Blister Beetles in Tennessee?

tomatoguy · August 17, 2006

Well, I have had to cope with all kinds of pests in 37 years of gardening. Today, I found a new one. Two, actually, if you count the squirrel who was chomping down on ripe Sweet Quartz. The normal pests here are aphids, hornworms and stinkbugs. Now, I have a major infestation of blister beetles. Last November, I moved about 7 miles Southwest from my previous location. This is the southernmost point I have ever had a garden. I wonder if I have reached the northern extreme of their population since I have never seen them before. If anyone is familiar with their distribution, and if anything short of nuking them works, please post here. I prefer not to use chemicals but these dudes are voracious.

mater

macmex · August 18, 2006

I have the same problem, and this is my first year gardening in Oklahoma. I've seen these beetles in my travels, but can't recall how far north. Everywhere I've seen them, however, they have been few in number. Here, we're dealing with them by the thousands. I observed a few in the garden as early as late June, but I didn't consider them to be a great threat, doing little about them. A couple of weeks ago I walked the garden, in the morning before work (everything was fine) and again, in the evening. But by that time these beetles had completely defoliated three tomato plants, even eating the skins off unripe tomatoes!

I've been hand picking mainly But one has to be careful. Usually, perhaps for impatience, when I hand pick I also kill the critters by hand. This worked okay for a couple of days. But one day, when I was particularly frustrated with beetles falling off the plants and getting away, I didn't take the time just to crush their heads. I also crushed their bodies. It was nearly 100 degrees that afternoon, and I was sweating profusely. Apparently I wiped my brow. That evening I bathed and went to bed. The following morning I awoke to find a quarter sized blister on my right wrist and another, smaller blister on my brow. These blisters soon burst and are slower to heal than regular blisters.

My wife single-handedly wiped out several thousand beetles! We had guests coming in late at night and she left the porch light of our modular home on. They arrived around midnight only to discover several inches of blister beetles massed on the door of the house, attracted to the light. Jerreth simply went in spraying with RAID. It's taken a couple of weeks for the blister beetles to come back in the adjacent garden. With less success (but with some) I left the light on and placed a tray full of soapy water. Some were drawn and fell in. But so far I have to hand pick. Spraying of some sort may be necessary when very large numbers (thousands) attack all at once.

This beetle is highly toxic. If a couple get ground up and baled with hay, and a horse eats it, it can become very ill or even die. None of our poultry will touch them either.

George
Tahlequah, OK

melody · August 20, 2006

Are you speaking of the Striped Blister Beetle (Epicauta vittata)?

We have em here in south west KY and they're quite annoying. A good remedy for them or any other similar bug is to sprinkle them with flour. Gums them up and they fall off and die...no harm to plants or people. Use regular or self rising...makes no difference.I use whatever I have on hand and put it into a jar with shaker holes punched into it.

This 'organic' remedy came from my grandmother who was born in 1896.

macmex · August 20, 2006

Melody,

that sounds wonderful! I'm going to give it a try. I'm dealing with both the striped and the solid black ones. I find the striped to be more of a problem because they are faster and harder to kill.

Polar_Lace · August 20, 2006

Iron Cross Blister Beetle

What's That Bug?
Scroll down & see how many Beetle Pages there are on the left hand side.

August 17, 2006	#1
tomatoguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rockvale, TN Zone 7A Posts: 526	Blister Beetles in Tennessee? Well, I have had to cope with all kinds of pests in 37 years of gardening. Today, I found a new one. Two, actually, if you count the squirrel who was chomping down on ripe Sweet Quartz. The normal pests here are aphids, hornworms and stinkbugs. Now, I have a major infestation of blister beetles. Last November, I moved about 7 miles Southwest from my previous location. This is the southernmost point I have ever had a garden. I wonder if I have reached the northern extreme of their population since I have never seen them before. If anyone is familiar with their distribution, and if anything short of nuking them works, please post here. I prefer not to use chemicals but these dudes are voracious. mater

August 20, 2006	#4
macmex Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Tahlequah, Oklahoma Posts: 102	blister beatle Melody, that sounds wonderful! I'm going to give it a try. I'm dealing with both the striped and the solid black ones. I find the striped to be more of a problem because they are faster and harder to kill.

August 20, 2006	#5
Polar_Lace Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Z8b, Texas Posts: 657	Iron Cross Blister Beetle What's That Bug? Scroll down & see how many Beetle Pages there are on the left hand side. __________________ It's not how many seeds you sow. Nor how many plants you transplant. It's about how many of them can survive your treatment of them.

August 18, 2006	#2
macmex Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Tahlequah, Oklahoma Posts: 102	I have the same problem, and this is my first year gardening in Oklahoma. I've seen these beetles in my travels, but can't recall how far north. Everywhere I've seen them, however, they have been few in number. Here, we're dealing with them by the thousands. I observed a few in the garden as early as late June, but I didn't consider them to be a great threat, doing little about them. A couple of weeks ago I walked the garden, in the morning before work (everything was fine) and again, in the evening. But by that time these beetles had completely defoliated three tomato plants, even eating the skins off unripe tomatoes! I've been hand picking mainly But one has to be careful. Usually, perhaps for impatience, when I hand pick I also kill the critters by hand. This worked okay for a couple of days. But one day, when I was particularly frustrated with beetles falling off the plants and getting away, I didn't take the time just to crush their heads. I also crushed their bodies. It was nearly 100 degrees that afternoon, and I was sweating profusely. Apparently I wiped my brow. That evening I bathed and went to bed. The following morning I awoke to find a quarter sized blister on my right wrist and another, smaller blister on my brow. These blisters soon burst and are slower to heal than regular blisters. My wife single-handedly wiped out several thousand beetles! We had guests coming in late at night and she left the porch light of our modular home on. They arrived around midnight only to discover several inches of blister beetles massed on the door of the house, attracted to the light. Jerreth simply went in spraying with RAID. It's taken a couple of weeks for the blister beetles to come back in the adjacent garden. With less success (but with some) I left the light on and placed a tray full of soapy water. Some were drawn and fell in. But so far I have to hand pick. Spraying of some sort may be necessary when very large numbers (thousands) attack all at once. This beetle is highly toxic. If a couple get ground up and baled with hay, and a horse eats it, it can become very ill or even die. None of our poultry will touch them either. George Tahlequah, OK

August 20, 2006	#3
melody Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Kentucky Posts: 162	Are you speaking of the Striped Blister Beetle (Epicauta vittata)? We have em here in south west KY and they're quite annoying. A good remedy for them or any other similar bug is to sprinkle them with flour. Gums them up and they fall off and die...no harm to plants or people. Use regular or self rising...makes no difference.I use whatever I have on hand and put it into a jar with shaker holes punched into it. This 'organic' remedy came from my grandmother who was born in 1896.