My third batch of sweet corn has ear worms.

About 20% of the ears are damaged.

Providence variety sweet corn.

Since first silks, I spray, then skip two days then spray...

This year so far I have not messed up and sprayed late.

I am using Garden Tech's Sevin insect killer concentrate.

4oz per gallon. Hand sprayer. I get the silks good and wet till runoff.

This is a Zeta-Cypermetherin insecticide, not carbaryl.

So I am now spraying every other day.

But come on, how to stop them buggers?

Anyone try the Spinosad?

How about a mix of products?

I want a contact insecticide, not systemic.

Thanks.

Definitely, the later planted, the worse they get!

I am having trouble with my late planted green beans and so far 7 has not helped.

I read that the oil in the ear tip silk is still not totally effective.

My dad did it when he was a kid. But then when he was growing it for "profit",

he used a spray rig. Sevin, then Lannate. The Lannate worked, but it is a restricted use systemic type.

I planted this corn 6/25. The previous two plantings were clean.

I also observe the later plantings get hit harder.

As for location, I am on Long Island NY. "Were grow the best sweet corn".

Maybe your town grows the best also! The guy I bought my 720 garden tractor

was from Ohio, west of Akron. He grows sweet corn and said he has no ear worm problems. I thought that isn't fair.

I have been growing the sweet corn 8 seasons straight in the same plot.

The very first season had the ear worms also. Supposedly they migrate up from the south. I don't know if they can over winter in the soil here. I think I will plow under (instead of just disking) all the stubble after the last patch. I already shred (bush hog) it. I think I may plow again in the late winter, when not frozen and not too wet.

But that will leave the ground bare for months. Late April is the earliest I can plant. Too cold and or too wet. Hum I don't know. Seems that if they don't overwinter in the soil then nothing will be gained from that plowing and exposing them to winter weather. I should call our Mr. Kimball county agent.

Does anyone know if the Spinosad insecticide works better?

I have some experience with mineral oil as a fungicide. It seemed to work Ok in a vineyard but the label says it's only good for 7 days. So if it works on the moth laying a eggs, I would guess spray every 7 days or after every rain too. We used one called Stylet oil. Made in Texas if I recall, they had  2 prices. The high dollar stuff had a organic label, and the cheaper stuff did not. But as I recall all the same stuff, if you looked at label it was highly refined mineral oil as the only ingredient on ether label. 

I am not big time into organic but to spray a bug killer on my corn and then eat it a few days latter, I think I will put up with bugs. 

 But if you eat the bugs too your getting yourself primed for how the big wigs like Bill Gates thinks all us peons should eat anyway.

Have read the plowing the field and getting cold air to them in the winter will kill off a good portion.  Always wondered about spraying BUG KILLER on the ground early winter or just before planting ... to kill anything there.?? 

My local "Ms. Kimball" says the corn earworm can overwinter

here. The severity of the winter determines how many make it through.

However most of the action is because of migration from the south.

Seed suppliers and pesticide suppliers say alternate spray types.

Carbaryl, then a pyrethrin, then BT.

I have read some university reports saying when the moth pressure is the worst,

you could expect 20% of the corn to have an earworm (no matter how much you spray). Remember we are talking fresh sweet corn. City slicker stops at the quaint farm stand, buys the corn, gets home and finds a big worm with worm crap on the cob. They get traumatized.

I have just a garden plot. However, I use the tractors and equipment my dad left us.

I plow and disk and mow with Allis 160 or Ford 3000, cultivate with Allis C.

Plant with an Earthway hand push planter, spray with the 2 gallon pump up.

Spraying every other day worked. Bug count down, about 3 out of 280 ears.

So I stopped checking into every ear.

Next year I will start the 3rd batch on this schedule. Expensive.

I planted too much, spending time and effort to give it away.