Flea beetles are more than just hole-boring pests. Place yellow sticky traps in your garden to see if you have flea beetles. Below are names of active ingredients that are commonly available in pesticides sold in stores that sell garden pesticides: CAUTION: Mention of a pesticide or use of a pesticide label is for educational purposes only. Flea beetles are more than just hole-boring pests. Cultural control is the key to killing flea beetles. This will disrupt and illuminate any overwintering flea beetles.

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Regents of the University of Minnesota. Flea beetles are common pests found on many vegetable crops including radishes, broccoli, cabbage, turnips, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, spinach and melons. The best way to save your crop from these creepy-crawly pests is to deter them from invading in the first place. Neem oil and some horticultural oils are also effective at repelling flea beetles. Most adult flea beetles are very small (1/16 –1/8th inch long). Visit The Home Depot to buy Ortho 32 oz. Small white larvae hatch from eggs and feed on the roots of the newly planted seedlings. © 2019 - 2020 Sympathink.com - All Rights Reserved. Flea beetles chew irregular holes in the leaves. It’s easy to make your own organic spray for flea beetles by mixing 1 tsp mild organic liquid soap with 1 liter of water. Use row covers or other screening to keep beetles out, when the seedlings are growing. This type of damage is unique to flea beetles. But if yours are or if you just don’t have the time for less invasive treatments, pesticides are an effective option. The larvae of this wasp develop on the female flea beetle and prevent the beetle from reproducing. The most common flea beetles in Minnesota gardens are: Most flea beetles feed on very specific plants, but the palestriped flea beetle (Systena blanda) feeds on a variety of plants, like, squash, beans, corn, sunflowers, lettuce, potatoes and many weeds. Jeffrey Hahn, Extension entomologist; Suzanne Wold-Burkness, College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences; W.D. Try planting these plants near the crops you want to protect: These methods will do you little good if you have an active flea beetle population. Larvae then transform into pupae in the ground. Bug B Gon MAX Lawn & Garden Insect Killer Concentrate 0175810 Plant a highly-favored crop, such as radish, as a trap crop, before you plant your main crop. Flea beetles chew irregular holes in the leaves. Are the holes in the leaves circular? Done wrong, it can attract flea beetles that otherwise wouldn’t have come, and you could lose your crop anyway. Flea beetles live through the winter as adults in leaf litter, hedgerows, windbreaks and wooded areas. An exception is the spinach flea beetle, which is 1/4-inch long. But, it has no residual effect, and only works if you spray it directly on the beetles. © Adult flea beetles become active in early spring. Insecticides may be used early in the season, but are generally unnecessary in the control of flea … This homemade insecticidal soap spray will kill the adults on contact. How to Kill Flea Beetles Naturally. There is a very wide diversity of beetles that are considered to be flea beetles. Prevent severe damage to your plants by treating seedlings when there are more than five flea beetles per plant.

That said, if you want to lure the flea beetles away from your plants, try: With any luck, they’ll be so occupied with those plants that they forget about your focal crops, like greens and potatoes. However, they are often shiny, and if their behavior fits their name, you probably have flea beetles. This is unlikely to help when your flea beetle problem is severe. 2020 If so, chances are good that you have a flea beetle problem. All rights reserved. Many people use dish soap successfully, and some add a small amount of alcohol to the solution. If the damage is in an advanced stage, do the holes create a “lacey” appearance in the leaves? Remember, the label is the law. Diatomaceous earth is safe for pets, children, and most beneficial insects, but will repel most flea beetles. Plants grow faster in warmer temperatures and are more stable to resist damage from flea beetles. They can ruin a young crop in large numbers.

There are usually one to two generations per year. In scientific taxonomy, these beetles are all part of the tribe Alticini, which is part of the … Cole crops (cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower) and other plants with edible greens can be damaged later in the summer. Yes, they hop—or flee—like fleas when disturbed. Depending on the species, females lay single or clusters of eggs in small holes, in roots, soil or leaves of many vegetables as well as occasionally on flowers and ornamental shrubs and trees. The first thing you should do, if you don’t already, is till your soil in the spring before planting. Planting “flea beetle traps”, or their favorite crops, can be a bit risky: done right, they can keep the flea beetles away from your favorite crops by sacrificing your deterrent plants. University of Minnesota Extension discovers science-based solutions, delivers practical education, and engages Minnesotans to build a better future. The same ones that you hang inside to catch flies can be used between plants to trap beetles as they travel from plant to plant. But they’re all potentially disastrous for your crops—if left unchecked, they can destroy the roots and foliage of a variety of plants in no time. Cover your plants. It is important to monitor for their activity as soon as seedlings have emerged.

Remove old crop debris so that beetles will not be able to get protection in the winter. It also interferes with insects' ability to reproduce slowing down the lifecycles. Insecticidal soaps work well to kill flea beetles on your plants. Unfortunately, they come in a variety of colors—black, blue, and spotted, to name a few—so there’s no set checklist of traits.