european corn borer

has anyone had a run in with this lille blighter !!! all summer i have been waiting for my crop of sweetcorn and when i went to harvest it it had these crysalis inside that had eaten the whole bl***y crop i lost every ear
now someone has told me its a euopean corn borer and i have had a look on the net but cant seem to find much info on how to stop it happening again....now i love corn and really want to grow it again so any advice would be more than welcome
cheers tracy

moths land on the plant lay the eggs then * off to let the little darlings turn into larvae about 1 inch long they look a bit like cut worms but thiner then they eat eat everything go to sleep for a bit then turn into moths and the whole thing starts again,,,,also i am organic
cheers tracy

Tricky one Tracey.

Sounds more like mediterrean corn borer, which is more likely to eat the kernels themselves.

No idea about successful organic management though. You might try intercropping with something or scout for eggs or net/fleece as it's wind pollinated.

this may work
http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=61_181&products_id=546

As an organic gardener you might want to know that Pyrethrum is non-selective, it will hurt all insects and also a lot of mammals, not mentioning fish.

Socks won't work, as the silk won't get pollinated.

thanks for the comment about Pyrethrum could i maybe do the sock thing but just wait for the cobs to start swelling first check for any signs of entry by the little blighters and then put the socks on ??

i dont know if this will work on veg but it works on roses

 chive  water most insects dont like onion if you chop up some chives
and poor hot water over them and leave to get cold

then put into a spray gun and some more cold water if needed

and spray over your veg

i did this with the roses after i had a real prob with green fly

didnt get one on them all summer

or whit fly or black fly

thanks for the comment about Pyrethrum could i maybe do the sock thing but just wait for the cobs to start swelling first check for any signs of entry by the little blighters and then put the socks on ??

I should think there would be about 3-4 generations of them in a year, so you really need to check the books on them, I mean, you are the only one of us who saw them, all the rest of us just talking about something imaginery.

A lot of things eat corn in a warmish climate, to work out what you do, you first of all need a definite ID, then can learn about the pest, so then you can work out what you could do.