Note. — In preparing poisoned baits for 

 cutworms, use wheat bran that is free of 

 shorts, because shorts will cause lumps 

 to form in the mixture when water is 

 added, and make the bait difficult to 

 apply properly. 



Mix the bran and poison in a tub. 

 A mechanical mixer may be used. 

 Add the poison slowly while you 

 stir. This is important. The pur- 

 pose is to mix so thoroughly that 

 each particle of bran in the finished 

 bait will carry a little poison. Take 

 care to avoid breathing the poi- 

 soned dust. If you mix the bait 

 with your hands, wear gloves made 

 of natural rubber. 



Sprinkle — do not pour — water on 

 the mixture of bran and poison, 

 stirring slowly all the time. Stop 

 when you have a crumbly mass. If 

 you pour in large quantities of 

 water at irregular intervals, poison 

 will be washed from some of the 

 bran, and you will get an uneven 

 mixture. Set aside a little of the 

 mixture of dry bran and poison 

 so that, if you have used too much 

 water, you can bring the mixture to 

 the proper consistency. 



Spread the bait in the late after- 

 noon so that it will be fresh and 

 attractive when the cutworms come 

 out of the ground to feed. Apply 

 the bait by hand at the rate of 4 

 pounds (dry weight) to each 100 

 square yards of infested area. Scat- 

 ter it around the margins of the 

 bed, in the walkways, and in any 

 open spaces. Apply it only to the 

 soil. Do not put bait on the plants, 

 for it may burn the leaves. 



Dusts. — DDT or endrin dusts 

 control cutworms satisfactorily 

 when you use an efficient duster and 

 obtain uniform coverage. Use 

 DDT at a 10-percent strength; use 

 endrin at 1- to 2-percent. Apply 

 about 1 pound of the dust per 100 



square yards of plant bed space. 

 If you use tobacco dust as the dilu- 

 ent, it should be certified by the 

 manufacturer as being sterilized 

 and free from pathogenic organisms 

 that might produce tobacco disease. 



Sprays.- — You can also apply 

 DDT or endrin as a spray to con- 

 trol cutworms. Use 2 pounds of 

 50-percent DDT wettable powder 

 or 1 quart of DDT or endrin emul- 

 sifiable concentrate to 100 gallons 

 of water. Apply 3 to 5 gallons of 

 spray per 100 square yards of plant 

 bed surface, varying the quantity 

 according to plant size. 



Darksided cutworm. 



Spotted cutworm. 



Pupa of a cutworm. 



