.

Outside I would not expect to see cutworms until it is a lot warmer but in a greenhouse or polytunnel the moths may have been active already. More likely the cutworms have survived from last Autumn in the shelter of the greenhouse and are just becoming active.

[Apostrophes]

The squashes that were attacked were poking through a ground sheet. Maybe that kept them warm enough to start munching. Anyway, I put my spares in today and wrapped silver foil around their bases.