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

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Abstract
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.

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