Asparagus beetles

Will Bt work on their larvae, and if so, what strain? I am using neem at the moment, but I'm not sure the grubs are suffering much from it. I prefer organic controls... what works for you?

Thanks!

Ah, shoot. No one?

Zeppy,

I'm watching this thread with interest as I just planted asparagus roots this spring. I haven't had a problem beetles as yet so I can't/don't know the answer. Hang in there, someone will come along with some help. ☺

To the best of my knowledge there is no strain of bt that will control AB larva. They are a positively evil pest and the reason I stopped growing asparagus in my home garden. Supposedly, male plants are less attractive to ABs than female plants, but I never noticed that the doggone things were all that particular about their, er, sexual orientation as it were. You can try manual controls like handpicking or even vacuuming up the beetles, but this is obviously only remotely possible with ample time and a small patch. I know I couldn't keep up even with nearly daily attention to a very small plot. What you're left with are toxic broad spectrum pesticides. In the organic nuke category, pyrethrins will control them, but I don't like to use pyrethrins. Not sure if neem will work, but it probably will. The standard chemical nukes -- malathion, sevin etc. -- will control them, but then you're nuking away in your garden with that stuff.

Thanks, MaryMD. Asparagus are a real pain.