When this gardening season started, I never imagined I’d be doing research on identifying cutworms and how to get rid of cutworms. I’ve been gardening for over a decade and never came across a cutworm before. Then again, I’ve never started a garden in a former horse pasture before!
Cutworms are destructive little worms and will quickly decimate your garden. The only good thing I can think of that came out of our cutworm experience this year was discovering them before we planted any of our seedling transplants out. This allowed me to be proactive about preventing cutworm damage.
What is a Cutworm?
The first time I found a cutworm in our new garden space, I actually threw it aside and kept raking the beds. Then I found another one. And another one.
Once I lost count of how many cutworms I was finding in the dirt, I realized these little buggers could be problematic and needed to identify them. I took a few pictures to make identification easier and started researching.
A cutworm is the larvae of a species of moth that is most often found in the top inch or two of soil. The most common type of cutworm climbs up the stem of a young plant, wraps around it and cuts it down as it feeds on it. Hence the name! When disturbed, the cutworms curl up in to a “C” shape.
A cutworm’s lifecycle is short so these buggers won’t be an issue all season. I guess that’s a good thing, but they’re still a pain to deal with!
By early summer, a cutworm should be moving into the next life phase of a pupae (cocoon). Once I started finding the moth pupae instead of the worms, I was pretty excited since I knew our danger zone was passing!
Organically Get Rid of Cutworms
I did a lot of research and asked about cutworms in several homesteading and gardening forums I’m in. We will never use a toxic pesticide in our gardens so it was important to find natural, organic methods to get rid of cutworms in our garden. Here’s what we found out:
1. Diatomaceous Earth. This was the most recommended natural remedy to get rid of cutworms. Diatomaceous Earth kills soft bodied insects (you can find it here). This is a great option for some folks. Unfortunately for us we did not try this method since we read that it will also kill bees if it gets on them. Our honey bee hives are right next to our vegetable garden so I didn’t want to chance it.
2. Expose the cutworms and let the birds feast. We just happened to be putting in our new garden when we discovered the cutworms. Our garden is about 7000 square feet and a former horse pasture. This first year we decided to till the soil. By tilling the soil, it turned over the grass clods where the cutworms were hiding out. The killdeer, sparrows, starlings and robins flocked to the garden and feasted for days. If you have chickens, figure out a way to let them into the garden to eat the cutworms without them eating your seedlings!
3. Plant collars. Since cutworms wrap around the plant stem to cut it off, plant collars can be really helpful. You can buy plant collars, but look at the price of these things! We’re too frugal for that option. Instead we collected toilet paper rolls for a few weeks. I cut them in half and put them around my smallest seedlings when transplanting them out. This worked great for the broccoli and cabbage seedlings since they were small enough to fit down inside the paper tube. The tube should go at least an inch down into the soil and an inch above. I’ve heard from some folks that also used paper towel tubes cut in thirds and tin cans with both ends cut off.
4. Stem protectors. For our larger plant starts, like tomatoes and tomatillos, we used nails for stem protectors. Some folks said they used toothpicks or plastic drinking straws cut into shorter pieces. My husband is a contractor so we just happen to have a lot of nails around so chose this option. Basically the idea is to put something tall around the stem of the plant to prevent the cutworm from wrapping around and cutting it.
5. Pick and squish. This is the least pleasant option but very effective. Cutworms come out to eat at night so you can go out at dawn, dusk or night with a light. You can also find the cutworms in the soil by digging down a few inches below the soil level. I usually found them when I was raking in a new garden bed or digging a hole to plant a seedling. They can be a bit tricky to kill since they’re squishy. I’ve found the most effective method is sitting the cutworm on a rock and chopping it in half or squishing it with another rock. It actually can become quite gratifying to squish ’em if you have a big enough problem like we do!
Having to plant our seedling transplants out in collars or putting up stem protectors was extra work in the garden, but it was worth it. So far we have not lost a single plant to a cutworm (but the drought is a whole other story!). I still continue to find the little beasts, but they’re becoming fewer and far between. Since the moths lay their eggs in tall grasses, we’re hoping we won’t have a cutworm issue in the garden next year since it is no longer a horse pasture!
Have you ever had to deal with cutworms in the garden? Do you have any tips to share?
Great information thank you! One more thing about Diatomaceous Earth, it kills insects with an exoskeleton by drying them out. We use DE for fleas, ants and garden pests. It’s even safe to eat if you buy food grade DE.
Thanks for sharing that Aimee, it is great to know there are so many other uses for DE!
How about sprinkling the DE around the base of the seedlings and young plants? This way the bees will not get at it.
Hello, really enjoyed your article. I haven’t had a cut worm problem for 40 years. My easy inexpensive solution is to sprinkle a hand full of corn meal over the garden bed early in the spring. I only do this once per season. This method completely gets rid of them for us. I read they can digest the cornmeal thus they croak.
Hope you try my solution.
Have a wonderful day.
We live in Teton Co. and I have heard that grain farmers are having quite a time with cutworms this year. I weeded my garden this morning and didn’t see any cutworms, but if I do, I will be extremely grateful for the information in your post. Greetings from the Rocky Mountain Front!
Thanks for stopping by Denise! I hadn’t heard that about the grain farmers and the cutworm issues. When we bought this place last year the pastures were all tall, dead grasses that we didn’t get mowed down until this spring. Unfortunately the moths love to lay eggs in tall grasses so by not mowing down the pasture in the fall we actually set ourselves up for this horrible cutworm problem. We’ve seen flocks of birds all around our pasture and yard picking cutworms out of the yard. We’re hoping this helps put a big hit on the moth/cutworm population around here!
DE kills bees but a circle of crushed eggshells around your plants keep the cutworms from your plants and nourish the soil overwinter as well.
Thanks for the tip about the egg shells, I hadn’t heard that one before!
Thank you so much for the tip. I will start saving my egg shells.
I also use eggshells to keep the cats from digging, but you need to wash them so they don’t attract critters like raccoons.
This year, for the first time, I have had trouble with cutworms…. cutting off a gebera daisy a few times! I am so glad to know what the pupae look like – I didn’t know and I remember seeing one of those…. I will need to hunt – or get my boys out there hunting for any. 🙂 Thank you for posting this.
hello gentle oy, i love cantaloupe, i start them from seed in my green house, then move them to my flower bed. when i do the, the cut worms eats them as fast as i can plant, over night they ate four of them about 5″ tall. i’ve been out at night and can’t find any, i’ve dug looking for them, i even put them in containers, and they still find and eat them. i’ve sprayed with everything, put powder. can you help me?
i live in calif. the high desert
I feel your pain! I’m glad to see you found some things that work – I hadn’t heard of the nail/toothpick/straw thing but that’s ingenious!!
Thanks for sharing as I’ve recently noticed some of my flowers just coming out of the ground when tugged on. Will have to try those tips. Pinning!!
Cutworms are so frustrating. Letting the chickens forage in the garden area before planting seemed to help with the cutworm population this year. In the past, I have used sticks on either side of the stems. These are great tips! Thank you for sharing at Green Thumb Thursday.
Nice use for those awful 8 oz., land-filling, plastic soda bottles!! We don’t drink those here, but will save from friends.
Cut to about 6 inches and they fit right over and can be pushed down in soil. Remove when threat removed.
They are also very cheap to purchase at the dollar store, and can be removed, cleaned and dipped in a bleach solution before using on the next planting, or for the next year. They last a long long time!
Uh, oh. I was referring to soda straws, not plastic bottles! Sorry. I do not buy plastic soda bottles at all anymore, and reuse the ones I have only for taking on trips. Good do tips here for cutworms, the bane of my daughter’s existence this spring!
Hi, Barb! You don’t want to reuse plastic water bottles for drinking. It leaches plastic and chemicals which are endocrine disruptors. Better to recycle plastic and use glass or stainless steel for drinking. I used to do it too, until I found out.
Thanks for sharing this fabulous post at The Green Thumb Thursday Garden Blog Hop. I have featured it this week.
We live in Pine Falls, Manitoba Canada- and we too made a garden over an old horse pasture / corral. and oh my lord the CUTWORMS! absolutely horrible. NEVER in my life have I ever had to deal with anything like this! I have reseeded carrots and beets 3 times- and have now given up this year. I have used diatomaceous earth around my transplants, sprinkled it in rows before seeding, used tons of egg shells, toilet paper collars, collars made from plumbing tubing, picked and squished etc etc etc!!!!!. and the little buggers are still lopping things off- and it’s already July 11/ 2014. They have also decided to CLIMB and my peppers are no more as well. the have played havoc with the cucs, peas and beans and all the squash and pumpkins – they were even wrapping around the potato stems. The more I read- it suggests tilling to bring them up for the birds- but I am trying to establish NO TILL permanent beds- and this seems to be a hiding place? ei yi yi- I am SO discouraged this year- as I was hoping to take the leap this year and start a small community supported agriculture CSA- providing vegetables for 4 families. I have tried ALL the suggestions recommended above- and they are still winning!
Lisa I have heard to add sand to the soil as it cuts into their bodies and they will die. I do not know if this is true, but it is worth a try. I too have cut worms starting up and am fixing to do the egg shell thing, but am going to put my shells in a blender and cut them small and mix with the soil around my transplants. Hopefully the chopped eggshells will cut into their bodies and get rid of them.
Gwen
It is years later from your comment……have you found a solution………anything. I loose so much of my garden to cutworms!!! I have found the larva and squished it but didn’t know what it was but now am glad I squished it!! I don’t want to use chemicals on my garden veggies!! at wits end I already seed twice as much of each thing I seed just to have enough worth while harvesting!!! Getting older every year!!!!!!! LOL
I am having them for the first time, thanks to a gifted pot of tomato plant.
I’m carry a coffee can of soapy water, dropping them into it. They curl up & drown/die.
They’re decimating my sunflowers and amaryllis. Grrrrrr.
Yup, this is my second year of cutworms, and they are no fun! I have collars this year, but lost 2 or 3 plants anyway. Much better than last year, though! Here is a tidbit from my hubby, who is an aggie and ex crop scout: cutworms can tend to find a line of crops and stay in that line. Not guaranteed, but if you find that two or three of your seedlings in a row have been lopped off, it’s worth digging around toward the next plant in line. Also, I have read that the adult moths can tend to return to their birthplace to lay their eggs. I hate to be a naysayer, but your garden may not be out of the woods once they hatch. I would still use deterrents next year. My beds were bare all winter in -30 degrees, and I have cutworms again. Once they come, I’m afraid they may stay 🙁
I use aluminum foil wrapped around the base of my plants. Never had a problem but I also let my chickens in the fall and spring to forage.
aluminum foil sounds food. this sounds gross, but, I skewer the cutworms, slugs, etc with a bamboo skewer while digging. I feel like DESTRUCTO on the prowl.
If we put diatomaceus Earth on the grass, will it make the grass dead. Here in Québec, they eat the grass and the grass dies. comes brownish. Give me your advice because it is coming back more and more year after year.. They make a lot a damaged grass.
Thanks for answering, Monique
I’ve never heard of DE killing grass, just soft bodied insects. That is why it is widely used by gardeners. Just be careful using DE since you don’t want to also kill off any of the good insects
Ive never heard of DE killing grass…. I use it on ant hills all the time in my yard with no problems.
I thought I had cut worms too, but mine are green and found on the under side of greens there may be 10 to 20 on one plant. They eat holes in the leaves. Any ideas?
Those sound like cabbage worms! Those little green buggers don’t eat just cabbage like their name may sound. We found them on our broccoli and even our kale. They are quite destructive and will eat holes in the leaves. You can also use the Diatomaceous Earth on them the same as you would on the cutworms. You can also pick them off and squish ’em!
Great tips. I use DE and the pick and feed my chickens method! 🙂 Will share this article on FB and Pinterest.
We use food grade diatomaceous earth as a flea and tick precaution on our German Shepherd. Just make sure you are covering the dogs eyes when you apply the DE. I rub a few heaping teaspoons into my boys coat. We live in the woods, in the middle of tick heaven, and this has solved our problem for ticks and fleas on the dog. Make sure you use the food grade on pets though. It can also be used as a wormer, though we have not had problems with that ever.
I cut strippes of newspaper about 1 inch wide and 4 or 5 inches long. Then I get them wet one at a time and wrap them around the stem of my plants, at ground level .at an angle works best, so some of the paper is above ground and some below. It grows with the plant and don’t cut in. Has worked for me for years.
I understand how the cutworms can be a pain to say the least….
I was just thinking, what about collecting them & using them for fish bait?
Or bring in a garden friendly predator bug….
Just a thought.
I solved the cutworm issue years ago by using paper cups. I cut out the bottom and slip the roots of the plant through and plant with an inch above ground and an inch below ground. Make sure the roots are below the level of the cup in the ground so they can spread. Haven’t lost a plant to cutworms since using this method.
How many inches tall and wide is your paper cup? Will a Dixie cup work?
I have gooseberry bushes and each year these geen worms strip the leaves off and destroy the bushes. My Dad used pesticide spray but I just can’t. They don’t look quite like cabbage worms.
I thought they were cutworms. Now they have found the currant bush at another location. There are too many too sqish them all and the spines on the gooseberry bushes are vicious.
Do I need to remove all the grass from around the bush before using the crushed egg shell in the soil? It would take far too much egg shell to sprinkle on the leaves. Please give me any help you think would work in this instance. Thank you for your time!
I had this happen this year for the first time. I believe that these worms are sawfly larva. I had hundreds of them and they stripped my gooseberry and then started in on the currant but I caught that right away.
Great pos t! Thank you I One question I had my basil in pots. Will they climb up into the pots or were they already in the soil?
These guys are the jerks of nature. Cutting down my lil plants, and not even eating ’em! Anywho, just a couple thoughts, I’ve been dealing with cutworms since I started my garden a year ago. DE is great, but the moment you water or it rains, it turns into a paste, and the little guys don’t seem to mind it at that point. I’ve dug for them with little success. My best luck was a sting operation. Planting something I’d know they’d go for, broccoli for instance, head out there at around 10-11pm with a bright flashlight, and catch ’em. I’ve found luck singing the “cops” theme song while doing this. I use chopsticks to snag them off the plant (make sure to look under the leaves), then commence justice. BT and collars have been of little success to me.
Thanks for all your expertise. Did not know what these critters were, but I’ve seen them before. Glad the birds feast on them. and keeping them away from my plantings will surely help!
I set out beer traps for the slugs and have found lots of dead cutworms floating in there this year. This doesn’t seem to be enough to get rid of the problem altogether (going to try toothpicks around my remaining plants) but could be one more weapon in the battle.
How do you set out a beer trap?
Thank you for the most creative solutions to the cutworm problem. I have learnt a lot from this blog and from all the contributors. Out of 12 tomato plant seedlings that I planted last week, I only have 2 left so I am definitely going to try out all your suggestions!
Great article! I had a horrible cutworm problem last year when I planted in a new area. After losing cucumber and bean plants 4 times (meaning replanted 4 times after the worms got them) I was at my wits end. Collars, foil, etc…did not stop them. Some were shearing off plants 2-3 above the ground! Will bookmark this for all of the great ideas.
I did paper cups one year for seeds. Cut the bottom out and buried it half inch into the soil. Planted seed in center of each one. First sprouts came up and a bird figured out that there was a tasty seed inside each cup. So the entire planting was decimated to the last one in one day. Far worse than what cutworms do.
I get the concept of cutworms for seedlings early in the season and use TP rolls for tomatoes, etc but I’m picking beans like crazy now and about half of the plants are cut off. Has anyone had a problem with cutworms this late in the season? Of course the plants are chock full of little beans………
I’ve found a few cutworms later in the summer but not nearly the amount we did in the spring/early summer. Can you go out to your garden at night or dawn/dusk to see if you can find what is cutting the plants? I’ve read that those times of days are better for trying to spot pests like this in the garden.
We are getting the same thing… beans are beautiful and we are picking baskets full then boom, the plant is like shaved off just at the dirt line. Very frustrating to say the least…. I am going to try some toothpicks or foil tomorrow to see if I can save what is left…
1st year to have the problem. Didn’t understand why my pea plants would suddenly fall over. Mother up for visit, suggested cutworm. I’m like, what’s that? I dug around the plants, and dug up several fat cutworms…about 2-3″ below the soil surface, close to the plant bases. Incredible! Did I get them all?? IDK, but, I gaurentee you, I’m on the attack! 10yrs of gardening, and every year I’m challenged by a new pest.
I have a raised garden two feet off ground first year. My plants were demolished by cutworms. One basil plant would have more than 5 worms attached to the root. Do you think it may be from the soil I bought?
I’ve seen things like these nasty, gross buggers for years..my dog loved to eat them. This year is extremely bad with cut worms everywhere I have dug,whether for flowers,shrubs or grape vines..they are chopping away. These are great ideas that you all have posted. I’m about to teach my new husband how much more I know that he doesn’t know I know..lol! Thanks to all of you..for the input..Dixie cups, diatomaceous, knee pads here I come..