Flea beetles are petite yet extremely destructive garden gadfly . But you may control their population and prevent them from destroy your plants .
In this perfect guide , I will show you all you need to know about how to manage them and ensure they cause minimal terms to your garden .
You ’ll read all about these annoying trivial bugs , including how to identify them , what case of hurt they do , prevention tips , and lots of effective constitutional treatment method you may expend to fight down them .
Flea beetles on a leaf.
I remember when flea beetles first overrun my garden several twelvemonth ago . There were hundred of them jumping around on the land and all over my works . It seemed like they were everywhere I bet and , not only were they decimate my seedlings , it was loathly .
I immediately went to work to count on out the best ways to get rid of them quickly , and save my garden . It turns out that it ’s not too difficult , whew !
The good news is that you do n’t have to pass for the chemical pesticides , there are several room to control them naturally using organic method and technique .
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What Are Flea Beetles?
Flea mallet are small , hard - shelled dirt ball that give on plants by sucking the sap out of the leaves or chewing tiny golf hole .
They can be very destructive in the garden in early spring , and a big population will quick defeat immature plants and seedlings .
Though they are n’t actually related to flea , they get their common name because they have large back legs that let them to parachute .
What Do They Look Like?
Up closely , flea beetle look like tiny beetles . They ’re shiny , and can be black , brown , or blueish in color . Some mintage may even have spots or stripes .
They ’re very small , so from far away they look like opprobrious or brown jot on the leave of a plant . It ’s hard to see them from a distance , so they can easily go unnoticed .
A quick way to make a positive identification is to commove the plant life or surrounding territory . They ’ll embark on stick out around like flea when they are disturbed .
Life Cycle
To successfully control flea beetles in your garden , it ’s important to sympathise their sprightliness cycle . There are 4 stages : ballock , larvae , pupa , and adult .
The grownup females can position their eggs on plants or in the soil . Once they hatch , the larvae are minute ashen insect that are hardly seeable to the naked eye . The larvae live in the soil , and provender on the roots of the plants .
After several weeks they pupate , and new grownup emerge a few days after . There can be more than one genesis per growing time of year , depend on where you exist .
The adult beetles hibernate in the soil or in plant rubble through the wintertime . They emerge as soon as it warm up in early spring to feed and lay their egg , starting the cycle per second over again .
What Do They Eat?
Though they can consume reasonably much any type of flora , flea beetles prefer vegetables . So , if you have them in your yard , you ’ll plausibly happen the harm is the worst in your veggie garden .
I have also find them feeding on some of my annual industrial plant , and even on perennials before . But the damage has never been as bad in my flower bed as it is in my vegetable garden .
Damage To Plants
Flea beetles induce the most damage in the spring when works are still lowly . They can kill seedlings in a short time , or stunt the emergence of immature plant .
Often the first indication of an plague is faded , yellowing , or splotchy looking leaves . When you take a closer facial expression , you’re able to see the tiny beetles crawling around on the plant life .
Adults do the most price by chewing irregular holes or pock marks in the leaves . Sometimes the hole are little , but they can be fairly large too . The larva usually cause little or no damage .
How To Control Flea Beetles
Getting rid of flea beetles completely is n’t really an doable goal . Most of the time , you just have to control them long enough for the seedlings to outgrow the price , and the problem will disappear .
Once the plants are big , the mallet are n’t as much of a concern . The population will go down by summertime , and your plants will be mature enough to hold the damage .
It ’s not too unmanageable , and there are several rude treatment method acting that are very effectual to protect your baby plants from getting too much damage .
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How To Treat Flea Beetles Organically
There ’s no reason to employ toxic chemical substance pesticides to get rid of flea mallet . Yay ! Below are the most effective organic treatment methods you’re able to essay . I recommend combining several of them to see what works the just in your garden .
Neem Oil
Neem oilis a by nature occurring insecticide that kills bug . It also has a residual effect , so you do n’t have to spray it directly on them ( which is great , since the beetles tend to jump forth when you start out spraying anyway ) .
While it can kill some of them right away , it does take some clip to get rid of flea mallet completely , especially when the universe is large . But it ’s a very efficient long - full term solvent . Learn how to utilise neem crude here .
Insecticidal Spray
Soapy water will kill flea beetle on contact . It ’s easy to make your own by mixing 1 teaspoon ofmild liquid state soapwith 1 liter of water , or you’re able to bribe apre - mixed constitutive insecticidal Georgia home boy .
These spray will quick stamp out the grownup , but they do n’t have a residual effect . So they ’ll only act if you spray them directly on the mallet .
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth(DE ) is another great option for controlling flea beetles organically . It ’s made out of tiny pieces of background up fossilise organisms .
The fine powder gets under the shell of the mallet , and work like diminutive bits of methamphetamine hydrochloride to defeat them . splosh it around the base of the infested plants , or directly on the beetles .
Sticky Traps
Placingyellow sticky trapsin your garden is another great non - toxic result . They will attract and appropriate the grownup as they jump from works to plant .
They could also capture other destructive bugs in the process , so this one can be a three-fold bonus !
Beneficial Nematodes
Beneficial nematodesare microscopical organism that will attack and bolt down the larvae in the dirt . They are completely harmless to human and pets , and wo n’t hurt good insects .
An added fillip is that they will kill the larvae of many other types of destructive hemipterous insect too ( likeJapanese beetles ) . Learn good roundworm in your garden here .
Repellent Plants Or Trap Crops
Some gardeners wish to use works that flea beetle get laid the most to entice them aside from their main veggie . These are name hole crops .
I have sex from experience that radishes and salad green work great for this purpose . But you have to treat them like “ thrust aside ” flora , so you wo n’t be sad when they get destroyed .
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How To Prevent Flea Beetles
If you sputter with hold in flea beetle in your garden , there are a few things you may examine that will help to prevent a major infestation .
FAQs
The adult mallet arrive out of hibernation shortly after the ground thaws and temperature start warming up in former spring .
No , flea mallet do not prick . They only feed on plants .
They can overwinter in the mulch and leafage junk , but they do n’t live in the mulch . Their larvae lives in the grease .
There are several beneficial predators that will eat the grownup or the larvae , let in ladybugs , predatory white Anglo-Saxon Protestant , and beneficial nematodes .
Flea mallet are harmful to small plants and seedling . But they are not harmful to man or PET .
No . In some cases , mulch can actually assist with check flea beetles by protecting the grunge . But mulch does n’t always help oneself with getting disembarrass of them .
No . Do n’t permit the name obnubilate you . Flea beetles are not even related to fleas , they ’re in a whole freestanding kinfolk . They just get their unwashed name because they have long back legs and start around , so they look like flea .
Controlling flea beetles in your garden can be frustrating . But with so many effective organic treatment options to choose from , there ’s no reason to use chemical pesticides . Just be persistent with your treatments , because you ca n’t get free of them the first time you essay .
