Pheromone for the potato and lettuce worm

The click beetle or “wireworm”

The click beetle is a beetle whose larva attacks potatoes and transplanted crops, gnawing and perforating their roots. There are 4 harmful species in France: Agriotes lineatus, A. sputator, A. obscurus, and A. sordidus.

Egg-laying and development period

Adults spend the winter buried in the soil. In spring, they emerge and lay eggs in the soil, from which the larvae (“wireworm”) will hatch after 2 to 4 weeks. The wireworm’s development cycle is very long, from 1 to 5 years, depending on the species. Throughout this time, the worm remains buried in the soil, moving around in search of food. You can therefore find worms of different sizes in the soil (from 2 to 25 mm), corresponding to different stages of development. In the final year, the worm pupates in the soil. The adult beetle forms a month later but will only emerge from the soil the following spring.

How to use pheromones?

Pheromones are volatile substances generally secreted by females. They play a role in sexual attraction for males. Each species emits a specific pheromone. This makes it possible to trap each type of harmful insect very precisely and very effectively. Decamp attractants are used with a pheromone trap specific to click beetles.

Instructions for use

The capsules are packaged in airtight sachets. Use them as soon as the sachet is opened.

• Handle the capsules without touching them, to avoid contact with your fingers. Cut off the top of the sachet and pour the capsule directly into the trap’s small capsule holder basket.
• Use only one pheromone per trap (combining different pheromones cancels the effectiveness of the attraction).
• Action: 4 to 6 weeks per capsule.
• Set up the traps as soon as the seedlings emerge from the soil.
• Use 1 trap per 30 m²

Storage

• 5 years in the freezer
• 3 years in the refrigerator after the manufacturing date indicated on the sachet.

When should you use the Taupin Décamp pheromone?

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