Wireworm Baiting: Use of Solar Energy to Enhance Early Detection of Melanotus depressus, M. verberans, and Aeolus mellillus in Midwest Cornfields12

Experiments were conducted to compare the success of wireworm baiting in early spring (mid-Mar.-early Apr.) to mid-spring baiting (early Apr.-early May) and to compare the efficiency achieved by baiting in previously baited sites to newly-baited sites, When 5 modifications in baiting techniques were contrasted for efficacy, the most efficient for early baiting was the formation of a 5-cm soil dome directly over the bait site covered with a thin layer of coal dust and then capped with a one-m2 piece of 3-mil thick clear polyethylene. This heat trapping technique demonstrated a significant improvement in the performance of the baits in early spring but was not significantly different from baits without the heat trapping covers during mid-spring. Baiting of new sites in mid-spring also was more efficient than rebaiting of old sites when 2 consecutive baiting periods were utilized. More efficient application of soil physics principles to achieve temperature maxima at the soil’s surface for a given field’s attributes and location probably would further increase trap efficiency in early spring. This sampling technique could be a useful pest management tool for early detection of potentially damaging populations of wireworms and possibly other economic soil arthropods in Midwest cornfields.