Dingy Cutworm
There have been several calls over the last week on a large number of “miller moths” that have been pests around lights and around doors or garages. These moths are called Dingy Cutworm moths. This moth is native to the entire United States. They are commonly found in gardens, agricultural fields and orchards. Adult moths are often hard to distinguish from other cutworm moths as the markings tend to disappear with age. In general cutworm moths are large and heavy bodied with light brown to gray markings on the wings. The larvae are heavy bodied and have a variety of different markings similar to the photo below. The moths we are seeing now overwintered as eggs or larvae in weedy or grassy areas before feeding and then hatching as adults in the last few weeks.
Cutworms are general feeders that attack a wide range of plants from beans, cabbage, peppers, potatoes, corn and sunflowers. Cutworms get their name from the fact they curl their bodies around the stem of plants and feeding on the stem. This feeding causes the plant to be cut off just above the soil surface. Adult moths do not damage plants, they are simply a pest of households. If you start seeing plants that appear to have been cut off at the surface of the soil I would start looking for the cutworm larvae. If you can find them they are easy to kill either by squishing them or dropping them in a bucket of soapy water. You can also exclude cutworms using a collars of aluminum foil or cardboard collars to create a barrier. Place the barriers around the plants in such as way one end is pushed a few inches into the soil and the other extends several inches above the ground. Chemicals can be used if there is a large number of cutworms however they usually aren’t necessary.
