Flea Beetles on Cleome

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toni5735 Chicago, IL(Zone 5b) Jun 14, 2011

I just noticed my Senorita Rosalita Cleomes are being attacked by what I assume must be flea beetles. Upon close inspection today, I noticed the leaves look like swiss cheese! I also noticed some tiny, black bugs on one of the plants and when I tried to squish them, they would jump away. I have grown these plants for a number of years and have never had this problem with these insects. They have not attacked any other plant in the garden, only the cleomes. How do I kill these buggers?

Here's a pic of the damage caused to the leaves.

Thumbnail by toni5735
Post #8631150
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killdawabbit Christiana, TN(Zone 6b) Jun 18, 2011

Sevin. Liquid spray.

Post #8637823
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LAS14 Albany, ME(Zone 4b) Jun 21, 2011

I have had a terrible flea beetle problem in my veggie garden this year. A search of the web suggests that products containing spinosad, a new biological agent, will work with flea beetles, even though they are not listed on the label. I hope this is going to work, since spinosad kills when eaten, whereas pyrethrins only kill when sprayed on the insect, requiring mucho sprayings.

LAS

Post #8645725
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toni5735 Chicago, IL(Zone 5b) Jun 21, 2011

I just got my July/August issue of Chicagoland Gardening magazine and there's an ad for Bonide's Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew which contains Spinosad "a compound first isolated from a naturally occurring soil dwelling bacterium that was collected on a Caribbean island from an abandoned rum distillery in 1982."

The ad also states "DEADBUG BREW kills bagworms, borers, beetles, caterpillars, codling moth, gypsy moth, loopers, leaf miners, spider mites, tent caterpillars, thrips and more!"

"Use on fruits, vegetables, berries, citrus, grapes, nuts and ornamentals."

There's a free App download at bonide.com


I was also advised on the Vegetable forum that plain ole talcum powder is also effective in treating for flea beetles. Also Pyola (Pyrethrin w/canola oil) is a stronger, yet organic(?) alternative.

We just had a storm blow through here with 75 mile an hour winds so I'm hoping it blew those darn flea beetles outta here!



Post #8645977
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killdawabbit Christiana, TN(Zone 6b) Jun 21, 2011

Thanks, guys for the info on Spinosad. I've never heard of it and I plan to check it out. It sounds too good to be true.

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