flea beetles

[b54red]

I am going to pull up my beans in the next day or so and have a problem. They are covered in flea beetles. I am trying to decide whether it would be better to spray them well with Permethrin which I know will kill them quickly before pulling them. They are running side by side with my cucumbers which only have a few flea beetles on the lowest leaves but I fear when I pull them most will jump to my cukes if I don't kill them first. We are now undergoing a period of rain nearly every day and keeping pests restrained is difficult and I don't want to make it worse.

Bill

[Cole_Robbie]

Flea beetles are worse for me in dry weather. I don't use Sevin, but if I did, I would reserve it for flea beetles, because it works so well.

[oakley]

Last season i had one tomato plant showing the beginnings of infestation. Found
Rotenone powder in the garden shed. In a container like the shelf stable cheese where
you spin the top for a shake. Probably 15 yrs old and had never been opened. Said
organic but did not know if that was still true...used it anyway and barely a couple of
dustings took care of it right away.

This season i'm using beneficial nematodes. (we shall see)

[Cole_Robbie]

Rotenone used to be organic, but they took it off the list...for US residents. Foreign countries are being given 5-10 more years to phase rotenone out of their organic standard.

[Gardadore]

I have used Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap (Castille Soap) since it smothers them and is totally safe. Here is a website with 18 uses for the soap including pest control in the garden (#17 included below).
https://wildflowerbotanicals.wordpre...ronners-soaps/
I tend to go for the Peppermint because I know the ants hate it but basically any of the fragrances will smother the beetles.I can see how the citrus or lavender would be good fragrances, especially the lemon. It adheres nicely to the leaves and stays on well.
17. PEST SPRAY
Use 1-2 tablespoons/about 23ml per litre (0.7 fl oz per quart) of water in a spray bottle for garden pests (4-6 tablespoons per gallon). Citrus, Lavender, or Baby Mild work well.

I have mixed results with eggplants in general. Would love to know what you all use for feeding your eggplants. I will be using the Texas Vegetable and Tomato fertilizers this year and see how that goes.

[oakley]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Rotenone used to be organic, but they took it off the list...for US residents. Foreign countries are being given 5-10 more years to phase rotenone out of their organic standard.

Guessing that is why i never used it. I usually look things up but in a hurry just
one plant, i went ahead.

I barely recall looking it up when back home, ...a year ago is a long time for fading
memories, and found another solution but the flea beetles were gone.

I should just keep a photo file in the garden shed and what formula works.
(no internet in the mountains where my main garden is. Just spotty phone service)

Hope you get rid of them quick. If pulling the beans anyway, i'd leave a few plants as a
lure since they love them so much. Good way to check if they are under control.

[b54red]

It started raining again as I was giving my beans the final picking so I just went ahead and pulled them all and bagged them while I was already out there and wet. I guess I'll be spraying my cucumbers in the next day or so if the number of flea beetles jumping off was any indication. I know they like cucumbers but they really like beans.

Bill

[Starlight]

The CPB are coming out of the woodwork here. They so bad this year they even getting on the body. This not for flea beetles, but may be, I haven't researched it for them, but couldn't find your mite thread Bill.

This is from Reader's Digest book by Charlie Ryrie titled The Country Garden. There is a section on natural pest control. I know you use your chems and still have a problem with mites. There is a passage in the book that says that, " Prince's feather and other Amaranthus prove magnetic for lady bugs, for shield bugs that gorge on mites, for parasitic wasps, and even shiny, slug-hungry ground beetles."

Just thought I'd pass that bit of info on to you. Might help with your mite problem. I don't have them bad, but do have them and am going to add Amaranthus plants around and find me some Prince's feather.

[BigVanVader]

Bill I know you use mulch, but the reflective plastic eliminates flea beetles almost 100% I was amazed at how well it worked. Very effective for aphids as well, but did not repel much else insect wise.

[Canehdian]

I made a spray based on Carolyn's method of hot pepper infused olive oil and mixed it with garlic oil, soap, water and neem (my idea). Then when I am periodically trimming lower leaves I will agitate the whole plant to make them jump off and then give the ground a blast of pyrethrin - it's supposed to degrade quickly. I saw it on the show Billy the Exterminator, since he uses it indoors for roaches.

[Gardadore]

Would aluminum foil work as well as the reflective plastic? I am growing most of my eggplants in Earthboxes or straw bales so don't need a lot. It sounds like a better idea to use some kind of reflective material than to have to spray all the time. I do try to keep the eggplants protected under tulle tents I make and that helps as well.

[BigVanVader]

Idk, maybe mylar would. I'd try the foil first.

[Gardadore]

I'll try the foil and if it doesn't work will order some reflective plastic. The problem is it's hard to order in small quantities. Thanks for the tip on this!

[b54red]

I have found flea beetles easy to kill with Pyrethrin or Permethrin sprays. You just have to make sure you spray the undersides of the leaves to be really effective. I also spray the ground or mulch under the plants lightly.

Bill

[Gardadore]

I have just been reading about Pyrethrin and this sounds like an alternate solution to the foil, which I will try first. But I read that Pyrethrin can burn the leaves of tomatoes, eggplants, etc. Has this ever been your experience? What concentration do you use?