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woodlice on sweetcorn
REMF33
Posts: 731
in Fruit & veg
Is there anything I can do?
I am not sure if my sweetcorn is ready so I peeled back some of the layers and a dozen or so woodlice went scurrying. This sort of thing happened the other two times I attempted to grow it too.
And I am still not sure if the sweetcorn is ready. The tassles are brown but the corn is very pale, but this could be the variety... (Bought from a garden centre and I foolishly failed to keep the label.)
btw I know that woodlice are only supposed to eat stuff that's decaying, but I don't quite believe this. The sweetcorn looks healthy and I am pretty sure that woodlice eat (my) perfectly good strawberries. (Netted so no bird damage and no sigh of slugs and snails).
I am not sure if my sweetcorn is ready so I peeled back some of the layers and a dozen or so woodlice went scurrying. This sort of thing happened the other two times I attempted to grow it too.
And I am still not sure if the sweetcorn is ready. The tassles are brown but the corn is very pale, but this could be the variety... (Bought from a garden centre and I foolishly failed to keep the label.)
btw I know that woodlice are only supposed to eat stuff that's decaying, but I don't quite believe this. The sweetcorn looks healthy and I am pretty sure that woodlice eat (my) perfectly good strawberries. (Netted so no bird damage and no sigh of slugs and snails).
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There are differing opinions on what Woodlice will actually eat as the "first predator" or whether they just take advantage of already damaged produce but unripe corn seems to be a bit ambitious perhaps ?
They do like to hide so it wouldn't be unusual to find them settling in there.
I grew this variety this year and indeed the kernels are a pale yellow. I had some brown visitors at the end of mine too, but I just cut them off. Nice tender variety.
https://kokopelli-semences.fr/fr/p/G0211-stowells-evergreen
Sorry, it's in French but you may be able to get it in English - somewhere along the line!
Thanks both!
I cannot begin to imagine what woodlouse
ambitions might involve 
re variety, I guess if I pierce a kernel it might give me an idea. Cursing myself for not keeping the label.
re woodlice...
There is no obvious sign of any other creature.
But either way, I'd like to stop woodlice from exacerbating the damage if possible... although I can't quite see how it could be. I don't want to harm them.
If they are using the corn ears to hide in, they are rather going out of their way, climbing all the way up when there are some nice plant pots and bricks to hide under at ground level. Highly competitive champions at hide and seek?!?
If there is nothing I can do this time, is there anything I can do to protect sweetcorn in the future, from either woodlice or potential, otherwise undetectable predators - should I choose to attempt it again?
I knew I shouldn't have forked out for... new sweetcorn forks
here are three ways americans keep pest
out of their home vegetable garden sweet corn:
1.you pour vegetable oil at base of silk
at top of cob.
2.you tie the top part of leaves of cob with wire.
3.put hair netting over cob after it has been pollinated.
The jury is still out as to whether I grow them next year. They take up a fair amount of room, for a relatively small yield, when I have very limited growing space.