Flea Beetles (also Whiteflies)

[ipaintedmyhousewhite]

Grrr. The way they hop out of the way of the Squishing Finger is making me crazy. What do we do about Flea Beetles? Also the Whiteflies are too fast for me. What to do?! My main control thus far is Creating an Uncomfortable Situation...I walk around shaking the infected plants and running my fingers over the undersides of leaves, oh, 4-5 times a day. What else can I do?
PS I don't want to use row cover since the plants are blooming.

[cReAtIoN gRoAnS]

I know that certain pyrethrums kill flee beetles...also 70 percent isopropyl alch. works...just got to get the mixture right or else it will not do your plants good. Best to test on a small part first. I had to result to a cover for my eggplant. Seems that the flea beetles are worse this year than last.

[dandelion meadow]

Books say flea beetles don't like moist environments, so you could try misting plants at time of the day that won't promote mildew, etc. Last year was a bumper year for here. My first encounter with them... Resorted to ordering pyrethrum/rotenone spray over the internet after trying garlic/cayenne/soapy water sprays and other natural approaches to no avail. The pyrethrum mix was expensive especially with shipping, however, it does work. The downside is that I thought this would be organic, but discovered when it arrived that the carrier solvent for the herbs is a petroleum distillate. I use it anyway... Apparently, one can purchase organic versions but the cost is extremely high and there are few places to purchase it. Don't know what they are.

[dirtundernails]

Painted Daisy sold as an ornamental is pyrethrum.

[Brook]

Unfortunately, the "organic" version uses canola oil as the carrier. Virtually all canola comes from genetically modified plants.

So the question becomes, do you want to be spraying your real food with a frankenfood to protect it?

[ipaintedmyhousewhite]

The plant they are chawing on is a tomatillo. Also tomatoes, but to a much lesser extent, I'm not worried about them right now. Can I pollinate the flowers myself using a paintbrush and then use a row cover? Also the whiteflies seem to have abandoned my nasturtiums, where their main hideout was. Maybe they *did* become uncomfortable? Either that or they laid eggs and died or something. (sigh of exhaustion) Now I see the occasional one on the tomatillo, but not even every day.

[ipaintedmyhousewhite]

Unfortunately, the "organic" version uses canola oil as the carrier. Virtually all canola comes from genetically modified plants.

So the question becomes, do you want to be spraying your real food with a frankenfood to protect it?


PS Yikes, I didn't know that about canola oil. That's terrible.

[Mary]

What does a flee beetle look like, is it small like a pinhead size? I have a small black bug eating my strawberries , and yesterday I picked a brown tip from a spruce tree and a very small black bug was in there .

[cReAtIoN gRoAnS]

bout the size of a pin head....touch it and watch it hop quite a ways for a little guy. They skeletonize plants...if you see a skeletonized plant and then you see little black pin head sized beetles that jump when you touch them....congratulations!!! you have flea beetles. I hate those things....


Chad

[Gardenurse]

My host farmer is also dealing with flea beetles (Mary, they are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence, and they do jump just like fleas). They are attracted to the color yellow (the beetles, not the farmers). She set out yellow traps coated with Tanglefoot (a sticky substance). She also cut some yellow poster board into 3x5 card size then plans to coat plastic baggies with Tanglefoot so that when they are covered with the pests she can throw it away and put on a new sticky bag. I do know that those flea beetles were jumping off of her cucumbers and onto the trap within five minutes of setting it out.

I will be setting yellow cards out tomorrow in my own garden, and I'm apprenticing on my host farm tomorrow, so I'll let you know how the baggy traps worked for her this past week. Oh, she also said don't get Tanglefoot on your hands or you'll glue yourself together.

[Gardenurse]

Update on the traps: I'm back from my host farm, and her traps are working beautifully. Since she put the traps out a week ago, her cucumber plants have tripled in size. I would say that if this is something you want to do, it will help help your garden.

[onmyknees]

if you use tangle foot how do you prevent birds and beneficials from getting stuck. would contact paper strips work as well ?

[boston]

www.heirloomacresseeds.com

They sell and insecticidal soap that they say kills aphids, whitflies, mites & some others and it does not harm benificial insects. I have not used it so I cen't tell you how good it is. Check it out and see if it might be something you want to try.

[Gardenurse]

Onmyknees...you bring up a good point. The way she has the traps angled and near her plants, I think that birds would have a hard time getting stuck. She also has beehives near her garden, and for their proximity, there was only one stuck on the trap. Contact paper or fly paper would probably do just fine too. I've read in gardening books that you can also use petroleum jelly, and although not organic, birds won't get stuck and bees might have a better chance of getting themselves loose.

[Mary]

Since I'm new I never heard of Tanglefoot. What is it, a glue, where can I buy it and if it rains will it still work?

[Gardenurse]

Official website: www.tanglefoot.com (

Their website states that their products are available from "lawn and garden centers, nurseries, hardware stores and gardening catalogs world-wide."
This company is in Michigan and can help you battle more than flea beetle and whitefly problems. The traps that my host farmer put out went through two rains already and still hold the pests in place. It is like a glue, but they make repelling ribbons for birds and deer too. You'll probably find the specific information you are looking at their website or contacting them directly. Hope this helps!

[ipaintedmyhousewhite]

Thanks for that idea, I may look into that. I'm going to try the petroleum jelly since I already have some and literally no other use for it. That I've been able to think of anyway. Why did I even buy this....

[Mary]

Thanks for everyones helpful suggestions,this is a great forum.

[Mary]

After reading about flee beetles here, I went out and looked at my plants and saw a flee beetle, it was on my turnips. Since I found that one I'm sure there is more.I guess I won't feel left out now , I was thinking I was the only one without them.Will have to keep an eye out for damage and take care of it .