---
title: Wireworm
canonical: https://fernland.com.au/problem-solver/wireworm/
dateModified: 2026-08-07 09:38:15
summary: "Wireworm larvae chew roots, seeds and underground stems of turf, vegetables and nursery crops, causing patchy decline and poor establishment."
type: article
keywords: [Wireworm, Elateridae]
---

# Wireworm

> Wireworm larvae chew roots, seeds and underground stems of turf, vegetables and nursery crops, causing patchy decline and poor establishment.

*Elateridae*

Wireworms are the larvae of click beetles (family Elateridae), a large group that includes both true wireworms and the closely related false wireworms (family Tenebrionidae) often managed alongside them. The larvae are slender, cylindrical and hard-bodied, ranging from about 10 to 30 mm depending on age and species, with a tough, shiny, yellow-brown to orange-brown exoskeleton. They have three pairs of small legs near the head and a distinct dark head capsule, and move slowly through soil where they can persist as larvae for one to several years before pupating.

Adult click beetles are elongated, parallel-sided beetles roughly 8 to 18 mm long, dull brown, grey or black, and named for the audible click they make when flipped onto their back to right themselves. Adults are usually seen on foliage or soil surface in spring, are largely harmless to plants, and lay eggs in soil near host plant roots, which hatch into the damaging larval stage.

Wireworms occur across most of Australia's turf, horticultural and cropping regions, with different species adapted to particular soil types and climates. Larvae live in the soil profile and feed on germinating seed, root systems, tubers, bulbs and underground stems. Populations tend to build in paddocks or turf coming out of pasture, fallow or long-term grass cover, and damage is most noticeable during establishment of new turf, vegetable and nursery crops when root systems are small and vulnerable.

Management relies on monitoring soil populations before planting into paddocks or beds with a pasture or grass history, since larvae can survive for extended periods and damage is hardest to control once a susceptible crop is already in the ground. Cultural options include cultivation to expose larvae to predation and desiccation, avoiding planting susceptible crops immediately after pasture turn-down, and maintaining vigorous, well-irrigated plant growth to help seedlings outgrow minor feeding. Baiting or soil sampling prior to planting helps confirm whether populations are high enough to warrant treatment.

## How to identify

Above-ground signs are often non-specific and can be mistaken for other establishment problems, so confirming the pest in the soil is important.

- **Patchy or failed seedling emergence:** gaps in newly sown turf, pasture or vegetable rows where seed has been hollowed out or seedlings have collapsed soon after germination.
- **Wilting or stunted plants:** young plants with chewed, pruned or tunnelled root systems and underground stems, sometimes with tubers or bulbs showing narrow, clean feeding channels.
- **Thin, slow-establishing turf:** irregular thin patches in newly laid or newly sown turf, most obvious where the site was previously pasture or long fallow.
- **Field check:** dig into affected soil around plant roots to a depth of 5–15 cm and sift through it by hand; hard-bodied, shiny yellow-brown larvae with a dark head and short legs near the head confirm wireworm. A simple pre-plant bait station (buried moistened grain or potato pieces) left for several days can also attract larvae for inspection.
- **Lookalikes:** true wireworms (Elateridae) are harder-bodied, smoother and shinier than false wireworm larvae (Tenebrionidae), which are similar in shape but often slightly flatter and less glossy; both can be treated as the same management issue in most situations. Wireworms can also be confused with millipedes, which are softer-bodied, have many more legs along the full body length, and curl into a tight spiral when disturbed rather than remaining straight.

## Image credits

- [Photo: Rasbak via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coleoptera_larvae_(ritnaalden).jpg)
- [Photo: Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wireworm_-_Flickr_-_treegrow_(1).jpg)
- [Photo: Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wireworm_-_Flickr_-_treegrow.jpg)
- [Photo: ZATRIPPIT via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Click_beetle_larvae.jpg)