The grown fruit of the tomatoes lying on the ground with such care, in which green greasy caterpillars settled, gives a lot of disappointments. The culprit of the problem is the scoop pest . It is her caterpillars bite into the fruits, making deep moves there.
Scoop belongs to the category of Lepidoptera. Outwardly, this inconspicuous gray butterfly looks like a moth. She lays her eggs on the underside of the leaves of the plant. It is very difficult to notice the hatched larvae, as they bite into the fruit from the side or from the bottom. Depending on the type of caterpillar, the scoops have a gray-green or green color, they are smooth or covered with hairs. Sometimes on their body you can see strokes or stripes.
The bulk of the species of scoops are polyphagous pests. They can ruin cabbage and peppers, tomatoes and currants, as well as gooseberries. Delivers a scoop of chagrin to gardeners. She bites into the buds of gladioli, dahlia and roses. Scoop causes irreparable damage to the crop:
- tomatoes become unsuitable for eating;
- heads of cabbage, rotting in places of moves, are poorly stored;
- fruits and berries fall off.
In the event that a scoop began to spoil on a plant site, how to deal with it? The actions necessary to destroy the pest should be carried out already in the spring. Scoop, the methods of combating which are the regular destruction of weeds, should be limited in terms of nutrition. To preserve the crop should also produce chemical treatment of plants. It should be remembered that larvae appear in the middle of summer. During this period, plants require a thorough inspection. If eggs or pests are found on flower beds or in flower beds, it is necessary to use preparations called Citcor or Decis, Iskra or Inta-Vir, Confidor or Leptocid.
The scoop, methods of combating which should consist of periodic spraying with insecticides, has an extended period of hatching of the caterpillars. That is why the treatment of plants with chemicals should be repeated after a week. During periods of ripening and harvesting the grown crop can also bring troubles to the scoop. Methods of dealing with it during this period of time should include the use of only biological agents. In this case, spraying with a break of a week should be done only two or three times. When using chemicals, it should be remembered that poisons are more effective at killing young caterpillars.
A scoop, the methods of dealing with which are also relevant in the autumn period, should be deprived of food in the form of plant debris and fruits. It is also necessary to dig a thoroughly the entire area reserved for the cultivation of vegetables, in order to destroy the wintering pupae.
Modern industry produces pheromone traps. They are able to destroy scoops in the greenhouses of flying butterflies. Gardeners can use thrice diluted fermented kvass, in which yeast is added. This tool will help catch butterflies. The bait is poured into jars that are hung among the landings. As a means for trapping, you can use molasses. It is diluted and poured into bowls. An effective method for the destruction of larvae is their manual collection.