All normally feed close to the soil surface cutting off seedlings or damaging leaves resting on the ground. First instar cutworms of some species will be found feeding on the leaf surface. Losses can be especially severe in fields seeded to a stand or recently thinned. Occasionally cutworms will bore into cabbage heads, but this is not common. Cutworms have numerous natural enemies, but none can be relied on to bring a damaging population down below economic levels.
Cutworms migrate into newly planted crops from surrounding weeds or infested crops.
Check for cutworms in weeds around the edges of the field before you plant. Remove weeds from field margins and work fields at least 10 days before planting to destroy larvae, food sources, and egg-laying sites. Cultural control and Bacillus thuringiensis bait. Baits are more effective when food is limited, so get it out before the crop emerges. If unexpected damage occurs after crop emergence, treat as soon as you find several severed plants in the same row.