Flea Beetles

I'm having a problem with flea beetles on one variety of my flower plants. I know this is the veggie forum, but I'm hoping there's someone with knowledge regarding these pests. They have made swiss cheese of my cleomes and I don't know what to use on them. I have never experienced this before. The bugs are tiny and black and they jump when you try to squish them. BTW, I posted this topic on the Garden Pests and Diseases forum, but no answers so far. Can you help a girl out?

Here's a pic of the leaves.

You can sprinkle rotenone on them; sometimes you have to apply it more than once but it usually does the trick. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply greenhouse_gal, I'll see what I can find in the store. Is Rotenone still available or has it been banned? I guess I shouldn't complain b/c the cleomes are acting like a trap crop in that none of my tomatoes or peppers have any signs of the beetles. They are only on those particular plants. I wonder if they came from the grower? Anyway, the plants are growing and thriving so maybe they'll be okay.

Rotenone is generally considered organic, although we use it as little as possible. It's still available as far as I know. Funny that the flea beetles prefer your cleomes to your other plants. I've never had flea beetles on my tomatoes or peppers; it's the eggplant that they seem to attack here. Someone just said that past a certain window of time they won't trouble eggplant, and since I just planted mine, finally having room for it, I'm hoping that I've escaped the flea beetle scourge.

I don't think you'd get a flea beetle infestation from a grower. The critters seem to be out there and are magically drawn to your garden when you plant their favorite meal.

I must have some twisted flea beetles b/c they think the cleomes are just yummy!

If I but had cleomes, my flea beetles might cruelly desert my veggies too. Who knows!

toni, I use talcum powder on my plants for flea beetles. It works as a pretty good repellent and is inexpensive (Dollar Store). You'll have to reapply it on an as-needed basis but that's usually not a big deal.

As for rotenone, although it is considered "organic" many organic growers will not use it anymore due to the research done showing it's direct relation to possible affects and contribution to Parkinson's disease symptoms. In addition it is a broad spectrum killer, zapping your beneficial bugs as well. Why not use something a bit tamer?

Many folks use pyrethrin if they have a terrible outbreak of flea beetles. It, too, is a broad spectrum killer. However, keep in mind if you are only spraying it on a few cleome leaves then I doubt you will be zapping many other bugs. Of course now, if it were me I'd go with the talc, or even wood ash if you have any. After all, as GH-gal says, many plants will outgrow flea beetles and you may get away w/out using anything at all.

Shoe

Horseshoe, thank you so much for the tip on talcum powder. I am having one of my strangest gardening years so far regarding insects and diseases. It's getting costly just trying to keep a small garden. I'm pretty much organic in that I use compost and Espoma granular fertilizer and I've never had to resort to insecticides until this year with the roses and cleomes of all plants. I have some talcum so I'll powder their sweet little bottoms tomorrow!

Horseshoe, does the talcum work on Colorado potato beetles, too? I had to apply some rotenone to a few of my tomato plants because they were getting infested, but I'd much rather not use it if possible.

gh-gal, I've never tried talc on potato beetles but have dusted my plants with rye or wheat bran meal quite a few times. When the tater bugs are still in their larvae stage they eat the rye/wheat and it expands inside them, "blowing them up", so to speak

One they are in the hardshell stage (adults) you'll need to either hand-pick or go to Pyrethrin to keep heavy infestations down. Pyola might be one of the safer choices, being a combination of canola oil and pyrethrin.

Bt var tenibrionis (sp?...maybe it's tenebrionis) is fairly safe but, again, tends to only work on the larvae.

It might be worth a try with the talc, eh? If you see the larvae and dust them perhaps it'll dry them out.

Shoe

Thanks, Horseshoe! It's not a real infestation and there are so few larvae that I can just squish 'em when I see 'em, but I'll keep the rye or wheat bran meal in mind. Where do you get it, though?

I just picked up a big bottle of talcum powder at the dollar store with the potatoes in mind. I treated them earlier this week with spinosad and it seemed to keep them away for a couple of days but they are back. 8-(

It may be of interest to consider that my eggplants are untouched. After reading somewhere on here, I think, about dill being a good flea beetle deterrent, I sowed a couple of seeds near mine. The dill is barely a couple of inches tall so I'm quite hesitant to conclude that it's had any effect at all....yet....there they are, a couple of feet away from the flea-beetle-(I hate to say "infested" -- more like "snacked on")-potato crop.

Another interesting tidbit? There's a potato coming up in my eggplant bed. I wonder if the dill has anything to do with that? Most likely I just dropped a seed spud at some point, but wouldn't that be kind of cool if it sought out it's own protection?

Help, dill, help! I'm being threatened by flea beetles! Can I hide out here?......

I went out this morning thinking about baby powder and flea beetles, and actually couldn't find any. Not one. I'm sure there's got to be some out there, but I'm kind of happy about this turn of events. 8-)

I did a general Google search for flea beetle weapons and I found a lot of testimony that the new focussed Spinosad works, although it is not listed on the label. I'm trying it on my very heavily attacked veggie garden. I hope it works as it works via eating while pyrethrins have to hit the bug. That means you have to go out and spray every day. Has anyone else tried spinosad???

LAS

I used spinosad about a week and a half ago on my chewed up spuds. No flea beetles today.

I just replied to Las14 on the Garden Pests and Diseases forum about an ad for a product named Bonide Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew which contains Spinosad. I will copy my reply here.


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!

Glad I found this thread. Maybe this (?) is what is causing the tiny holes in my newly ebucketed (now it's a verb) tomatoes and eggplant. Since I garden completely for wildlife, I suppose I should not care, but the eBuckets are my stab at trying to get something to eat out of it myself.

I will go with the talc, thanks Shoe. Can't use any insect killers. I found a mantid last week. I know they're out there doing the job with me.

GH Gal: I have extra cleome plants if you really want them. :)

A.

p.s. Colorado State Ext. says diatoms may also be effective. It works on fleas - why not the beetles (joke).

Edited to include the link:

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05592.html

And this one:

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/fleabeetle.html


This message was edited Jul 3, 2011 11:13 AM

Thanks, Amanda, but the flea beetles appear to have gone elsewhere. I've noticed that once the plants become larger they seem able to withstand/deter those pests. I did have to squash a Colorado potato beetle larva on a tomato plant this morning, but it hadn't done much damage and the rest of the plant was green and healthy.

What are these little bugs that trail around the cottony stuff?

Um, which little bugs that trail around the cottony stuff? I don't think I am formally acquainted with those.

Will have to get a pic if i can find one.

That's the problem - I don't KNOW what they are. ;)

A.