Cutworm

What you see

Fat, greasy grey-brown caterpillars that curl into a tight C when disturbed. Found just below the soil surface right beside the damaged plant.

Damage

Seedlings and transplants severed cleanly at ground level and left lying. Damage appears overnight, in patches.

Lifecycle on this coast

One or two generations. Caterpillars feed at night at soil level and hide just under the surface by day.

When to act

Any severed transplant justifies a search - they work through a row plant by plant.

Months: April, May, June, July, August, September

Plants it bothers

Lettuce, Cabbage, Tomato, Sweet pepper, Beetroot, Sweetcorn

Natural enemies

Ground beetle, Bird, Toad, Parasitic wasp

Remedies

Encourage predators, Diatomaceous earth

The thing people get wrong

When you find a plant cut off at the base, scratch the top 3 cm of soil within a hand's width of the stem - the culprit is nearly always still there, curled up, and you will get it. A cardboard collar pushed 2 cm into the soil around each transplant prevents the whole problem.