I'll ask some growers that have had that problem, and share what they have to say or point them here to post. Blissfully, that has not been a problem I've had to deal with.

nematodes will not hurt your tubers , I don't know if they will kill wire-worms they have a hard shell , if the plants are up you might try flooding the ground and drowning the wireworms

One grower said..."We have seeded the bottom beds with potatoes and tubers that did not eye up. You would not believe the number of wire worm we have collected and got out of there. Also treated with beneficial Nematodes to get all the young."

"The Nematodes you would need to put on every two weeks for about three applications to take care of next years crop...and I would get your neighbors to do the same. They are not expensive, but very effective."

"The ones on the west coast in the US and Canada are nasty to dahlia tubers, but the species of wireworm dominate on the East coast prefer eating grass crops over tuberous crops. I remember doing the potato test on the soil's surface to check for their presence, and only accumulating quite a pill bug collection."

Cici, thanks again for coming through and finding the information I needed! I really appreciate what you do to help us! Thanks to you as well Mickey! I am going to just continue with the potato traps and go and get some nematodes and see what happens. Next year I will be sure to do a cover crop of brown mustard as apparently that is one of the very few things that is a repellant/toxic to wireworms. I am also going to flood the beds as 90% of the plants are up and about 12" high and I'm going to lose them to the worms if I don't do it anyways lol.

Thanks again, happy growing.
Cody

Glad to help...

This is what Jane from South CA said this morning...

"Regarding wireworms-I purchased the beneficial nematode, Steinernema Carpocapsae. Be sure to use non-chlorinated water when dispursing. I fill two or three 5 gal. buckets with water and let sit for 3 days to allow the chlorine to dissipate. Before planting, I would set out the potato pieces to act as a lure to see how many were present. The first couple of years, you may need to make several applications over the season. I always made the first application before planting. This is my fifth year planting dahlias, and only the first year I did not need the beneficial nematodes. I did notice a few when planting, but compared to the previous years, I would consider them almost eradicated. Best advice-Lots of Patience.

Don't give up, dahlias are worth the extra effort. "

Cody, do you remember the source where you got the info about flooding the soil to get rid of wireworms? Never heard that before, and would like to check out that method.

Heard about the winter crop being supposed to repel them, but couldn't remember what crop did the job. I do recall someone saying that the crop needed to be tilled under before it went to seed, or you'd be fighting it all year round. Was it mustard, then? Good researching!

Hey CiCi! Several sites that I looked at recommended flooding the soil... They were conducted in several trials throughout many years (by many different universities and growers that I found info from online), many suggesting that soil salinity and temperature had a direct effect on the success of killing the wireworms with this method... but I figure I have nothing to lose but the tubers they are going to kill anyways! Thankfully they haven't been too bad.. Only lost maybe 10 tubers out of a couple hundred plants, and the potato traps are in the ground now so I should be covered *fingers crossed*

As far as the crop to repel wireworms I also found this online on several agriculture websites (particularly regarding wireworms damage to potatoes in BC) and they recommended seeding the area with brassica (especially mustards and oil radish) green manure crops and tilling in.

Thanks again for everyones advice I will be certain to let you know what worked best for me and if I was able to keep the little buggers away!

Cody

Interesting stuff.

Well, have to say that I am glad not to have to figure that out for my own dahlias... Where are you located, Cody?

I live in Nanaimo, BC on Vancouver Island :) Beautiful city and am fortunate to have a few other growers around me that are always very helpful.

It's great to have other avid growers around. Makes growing dahlias that much more fun!

When you get the time, and if you don't mind sharing the details, I'd love to hear how long the beds need to stay flooded, and suggested temperature of the water for best results. It would help others who are struggling with the same problem you are, but are not as adept at researching.

It might be informative for you to keep a log on number of wireworms on potato baits before and after each treatment, with weekly entries to show progression or decline during the season.