Balsam plants add cheerful color to gardens with their bright abundant blooms. However, these prized ornamentals can fall victim to attacking cutworms that chew through stems and wreck havoc overnight. As a gardener, it’s frustrating to wake up and find your beautiful balsam plants clipped down by these pesky caterpillars. Not to worry – there are many organic, non-toxic ways to break the cutworm life cycle and protect balsam plants.
In this detailed guide, we will cover
- What attracts cutworms to balsam plants
- Signs of a cutworm infestation
- Various methods to get rid of cutworms on balsam plants
- Effective organic control options
- Ways to prevent future cutworm damage
Let’s dive in and explore comprehensive strategies to defend balsam plants against destructive cutworms using safe, natural pest control.
Understanding Why Cutworms Target Balsam Plants
To stop cutworms, it helps to understand what draws them to balsam plants in the first place. Here are the main reasons why these caterpillars select balsam plants to eat:
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Abundant foliage – Balsam plants are packed with leaves, making them an ideal food source.
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Quick plant growth – The fast growth of balsam plants provides lots of tender new shoots for cutworms to feed on.
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Low-growing stems – The short stems of balsam plants are easy for cutworms to climb and chew through.
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Lack of defenses – Balsam plants lack physical or chemical defenses against chewing pests.
By recognizing what makes balsam plants so attractive to cutworms, we can take steps to make them less appealing or accessible.
How to Identify a Cutworm Infestation
Catching cutworm damage early is crucial to save balsam plants. Be on the lookout for these common signs of a cutworm infestation:
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Chewed leaves – You may find ragged bite marks on leaves or stems. Inspect carefully for small holes.
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Clipped stems – Stems can be partially or fully severed right at soil level. Plants may be knocked over.
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Wilted or dead plants – Heavy feeding causes plants to wilt and potentially die.
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Caterpillars – Search around plants and in the top 1-2 inches of soil for plump caterpillars that curl into a C-shape when disturbed.
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Frass – Cutworm feces looks like small dark pellets around damaged plants.
Prompt action is required to get an infestation under control before cutworms spread. Now let’s cover organic methods to eliminate these pests.
Physical Removal Techniques
Manually removing cutworms is an effective first line of defense for protecting balsam plants:
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Hand pick worms – Search for cutworms around plants at night or early morning. Pick them off and drop into soapy water.
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Till soil – Dig and flip the top few inches of soil to disturb and kill cutworm larvae. Do this weekly.
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Remove weeds – Eliminate weeds around plants that serve as cutworm food sources. A clean area forces cutworms to relocate.
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Set cardboard traps – Place cardboard around plants at night and check underneath in the morning. Cutworms will hide under traps. Dispose of any found.
Natural Predators That Eat Cutworms
Encouraging beneficial predators is an easy biological control for cutworms:
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Ground beetles – Provide habitat like rocks for these nocturnal hunters to shelter in during the day as they attack cutworms at night.
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Parasitic wasps – Species like tachinid flies lay eggs on cutworms, and larvae kill them from inside.
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Birds – Many birds like chickadees and sparrows eat cutworms. Install a birdbath to attract them.
Organic Sprays That Deter Cutworms
Safe, natural spray solutions can be applied directly to balsam plants:
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Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) – This bacteria kills young cutworm larvae within a few days of ingesting it. It’s safe for people and pets.
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Neem oil – Derived from the neem tree, this oil disrupts cutworm growth and repels them from treated plants.
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Insecticidal soap – Soap-based solutions kill soft-bodied larvae on contact by breaking down cuticle membranes.
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Garlic oil – The strong scent of garlic oil deters cutworm moths from laying eggs on sprayed plants.
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Spinosad – Made from a soil bacteria, spinosad is an OMRI listed caterpillar killer. It’s fast-acting when ingested but won’t harm bees or wildlife.
Smart Cultural Controls
Certain gardening practices make the area less inviting to cutworms:
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Remove debris – Clear boards, leaf litter, and weeds around plants that caterpillars use as habitat.
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Mix sand or grit into soil – This abrasive texture irritates cutworms and limits movement through soil.
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Collars – Make collars from cardboard or tin foil and place around stems. Apply petroleum jelly inside collars to trap cutworms.
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Crop rotation – Shift balsam plants to a new spot annually so cutworm eggs and larvae left behind in the old location never reach maturity.
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Interplant with onions/garlic – These pungent plants help mask the scent of balsam plants.
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Avoid excess nitrogen fertilizer – Nitrogen makes plants juicy and tender, attracting more cutworms.
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Timely harvest – Pick balsam plants promptly before caterpillars can damage mature flowers and foliage.
Stopping Cutworms With Natural Insecticides
For severe infestations, natural insecticides can effectively kill larvae:
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Diatomaceous earth (DE) – This powder dehydrates and cuts the waxy cuticles of larvae. Dust it onto soil.
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Nematodes – These beneficial microscopic worms prey on cutworms. Apply them to moist soil.
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Entomopathogenic fungi – Fungi like Beauveria bassiana kills cutworms within a few days. Spray onto plants and soil.
Preventing Future Cutworm Problems
Here are some smart tips to stop cutworms before they attack:
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Apply beneficial nematodes to soil pre-season – This controls larvae before they damage plants.
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Use floating row covers – Installing a lightweight fabric barrier over plants prevents moths from accessing plants to lay eggs nearby.
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Monitor with pheromone traps – These special traps attract and trap male moths so they don’t mate with females who lay eggs.
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Hand pick early season – Be vigilant about manual removal in spring before cutworms multiply.
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Encourage predatory beetles – Maintain perennial beetle habitat to allow populations to persist year after year.
With some diligence and persistence, you can break the destructive cutworm life cycle and keep your balsam plants thriving. Implement multiple organic control methods together for effective protection against these stubborn pests.
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Know their cycle to get control
Once you’ve experienced cutworms’ damage, you’ll have no trouble understanding why the larvae of certain night-flying moths are called “cut” worms. The term is applied to about 200 species with slightly different eating habits. Most are gray-brown caterpillars, with the characteristic habit of curling up in the shape of the letter C when disturbed.
Cutworms sleep by day just under the soil surface or occasionally in moist debris on the surface. Some will even make tunnels and feed just below or above the soil surface. These cutworms are the ones most likely to chop down seedlings. Other types remain in the soil and feed on underground stems and roots, causing plants to wilt. Many of these caterpillars are climbers that eat leaves or buds of larger plants or trees. Regardless of the parts of plants they are likely to eat, all of these cutworms come out at night to do their devastating damage.
Grass and weeds harbor eggs. The adult moths of many cutworm species share a similar life cycle. In spring, they are attracted to grasses and weeds to lay their eggs. They prefer weeds with multiple stems and many basal leaves that produce low, dense growth. So the worst cutworm infestations in the vegetable garden generally occur where grassy areas have recently been broken up to create a new planting bed. When the young caterpillars hatch, they begin feeding on the nearest vegetation, slowly expanding their range as they grow. Consequently, if you’re planning to enlarge your garden in early spring by cultivating a nearby grassy or weedy area, do it at least two to three weeks before planting any vegetable seeds. If cultivated too soon before vegetable planting, cutworm larvae that have already hatched may migrate to the vegetables in search of food.
In fall, you can begin a program to reduce cutworm damage the following spring. Thickly mulch the garden area. Compost, weeds, hay, leaves, or even newspaper can make a good smothering mulch. Monitor the area in late winter and spring when the ground warms sufficiently for plant growth. Keep it as free of weeds and grass as possible. Remove any vegetation that might tempt cutworm moths to lay their eggs nearby, or continue adding mulch to deter weed growth.
Fine Gardening Project Guides
Yesterday, beautiful little seedlings were just poking their heads up in the garden. This morning, tragedy! Some seedlings are missing altogether, while others have been beheaded, their fragile tops cut off, lying neatly beside them. If you’re wondering what horrible thing has befallen your plants, the answer is simple: cutworms. You may be able to find one taking a daytime nap by probing the earth with your fingers. Of course, you can kill any cutworms you find by tossing them on a hard surface and stepping on them, but that won’t help the seedlings that have lost their heads. The only immediate solution is to reseed or transplant new seedlings to replace those that were demolished.