Cutworm's in the
Heirloom / Open Pollinated Vegetable Garden

Cutworm's are the larvae, or young, of stout, dull-colored moths (millers) that fly at night. The different species attack Heirloom / Open Pollinated vegetable plants in different ways. The most conspicuous damage is done by the cutworm's that cut down plants by feeding on the stems. If you see cutworm's in your Heirloom / Open Pollinated vegetable garden, or plant damage that is evidence of their presence, act promptly to control them. A heavy infestation can ruin a Heirloom / Open Pollinated vegetable garden in short order.

In appearance and feeding habits cutworm's vary according to species. There are many species, and cutworm's live in all parts of the world. Those of the more common species are stout, soft-bodied, smooth, and cylindrical. They may be brown, gray, or nearly black. Some are spotted, others striped.

Most cutworm's hide in the soil during the day and feed at night. On dark, cloudy days you may sometimes see them above ground. Usually, however, if you are to see them in the daytime, you must search for them in the soil near the plants on which they feed at night. In the soil they are generally in a coiled position.

Cutworm's feed on most kinds of plants, but cause greatest damage to Heirloom / Open Pollinated vegetable garden crops. They start feeding in the spring; therefore vegetable gardeners should keep a close watch on young Heirloom / Open Pollinated transplants. Some species cut off the vegetable plants just above the soil surface, others at the surface, and still others just below the surface. Some climb the stems to feed on buds, leaves, or fruit, and some remain in the soil to feed on roots and underground portions of the vegetable garden plants.

Whatever the method of feeding, the result is the same-plant damage to a degree that places cutworm's among the foremost insect pests of the Heirloom / Open Pollinated vegetable garden. Cutworm's are destructive only in the immature stage. The adults (moths) have mouth parts for sucking, not for chewing. They feed on nectar and do not injure plants.

The eggs of most species of moths that produce cutworm's are laid on the stems of grass and weeds, or behind the leaf sheath of these plants. The eggs of some species are laid on bare ground. Each female moth may lay from a few hundred to as many as 1,500 eggs. The egg stage lasts from 2 days to 2 weeks. From the eggs emerge the larvae (cutworm's).

Most cutworm's pass the winter in the larval stage, hidden in the soil, or under trash, or in clumps of grass. They resume feeding in the spring and grow until early summer, when the full-grown larvae enter the next stage of development: In hollowed-out cells, or chambers, they change to pupae. Next, the pupae change to moths. Both these changes take place beneath the surface of the soil. The moths emerge from the soil, and the females soon lay eggs; another generation of cutworm's is thus started.

Some species of cutworm's pupate in the fall and pass the winter as pupae in the soil. The adults emerge early in the spring. In most of the common species there is but one generation a year. In a few species there are two, three, or four generations a year, and sometimes there is so much overlapping of generations that moths may be found at almost any time from late spring to the middle of the fall. The cutworm's in the northern part of the United States usually have just one generation a year.

For controlling the Cutworm you can put cardboard rings around each vegetable garden plant that will prevent the Cutworm from eating it. Another thing you can try is when you find a plant that a Cutworm has eaten, dig around the base of the vegetable plant to find the Cutworm and then get rid of it. After a Cutworm eats a vegetable plant they usually curl up and go to sleep at the base of the vegetable plant, either on the surface or just under it.