For the garden is very dangerous invasion of May beetles or Khrushchev. They appear when young leaves bloom on a birch: larvae resembling white worms eat them with pleasure. If you do not fight offspring of the May beetle, then next year the insects will eat the roots of all plants, especially strawberries.
Physical methods
Take an integrated approach. The fight against the May beetle and its larvae is carried out using such methods:
- Light and sticky traps – if offspring of the May beetle is present in the garden, then perhaps there are adult individuals nearby. It is important to build special baits: prepare the dishes in advance, coat them with glue or other sticky means from the inside, place a light bulb at the bottom, put the trap so that it can be seen from afar. When it becomes dark, insects will come into the world: this way you can catch not only the grub, but also the caterpillars, the scoop butterflies. Additionally or as an alternative to the indicated method, use paper strips on which the adhesive mass is applied.
- Shaking the bushes. Every morning, brush off the bugs sitting on the strawberries, pick them up with your hands: this way the females do not have time to lay down the masonry. In May, the leaves of the strawberry are half-bloomed, so the beetle will be clearly visible.
- Deep digging of the site in late autumn. Before the procedure, add dry bleach to the soil. Additionally, prepare warm places for the larvae: dig holes, fill them with half-ripened manure or compost. When frost sets in, scatter the contents of traps: larvae on the surface of the earth will quickly die from low temperatures.
- Digging of beds in the spring, when the larvae are located in the upper layers of the soil. Work with damp ground, otherwise pests can burrow to a depth of 60-70 cm.
- Timely disposal of weeds on the site, especially wheatgrass. Remember that grass is a delicacy for crunch.
Chemicals for Maybug Larvae
If you did not have time to dig up the strawberry beds and manually select the white worms, then ready-made chemical compounds will help get rid of them. The table shows the means to combat the offspring of insects, which are recommended by many gardeners:
| Name of facility | Expense of funds | Application features | Price |
| Aktara (4 g) | Use the prepared irrigation liquid: 30-50 ml for each strawberry bush. | Mix 1.4 ml of the substance with 0.7 l of water. The fight against the larvae of the May beetle is carried out by watering or dipping into a solution of strawberry roots during planting. Keep in mind that the substance – thiamethoxam acts 40-100 days, the drug belongs to the 3rd class of toxicity, therefore, it is necessary to cultivate the soil, the culture long before the harvest ripens or after harvesting, in the fall. | 171 r |
| Antichrush (30 ml) | Under each bush, add 30-50 ml of solution. | To combat the larvae of the May beetle, prepare a mixture of 100 ml of concentrate and 10 l of water. Watering after removing the fruit. The duration of the drug is 1.5 months, after which the active ingredients – imidacloprid and bifentrin (talstar) decompose, if necessary, re-watering is carried out. | 50 r |
| Zemlin (30 g) | To combat the larvae, apply 10-15 g of concentrate under each bush to the soil. To protect the upper part of the plants, spray: 30 g of concentrate for 20 square meters. m. | Add the drug to the wells when planting bushes or spray on the soil surface. | 23 p |
| Nemabact (150 g) | 150 g for 100 square meters m. | Mix 1 part concentrate with 100 parts water. The fight against larvae of the May beetle is carried out by watering strawberries in the early morning or evening: it is advisable to do this at high humidity, at a temperature of 10-26 degrees. | 750 r |
| Repair (30 g) | 30 g of the drug for 10 square meters. m. | To combat, add the substance to dry sand, apply the mixture to the soil in spring, before planting. | 17 p |
| Bazudin (20 g) | 30 g of substance for 20 square meters. m. | Keep in mind that the substance is dangerous for fish, so do not let it enter water bodies. Fill a liter jar on? sand, add Bazudin, mix. Add composition before digging, planting strawberries. | 35 r |
| Vallar (50 g) | 50 g of substance for 10 square meters. m. | To combat the larvae of the May beetle, mix 8 g of the drug with 1 liter of water. Dip the strawberry roots into the solution before planting. | 21 r |
Biological compounds
In the fight against larvae of the May beetle, additionally or separately, it is possible to use compounds without the content of chemistry. Biological mixtures are prepared on the basis of nematodes (roundworms), fungi, bacteria. Living organisms of a certain type settle in the bodies of larvae, begin to eat them, secrete toxins, destroy. With the help of many drugs, the fight is carried out not only with the May beetle, but also with wireworm, weevil, thrips, cabbage fly, and glass-house. Consider the features of popular formulations:
| Name of facility | Active substance | Expense of funds | Application features | Price |
| Nemabact (150 g) | Entomopathogenic (predatory) nematodes. | 160 g of the drug for 100 square meters. m. | To fight, mix 1 sachet of the drug with 10 liters of water. Watering or spraying. Use the drug in spring or autumn. The nematode adapts to the soil, multiplies, lives 2 years, after this time, the drug must be reintroduced. | 750 r |
| Anthem-F (150 g) | Entomopathogenic nematodes of the species Steinernema feltiae. | 400-600 l of working solution for 1 ha of arable land. | Prepare a solution of 150 g of the drug, 10 l of water. The fight against larvae of the May beetle is carried out by means of watering, spraying strawberries. | 550 r |
| Metarizine (50 g) | Microscopic fungus Metarhizium. | 0.5 l of the preparation or 10 l of working fluid for 1 hundredth of planted strawberries. | Prepare a solution of 1 g of the product, 1 liter of water. With the prepared composition, water, spray the strawberries. The soil is cultivated in spring, autumn, summer when loosening, hilling. | 350 r |
| Boverin (1 L) | Beauveria bassiana fungus, insecticidal metabolites. | 500 ml for 2 acres. | Prepare a mixture of 500 ml of the drug, 10 liters of water. The fight against larvae of the May beetle is carried out by spraying with an interval of 6 months. The drug acts at a temperature of 16-28 degrees, so after cooling, heat treatment is repeated. | 215 r |
| Crohn-antip (250 ml) | Entomopathogenic bacteria Xenorhabdus nematophillus. | 200 ml of working solution for 1 hundred parts. | Prepare the mixture immediately before use: 30-50 ml of the drug is added to 10 liters of water. Spray strawberries at an air temperature of +25 degrees. Processing is possible up to 3 times at intervals of 10-14 days. | 1500 r |
Folk methods
If there are many birds flying nearby, then draw them to your site: build birdhouses, sprinkle groats, other food. An excellent solution would be to purchase chickens and hedgehogs – they will help get rid of pests in a matter of days. Consider several popular folk remedies for larvae:
- Planting repellent plants near strawberries. Inoculate the affected area with lupine. As a rule, weeds do not grow nearby with this crop, due to which the pests will have nothing to eat, they will die. In addition, use white clover against the May bug: the roots of the plant contain bacteria that synthesize nitrogen, which makes the land fertile for strawberry growth, unsuitable for the development of larvae. Marigolds, beans, turnip, elderberry, mustard, cabbage, turnip are excellent helpers in the fight against larvae.
- Spraying or watering strawberries with a weak solution of manganese: to fight, spray the liquid under the leaves, without worrying about the safety of plants, the crop.
- The introduction into the soil of ground eggshell.
- Spraying with a decoction or infusion of onion, garlic husk. Take 10 liters of water, soak in it 100 g of husk, leave the mixture for 5 days. Dilute the liquid with water (1: 1 ratio), spray the affected plants, the ground under the leaves of strawberries.
- Processing of the earth with a solution of iodine, ammonia: 15 drops of iodine or 1-3 tbsp. l ammonia to 10 liters of water.
- Burying cabbage or mustard leaves between rows of strawberries: the May beetle does not tolerate the aroma of greenery.
- The introduction of dry mustard into the soil or by irrigation with a solution: 100 g for 10 square meters. m. or 100 g of powder dilute in 10 liters of water.
How can the reader effectively combat Maybug larvae infestation on their strawberry plants in the garden?
How can I effectively combat Maybug larvae infesting my strawberry plants in the garden? Any natural or chemical methods that have proven to be successful in eradicating these pests? Open to suggestions and tips from experienced gardeners!