[Salmo]

Is anyone else having a problem with cutworms?

Over the past few nights my 3 inch lettuces have been got at one by one. The stems were bitten through at the base leaving a ring of cut off leaves. Scraping away the soil I soon found the culprit, a juicy brown/green caterpillar.

These are the caterpillars of the Diamond Back moth. They are called cutworms because the damage they do looks as though someone has cut the leaves off at the base. Because they live under the soil they are difficult to control. Lets just hope there are not too many of them.

[arugula]

No.

[sunshineband]

Not so far 

[DD.]

Nope.

[Endymion]

I wonder if that's what's snipped the leaves off some of the few carrots that bothered to germinate? They were neatly cut off at soil level and left lying there. Plants are under fine mesh.

[mumofstig]

I had them the first year after lifting the turves to make the garden beds, but they're a pain
Luckily I've not had them since

[sunshineband]

Oi!!!

I had a baby beetroot plant collapse overnight and there, under the ground was a fat, smug, dark grey caterpillar curled into a C shape 

...... one of yours, Salmo   

[Salmo]

I have given wrong information. They are not the caterpillars of the Diamond Back moth but of several other species :  Turnip Moth, Heart and Dart moth, Garden Dart moth and the Large Yellow Underwing.

The image of the Heart and Dart moth shows how it gets its name with hearts and darts on its wings.

[sunshineband]

I knew that was one of yours I found this morning 

Just like that 

[joyfull]

all fat and juicy after eating its way through all them crops  . Send them over to my chickens - I'm sure they would love them 

[sunshineband]

Actually mine did go chicken-wards 

Not my chooks but my plot is alongside the chicken club runs and I feed them any bug/grub I get 

[Endymion]

I had them the first year after lifting the turves to make the garden beds, but they're a pain
Luckily I've not had them since

Ah, that could be why, because we've dug new veg beds this year.

[Salmo]

The first year after turf it will almost certainly have been leatherjackets.

[sunshineband]

The first year after turf it will almost certainly have been leatherjackets.

or wireworms