By Sharon Omahen


University of Georgia

Spring garden time will be here before you know it, so get rid of
hidden soil insects while you can.

“Once you’ve planted your garden, there’s very little you can do
to control soil insects like white grubs and wireworms,” said
Alton “Stormy” Sparks, an Extension vegetable entomologist with
the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.

Home gardeners’ best defenses against soil insects are avoiding
them and physically destroying them, Sparks said.

A Rototiller is your best control

“Since Dursban and Diazinon were removed from the market, your
best option for controlling these grubs and worms is your
Rototiller,” he said. “Get in your garden now and till, till,
till to eliminate weeds and (kill as many insects) as you can.”

If you think this sounds harsh, just think ahead to what these
little subterranean critters have planned for your vegetable
plants.

White grubs and wireworms are actually immature beetles.

“They’ll feed on plant roots and seeds,” Sparks said. “They may
not kill the plant outright, but they will seriously stunt the
growth.”

The key to reducing problems with soil insects in your garden is
to keep a clean site.

Keep your garden site host-free

“Making sure your garden site is weed-free now will help you be
pest-free later, Sparks said. “Soil insects are there before you
plant. If it’s host-free now, insects won’t be attracted to the
site. And you’re less likely to have soil insects after you
plant.”

Once you start planting, you can avoid many of the early-season
problems by using transplants instead seeds. If you do want to
seed, he said, wait until the soil warms up so the plants can
sprout and grow fast.

Aside from soil insects, most insect problem happen after you
plant.

“Once your garden begins to come up, just monitor for insects and
control them when necessary using a simple solution such as
physical removal of pests,” Sparks said.

“A lot of people don’t realize,” he said, “that if the number of
pests are limited and you don’t have a huge garden, (it’s best
to) just get in there and pull them off.”