[davegutsell]

Last year I lost half my allotment potato crop with small "worm" holes. When digging I saw lots of rust brown multi legged creatures possibly wireworms.
I removed as many as I could by hand and this year results have been better but some of the creatures remain and some potatoes ruined. Any suggestions on how to get rid of these would be appreciated.

[Steveharford]

They sound like centipedes to me Dave. Harmless as far as I am aware.

[grinling]

holes prob caused by slugs, when digging over remove any eggs you find and kill any slugs. Slug finding best done at night.

[3759allen]

are they tiny black holes that bury deep inside?

if they are they are wireworm. i've found if you try to keep removing as many weeds and grass as you can, trying to keep the area tidy. people have said you can offer pieces of potato and keep checking for wireworms in that and remove any you find.

[moose]

Using  Mustard as a green manure is also supposed to help cut the numbers.

[davegutsell]

Sorry its taken so long for me to get back but many thanks for the advice.
The holes are small and go deep inside the potatoes.
Any other suggestions will be gratefully received but I will try to offer some potato bits and catch the blighters !!

[BabbyAnn]

Wireworm and keel slugs are the most likely culprits for holes in potatoes.  Wireworm are larvae of click beetles and heaviest loads tend to be in areas where it was covered in grasses - new plots (and overgrown) especially.   Wireworm can be a problem up to 3 years and best to avoid growing potatoes in those areas so crop rotation will help - when wireworm emerge as click beetles they will simply move on to the next bed and so on which is why it takes so long to get rid of them but eventually does improve.  When I took on my plot, I didn't bother growing root veg for a few years and I think this helped.  Main crop potatoes are worst affected because they are in the ground the longest, so if you feel you just can't be without potatoes, start off with first / second earlies and lift up as soon as they are ready rather than leave in the ground, and do go for slug resistant varieties (keel slugs live in the soil and are not the same as the ones you see on the surface)

As already mentioned, you could try growing a mustard green manure and dig this into the soil when ready as a sort of biofumigant (chopping up the plants releases a gaseous fumigant - if you cover the bed with plastic immediately after digging in, this will help to keep the fumigant contaned)  It's worth having a rolling programme to treat beds even though you may not grow potatoes in them, and as a green manure, it will be improving the soil structure and fertility regardless.  This won't necessarily get rid of slugs but hopefully reduce insect pests.

[mumofstig]

If you use mustard be aware it is a brassica, when you are working out your crop rotations.

[Salmo]

I think the first thing to do is to define what is making the holes. Until you know that there is little point in applying remedies. Pictures of wireworms and centipedes can be found on Google Images. If they move fast with lots of legs they are probably centipedes and do good a predators. If they move slowly and are tough to squidge then probably wireworms.

As has been said click beetles lay their eggs on grass and the resulting lavae, wireworms, usually live on grass roots. If we then remove the grass roots they then live on whatever is available, in this case your potatoes. They can find their way in from grass paths. Make sure these are always kept mown short and they will be less attractive as egg laying sites.

Wireworms should not be confused with eelworms. Eelworms are nematodes and too small to be seen with the naked eye. Their numbers can be reduced by planting mustard. Wireworms are between 1 and 4 cms long and as far as I know mustard does not affect them.