Another lettuce head eaten from the inside. Or rather, gnawed off at the root.
Found another larva (wireworm / click beetle) near it, so it’s just a matter of time before the next one starts to wilt. Time to start picking individual leaves instead.
Unfortunately, I found the same kind of larvae in another raised bed too. The nasturtiums seem to be holding up, though. I’m guessing this will continue…
How do you get rid of them??
And then… I found the answer.
They come from the lawn, or rather from the dug up pieces of lawn I used to fill up the raised bed… and on the second year the larvae is there…
The lettuce can stay – for now. I’ll pull it out when it starts to wilt and make sure to get rid of the wireworms in and around each plant.
The fewer, the better – they stick around for years. No potatoes and no more lettuce in the raised beds this year.
Well, okay, lettuce can go in the new beds—but the new beds will in turn be off-limits next year!
Most of the wireworms were in the two outer large beds. Logically, there must be some in the middle one too – need to remember to check before I plant anything… eventually the click beetles will head back to the lawn…
Lettuce will be better off in pots for a few years… that way the lettuce is more protected from hungry slugs too.
