Medvedka And Measures To Combat The Pest Of Vegetable Crops. Description. Photo

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Medvedka And Measures To Combat The Pest Of Vegetable Crops. Description. Photo
Medvedka And Measures To Combat The Pest Of Vegetable Crops. Description. Photo

Video: Medvedka And Measures To Combat The Pest Of Vegetable Crops. Description. Photo

Video: Medvedka And Measures To Combat The Pest Of Vegetable Crops. Description. Photo
Video: Biological Pest Control on Vegetable Crops 2024, March
Anonim

Medvedka, or garden cabbage, is one of the worst polyphagous pests of garden crops. The insect has spread widely throughout the European part of the Russian Federation, in the Caucasus, the CIS. Almost all vegetable crops (especially seedlings), melons and industrial crops (potatoes) are damaged by this polyphage. Under natural conditions, the bear lives in wet places, on loose, light soils rich in organic matter. On cultivated soils, he prefers manure and compost heaps, sunny beds with vegetable crops.

Common Bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)
Common Bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)

Description of the bear

Medvedka belongs to the species of orthoptera insects. The color is dark brown with a transition to the abdomen in olive color. The length of the insect with whiskers and cerci (filamentous appendages) in the back of the abdomen reaches 8-10 cm. Large eyes and a gnawing type of mouth apparatus are located on the cephalothorax. The front pair of limbs is modified and resembles shovel-like diggers (like a mole). On the back there are hard and soft wings, which in warm weather help to fly from place to place.

Habitats and breeding of the bear

Adult bear hibernates in "bedrooms", which they arrange outside the freezing soil (1.0-2.0 m) or in manure and compost heaps. Insects come out of hibernation when the soil in the upper layers reaches + 8- + 10ºС. Mass output for active nutrition and reproduction after winter sleep is observed at daytime air temperatures of + 12- + 15 ° C. The main breeding sites are manure, humus, compost. In the same period, female bears mate and are engaged in the construction of an earthen chamber-nest no deeper than 10-20 cm from the soil surface. Spring tillage of 10-15 cm can destroy bear nests.

In the spring, before starting work, you must carefully inspect the garden beds.

Nest with eggs of the common bear
Nest with eggs of the common bear

The location of the bear's nest is easy to determine by the "hummock" protruding from the ground on the sunny side of the garden. Around the "hummock", spring weeds are "cut" by 20-30 cm for greater access of sunlight to the nest. If the soil surface is wet, the paths leading to the nest are clearly visible, where up to 400 eggs ripen. The eggs of the bear are grayish-yellow, slightly smaller than a pea. Embryonic development lasts 10-25 days depending on the weather. In the last decade of May, the larvae (nymphs) of the bear, light, yellowish-brown with wing buds, leave the nest and begin to actively feed. They resemble translucent dirty yellow flies. The diet of the larvae is very extensive: humus, earthworms, soil insects, plants (especially tender seedlings). During this period of growth and development, young bears can destroy up to 50% of plantings and crops. In their development, young individuals (nymphs) pass from 5 to 10 molts before reaching an adult. The period of molting and maturation takes from a year to two, depending on environmental conditions. Like adult bears, young larvae cannot stand the cold and go 1-2 meters deep for the winter if there is no manure, compost heaps and other warm places nearby. After the fifth molt, females become sexually mature and capable of reproduction.

Ways to deal with a bear

Preventive measures

General business

  • On a personal farm, a site is needed for storing and ripening manure and compost. If manure is dumped in a mess on the site, food waste is scattered, then the bear (and other pests and diseases) has optimal conditions for wintering and reproduction.
  • It is more expedient to add manure and composts to the soil after ripening. If the introduction of fresh manure is provided, then it is taken out to the garden after harvesting and placed in the form of small heaps in a checkerboard pattern. In this case, the garden is dug up in late autumn. Before digging, the heaps are turned up, the adult bears, numb from the cold, are selected, the manure is scattered over the site and dug to a depth of 25-30 cm.
  • Medvedka is a "gourmet" and cannot stand the unpleasant odors coming from food. In particular, it does not tolerate the smell of alder and bird cherry root secretions. Usually the insect tries not to violate the boundaries of the site, but an unpleasant "aroma" makes it leave the inhabited area as soon as possible. Marigolds and calendula are the same allergens for her. The potato, eggplant and tomato beds planted with these plants are not visited by bears during the growing season, they go to other places.
Young bear larvae
Young bear larvae

Agrotechnical

  • Proper maintenance of the garden provides for the mandatory implementation of the basic principle of agricultural technology - compliance with crop rotation. It is the correct distribution of crops that helps to timely carry out all plant care activities that contribute to a significant reduction in the number of pests per unit area.
  • Shredding of post-harvest plant residues, deep digging (in the southern regions it is better with a seam turnover), high-quality spring-summer inter-row cultivation cause the death of up to 70-90% of soil and plant pests. Deep loosening (12-15 cm) of row spacing is especially effective until the end of June, since it does not damage the young roots of the planted plants, but destroys the underground communications of the wintering places of the bear and destroys their eggs and larvae.
  • On acidified soils, the introduction of a large amount of ash into the furrows around the perimeter of the plantings and paths scares off the pest. Attention! It is not recommended to apply large amounts of ash on neutral and alkaline soils. An increase in soil alkalinity has a depressing effect on a number of vegetable crops.
  • Compliance with the irrigation regime provides plants with favorable conditions for the formation of crops, increases resistance to pests. Excessive moisture leads to a significant increase in their number.
  • All protective measures must be carried out in accordance with the development cycles of pests, including the bear. Premature or late implementation of the defense will not provide a meaningful result. Adults may die, but the younger generation (300-400 individuals from each nest) will fill the garden.

Active measures to combat the bear

On private sites, it is better to turn to chemical measures to combat the bear as a last resort. This is due to the health of adults and children, domestic animals, birds and other inhabitants in the confined space of a small area of the site. Therefore, it is always more advisable to start cleaning the site from pests with biological protection measures. It is better to use chemical preparations when an epiphytotic settlement of a site with a bear of all ages (3-5 pieces per square meter).

Biological preparations

Biological preparations are made on the basis of living effective soil microflora that does not harm the health of the family and warm-blooded animals. Biological preparations are divided into 2 groups: repelling and destroying garden pests.

Common Bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)
Common Bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)

From my own experience

I have been doing dacha for over 25 years. On a garden plot, observing the crop rotation, for many years I have been cultivating a large list of vegetables and other crops. Over the years, she has developed her own methods of dealing with the bear, the number of which is now insignificant in the garden.

From deterrent agents I use the drug Otmed. An excellent biological product based on extracts and extracts of cayenne pepper, wormwood, milkweed, garlic oil, tar and fish extract. Before planting seedlings, I dilute the fragrant liquid in 5 liters of water, dip the root of the plant and plant the culture. Additionally, I mulch the soil with straw or other light-colored material that creates a cool space around the plants. Bears do not approach the landings from the stupefying smell and cold. But this drug only repels the pest for 1 season.

The biological product Boverin, which is based on the insecticide mushroom "Boveria", has a longer effect. I stir the insecticide with the aged residues of sunflower oil and add a spoonful of it to the few holes leading to the nest chamber. Choking insects creep out. If I don't have time to collect them, they are eaten by birds, cats, hedgehogs, lizards, ground beetles, ants, and shrews. Pets do not die from the drug, but they can get sick. Therefore, it is better to collect a bear.

Once every 3 years I use the biological product Rembeck. Its composition is harmless to humans and other warm-blooded animals. The effective action lasts only 25-30 days, so during the growing season, the procedure must be repeated again, especially with late and repeated plantings. Sprinkle the preparation on the soil around the planted plant (literally a few grains). When reintroducing, I act differently: I make a furrow 5 cm deep, slightly moisten it, sprinkle the preparation on the bottom and cover it with a small layer of soil (no more than a cm). Appetizing bait destroys the bear of all ages.

Recently, an innovative biological product "Kurkliai" has appeared. This bioadditive is environmentally friendly; when introduced into the soil, it effectively destroys the bear and its larvae, without harming the environment.

Nest with bear larvae
Nest with bear larvae

Chemicals

If bears have flooded the garden and environmental measures do not bring the expected result, you need to take drastic measures. The chemical industry offers a large list of drugs that kill the bear. These include drugs Thunder, Prestige, Medvetox-U, Fenaxin +, Karbofos, Aktara, Aldrin and others. The methods of using the drugs have their own characteristics, which are usually prescribed on the packaging of the pesticide, but the end result is the same - the maximum number of pests perishes within a matter of days or weeks.

So, to protect bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, cabbage, the drug "Aktara" is used more often, from which individuals of all ages die within 1.5-2.0 hours. A working solution for processing plants is prepared at the rate of 1.5 g / 1 l of warm water.

For potatoes, as well as tomatoes and cabbage, you can use "Medvetox-U", which is applied in 3-5 cm of the furrows made in the aisles. From above, the furrow is covered with a small layer of soil and well moistened (without flooding with water).

Suspension "Prestige" has a wider range of action. The drug is used to treat the root system of any seedlings. Before planting, the roots of the seedlings are kept for 2-3 hours in a solution (10 ml / 1 l of water) of prestige.

The tempting smell of phenoxine + is especially popular with females. They try to make the nest closer in pleasant food. After eating the drug, the pests die. Phenoxine + is used for introduction into furrows or depressions in manure, humus, compost. The granules must be covered with soil. If they were not used for their intended purpose, then they gradually dissolve in the soil without harm to it.

Common Bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)
Common Bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)

Cooking poison baits

I use poison baits once every 4-5 years, and then switch to the above methods of protection (see the section "from my own experience"). I prepare a chemical bait as follows. I cook 2 kg of wheat until half cooked, cool it down, add metaphos or 1-2 ampoules of BI-58, add 2-3 tablespoons (preferably homemade aromatic) sunflower oil. Mix thoroughly. In the garden, after 50 cm, I make furrows 3-5 cm deep. Gently scatter the bait into the furrows with gloves and cover with a 2-3 cm layer of soil. If the furrows are dry, I moisten them with a thin stream from a watering can. The first time I performed this operation, I collected half a 5 liter pot of adults. Several pieces this year.

Remember! All chemicals are highly toxic. Remember to take personal protective measures when working (dressing gown, gloves, goggles, hat, respirator or multilayer bandage). After working with pesticides, you need to take a shower and change into fresh clothes.

Common Bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)
Common Bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)

Folk methods of dealing with a bear

On the websites and in the relevant literature, a huge number of so-called folk methods are given. Not all of them are effective, some do not give any result at all. If you need an effect, then you need to focus on the "habits" of the bear. They are attracted to the smell of alcohol. Means:

  • a container with sour beer dug on a plot will be a good trap,
  • A 2-3 liter glass container with a wide neck, lubricated from the inside (in the area of the throat opening) with honey, will attract a bear with a sweet smell. You can pour a little jam on the bottom. Dig the container flush with the soil, cover it with a small layer of grass and bent plywood. Falling to the bottom of the can, the bear cannot get out into the wild.

They do not tolerate the smell of certain herbs and insecticide flower plants. Calendula, marigolds, chrysanthemums planted between crops (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant) will scare off the bear, as well as the root secretions of alder.

Bypassing vegetable plantings, if you find bear moves, pour soapy water made from laundry soap or washing powder. Choking, the bear will crawl to the surface of the soil. If collected in time, they are easy to destroy.

You can scatter dry chicken droppings between rows. Bears can't stand his smell, they leave.

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