The scoop butterfly is a polyphagous pest, there are about 100 varieties of them. Appearing on a suburban area and damaging plants, they cause a lot of trouble to gardeners.
There are various ways and methods of controlling pests (larvae, caterpillars and scoops). Having spent a lot of time and effort in growing seedlings and further care for tomatoes in the greenhouse, it is very annoying to find holes in tomatoes.
Who hurts and how to deal with it? And adult scoops do this, making huge holes in tomatoes and eating up the pulp from the inside.
What does it look like
Outwardly, the scoop is a rather nondescript butterfly, which has little resemblance to a moth. It lays eggs on the back of the leaf, for this reason it is very difficult to notice the newly hatched larvae.
Caterpillars are born after 3 days. The color depends on the species, they are gray-green, green or dark brown in color with wavy lines on the sides of the body and light stripes. The body is covered with hairs. In the next 22 days, development into an adult occurs.
Varieties
There are a large number of scoops, the most famous of them:
- Cabbage scoop, which harms Pancake week, fruit, leguminous and vegetable crops.
- Garden scoop, affecting cabbage, rutabaga, tomatoes, legumes.
- Winter scoop that damages field cereal plants.
- Pine scoop. It harms coniferous plants.
- Gamma scoop propagates where flax, potatoes, beets, corn and legumes are grown.
How to deal with pests in the garden? Caterpillar on tomatoes, caterpillars on tomatoes in a greenhouse
To counter the scoop, various methods are applied that depend on its condition: larva, caterpillar, butterfly.
In order to fight scoops, it is necessary to hang containers with a smell of pheromones, molasses or fermented kvass at a meter height.
To combat caterpillars and larvae you need:
- In the last month of autumn, dig up the whole earth, as they winter in the soil. As a result, a significant proportion of pests will die. At the beginning of the new season, it is also recommended to dig up the soil in order to reduce the number of overwintered insects.
- Manually collect larvae.
- Thoroughly destroy flowering weeds, since scoops feed on nectar, and its lack leads to weakening of the individual.
- Observe the alternation of planting of different plant crops.
- It is necessary to remove weeds, as they serve as the initial forage base.
- Spray with insecticides one month before harvesting.
In the spring, apply "Decis", "Karate", "Fury"; and in the summer season “Fufanon”, “Zolon”, “Danadim”. Apply them according to the instructions, carry out no more than 2 treatments per year. Spray with biological products, for example, "Agrovertinom", "Aktofitom", "Fitoverm."
Fighting Caterpillars: General Rules
Caterpillars on tomatoes in a greenhouse: how to deal with them? To combat it is necessary to apply an integrated approach, which contains the following measures:
- In the spring, constantly destroy weeds. This will help reduce the number of larvae and butterflies.
- Inspect greenhouses regularly, especially during flowering.
- Spray with chemicals "Spark", "Leptocide." Repeat spraying after a week, since the caterpillars are not born all at once. Further, only biological substances can be used, because the period of ripening and harvesting does not tolerate chemicals. Repeat the treatment 2-3 times.
- Do not allow the caterpillar to form to large sizes.
- In the autumn period, it is necessary to destroy all the remains of plants that have been damaged by the caterpillar, and dig a bed.
- In the summer season, it is recommended to loosen the soil from time to time.
Folk remedies
If caterpillars appeared on tomatoes in a greenhouse, how to deal with folk remedies? If you later saw that caterpillars wound up in tomatoes, then you can no longer use chemical agents.
Vegetable growers recommend the following methods of processing plants with infusions:
- Of the herbs. To prepare the infusion, you need 10 liters of hot water, to which you need to add 400 g of celandine, tobacco, wormwood and 200 g of garlic. After 24 hours add 40 grams of soap.
- From wormwood. In 3 l of water add 1 kg of wormwood, then boil for 15 minutes. Treat the plants twice, then a week break and you can repeat the procedure.
- From burdocks. Cut half a bucket of burdock leaves, then fill with water and insist for 3 days.
You can spray tomatoes with salt solution directly on the plant.
Caterpillars on tomatoes in a greenhouse: how to deal with a scoop?
The following agents are used to process tomatoes from pests.
- Thoroughly mix lime, wood ash and tobacco powder in equal proportions and pollinate the affected plants.
- Pour 2 cups of ash into a container of cold water and pour 2 small tablespoons of liquid soap. The resulting solution is sprayed with plants.
- Processing plants with a solution of potassium permanganate is very beneficial, firstly, it helps in counteracting scoops, secondly, fertilizer, and thirdly, it is a tool that disinfects and kills bacteria and viruses. To process the seedlings, pour a glass of saturated potassium permanganate solution into a bucket filled with water, and mix everything thoroughly.
- Dilute 5 g of potassium and 10 g of superphosphate in a bucket of water, insist for 24 hours. Apply several times with an interval of 8 days, up to 3 times per season. In addition, this solution can help against aphids.
- In 1 liter of hot water add 400 grams of laundry soap, then carefully pour 800 ml of kerosene and add 9 liters of water. Mix everything and use it instantly for processing.
Grower Tips
Caterpillars on tomatoes in a greenhouse: how to deal with them with the help of experienced gardeners? Caterpillar lures, scoops are made from sweet drinks, syrups, kvass, beer, juices that can ferment. Place the bait in small jars. It is necessary to remove the tracks that are caught on the bait.
To scare away butterflies, an egg shell is used, which is laid out between the plants. Birds, especially tits and sparrows, like to feast on larvae and caterpillars, they will help reduce the number of pests. For birds, you can hang feeders.
Plant cilantro and basil near the tomatoes, scoops do not tolerate the aroma of these herbs, so they will fly around your planting.
Biological methods
Caterpillars on tomatoes in a greenhouse: how to deal with biological methods? To destroy pests, trichograms can be used - these are small insects that lay eggs inside the eggs of a butterfly scoop. This method is used twice a season.
Significant benefits come from insect riders, whose females inject a toxin into the caterpillar by puncture, which stops digestion and leads to its death.
Caterpillars on tomatoes in the greenhouse, the reasons for their appearance directly depend on their timely detection. It is not always possible to establish the time of occurrence of pests in order to determine the timing of the start of processing. In case of untimely spraying, the treatment will not give any result. To establish a massive invasion of insects is possible thanks to pheromone traps.
In conclusion, I would like to note that, after reading the article, everyone will be able to answer the question: how to get rid of caterpillars on tomatoes in a greenhouse.