Flea Beetle Solution?

[sparky747]

Hello everyone, newbie here. I've got n infestation on my broccolli of horrible shiny black flea beetles (or I think that's what they are). Has anyone had any success with using organic treatments to get rid of them? I tried spraying with washing up liquid soapy water, but this did nothing ... and there's hundreds of the blighters, all nibbling away

[hedgewizard]

You can try derris, although there is some resistance. Look around for other host plants, as they also live on some weeds. If so, move them.

These blighters seldom occur in such numbers as to cause serious damage to adult plants, but this years conditions seem to have favoured them. If you really get desperate you could "butter" some sheets of cardboard with something sticky - petroleum jelly? - and lay them around the plants. They'll be indescriminate about what they catch, but if you tap the plants the beetles will jump and you should cut into their numbers.

[sparky747]

I like the sound of the vaseline!

What's derris? is it harmful to the veg? sorry I'm new ot all this ...

[Millymollymandy]

Derris is also known as Rotenone and kills insects indescriminately. I use it in the chicken shed but I wouldn't put it anywhere near the veg patch as I don't want to kill the good insects!

The only organic solution in my opinion to the dreaded flea beetle is not to plant anything from the brassica family until late in the summer, when their numbers seem to greatly reduce. Thus I can grow curly kale if I start it off in pots and plant in veg patch in September or later.

Otherwise all I get is lace! They even eat the radishes under the soil surface!

[hedgewizard]

You're quite right about the indescriminate bit, although derris is classed as organic and is a natural product, so don't be confused by the chemical name. Personally when I have to resort to derris I regard myself as having failed to maintain balance in the garden. It's a last resort.

Flea beetles have made their first appearance in my garden this year, because I have more of a particular weed than usual around the tunnel. I've now knocked back and mulched, and hopefully the problem will reduce!

[Millymollymandy]

What is the weed? Something of the brassica family? Perhaps it would be better to keep them growing so that the flea beetles can munch on that rather than your brassicas!

[hedgewizard]

No, not a brassica... I can't ID it and it's too far gone to photo as they've eaten all the leaves. Using it as a sacrifice plant is how I got into this mess in the first place- but by next year there should be less free ground so hopefully the proble won't arise again. Anyone know how the little blighters overwinter?

[Millymollymandy]

No idea and they're too small to see when you are digging!

I've recently sown some radishes which popped up yesterday, mostly as an experiment to see whether the flea beetles suddenly appear or not.

[Cheezy]

Ol' Bob Folwerdew said on GQT yesterday two tips:

Flea beetle apparently don't like the smell of tomato plants, so you could try mulching around your crop with the trimmings when you are nipping out. (I don't like this as it may introduce blight.)

Secondly, if you use fly paper on your hand and "spook" them they stick well and you dispose, but then some one said they knew a farmer who used to put a board on the front of his tractor covered in malassus (spell?) and drive through his crops. At the end he would feed the bug infested goo to his chickens!

[hedgewizard]

I don't buy Bob's advice because although they don't live on my toms they did make their way along the tom border to reach the basil at the other end. The adhesive paper thing is fine, but it's only a knock back not a total solution.

[Cheezy]

Yeah, he was a bit sceptical about it. He did mention they don't like wet soil?

here is some useful info on their life cycle, and where they hang out at Christmas

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles04 ... beetle.asp

[hedgewizard]

Thanks for that... garden hygeine then. I'm doomed.

[sparky747]

I wonder ... will all the recent rain we've had here in England get rid of some of the blighters? I've had a look at mine - in between downpours - and there appear to be less of them ...