[sunshineband]

Our new plot has quite a lot of wireworms in one section.

Anyone know any good deterrents, please?

Will they affect fruit bushes too?

I've dug up a few (23 actually) and crushed them, but I was wondering if there are any quicker ways of daling with the blighters please?

[Yabba]

Don't quote me on this, but I'm sure that 2 of the solutions I've read on here are

1) sow a sacrificial spud crop
2) keep chickens

¥

[sunshineband]

Hadn't thought of borrowing the chooks from next door 

[mumofstig]

Aren't they one of those critters that gets better after a couple of years

I had quite a few the year I stripped the grass n weeds, but a lot less last year.

Fingers crossed there'll be none this year

[madcat]

That is the best idea!  The robins were the best solution we found.  They will disappear over a couple of years (we are into yr 3 after the grass was removed so here's hoping!) but other than birds and time - there doesn't seem to be a good way to get rid.  

[sunshineband]

Wireworms have a lifle cycle of five years so I was hoping for a quicker solution 



Hmmm, coralling robins on the plot for a few days --- that's a thought 

Like that idea a lot 

[gypsy]

I don`t know what wire worms look like so I do not know if I have them or not.

[sunshineband]

http://images.google.co.uk/images?rlz=1T4SVEA_enGB360GB360&q=wireworms+picture&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=PRexS5ngOKK60gSaypyMDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBEQsAQwAA

Check this out in all their horrible glory 

You'd know if you had them trust me 

[Swing Swang]

ethoprophos is probably quicker, but it's pretty nasty, is fussy about how it's applied, and I doubt that it's available to non-commercial growers

[Swing Swang]

This seems a good way of controlling eelworms (going off topic)

http://www.alanromans.com/p-1646-foil-sisbranstons.aspx

[sunshineband]

ethoprophos is probably quicker, but it's pretty nasty, is fussy about how it's applied, and I doubt that it's available to non-commercial growers

Doesn't that have somehting to do with phosphine -- or have I misremembered 

[PennyS]

http://images.google.co.uk/images?rlz=1T4SVEA_enGB360GB360&q=wireworms+picture&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=PRexS5ngOKK60gSaypyMDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBEQsAQwAA

Check this out in all their horrible glory 

You'd know if you had them trust me 

Yup, I've got them.  First year on what was grassland so no big surprise.
Help!!

[peterjf]

the adult wire worm is the click beetle, life span of 4 yrs , hell of a job to get rid off ,i know they dont like jeyes fluid 100-1 dilution ,

[madcat]

Peter!!!!   You shouldn't go leading  folk astray with illegal concoctions!   

I do wonder if the RSPC-Beetles would have something to say about the number of times I turn innocent beetles over to see if they go Click ...  and therefore sign their own death warrants.    

[gypsy]

http://images.google.co.uk/images?rlz=1T4SVEA_enGB360GB360&q=wireworms+picture&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=PRexS5ngOKK60gSaypyMDg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBEQsAQwAA

Check this out in all their horrible glory 

You'd know if you had them trust me 

Now I know what they are I can say yes I had the little brown wiggly things for the 1st couple of yrs on my plot, now I find the odd cream coloured one with the brown bit at one end.