How to Kill Worms at Home on Corn & Trees

Worms eat corn, causing damage to crops.

Pests on corn and trees cause damage to crops and the pant's structures. The most serious sweet corn pest is the earworm, according to The University of Kentucky. Earworms feed off of the corn kernels, destroying crops. Like the earworm, caterpillars and other worms attack trees, feeding off of the leaves and stems. In all cases, early treatment is essential for pest control.

Things You'll Need

• Insecticide
• Mineral oil
• Gardening gloves

Instructions

Corn

1. Dust or spray the corn with carbaryl, per label instructions. For corn, start when 10 percent of the ears develop silk. Starting during early development helps to prevent adults from laying their eggs in the corn.

2. Repeat the process every two days for corn. Make sure the spray or dust gets deep into the silk.

3. Add 1 drop mineral oil to the silks, recommends Texas A&M University. The oil prevents damage from earworms.

Trees

1. Cover the trees with a pesticide spray containing carbaryl or Bacillus thruingiensis. Follow the label instructions for dosage. Begin spraying in late March or early April before the eggs hatch.

2. Treat the ground around the trees. Cover the area with the dust or spray containing the pesticide.

3. Spray the larvae before they mature, which is around June for bagworm caterpillars. Wearing gloves, remove any remaining worms by hand and destroy them. Destroy any bags on the trees containing eggs as well.

References

• The University of Kentucky; Sweet Corn Pests; Ric Bessin, Entomologist
• Texas A&M University: Corn
• Texas AgriLife Extension; Worms in Trees Causing Homeowners Grief; Molly Keck; April 2005
• The University of Kentucky; Bagworms on Landscape Plants; M.F. Potter, et al.; 2010

Resources

• All about Worms; All About Worms in Trees; Anne P. Mitchell