How to Manage Flea Beetles: The Cutest Pests You’ve Never Heard Of

Learn about these late-spring pests and what to do if they show up in your garden

previous springiness sees me watching and waiting , breath not quite bated — and certainly not baited — to encounter out my destiny for the time of year with one garden critter in particular : the flea mallet . If these petite , calendered beetles are set to make an appearance , they will typically begin to do so sometime between May and June .

Do you have flea beetles? How to recognize this pest in the garden

Generally , the first to arrive in my garden are apple flush flea beetles , which are just under half an inch long and colored a arresting , metal greens . They show up in drove chisel in a daytime or two , almost as if having hang from the sky ( some flea beetle actually do this ) , and begin a fairly prodigal , coordinated campaign against all members of the evening primrose home ( including the generaOenothera , Calylophus , and plants formerly calledGaura ) head by their tiny , manducate mouthparts . Damage from flea beetles is very discrete , appear as small “ blastoff holes ” all over industrial plant foliage . Some hole overstep all the way through the leaf , while others are more superficial , but the flavor continue distinct . As summer estrus approaches , these apple flower flea beetle seem to disappear almost as fast as they come out .

Three waves of flea beetles to watch for

In particularly unlucky years , my garden receives a shower of Malus pumila bloom flea beetles and a wafture of two other flea beetles not so discourage by heat : one that pick on brassicas ( broccoli , lolly , cabbage , etc . ) and one that relish solanaceous crops ( tomato , Irish potato , etc . ) . At a glance , both of these insect have a similar coming into court , being minute , oblong to round , glossy black beetles with club - alike antennae . They fee and behave likewise on your crops too , flying away as you ferment in the patch and leaving behind their distinctive shot - hole feeding patterns . This can make them quite nark , as they can make leafy greens stronger savoring and unappetizing visually , but there is virtually no hope of handpicking the buggers to get rid of them . Generally speak , flea beetle rarely do significant harm to most food crop , but can reduce yield and increase industrial plant stress .

Tips for preventing flea beetles

In most years I do nothing , let the flea mallet wash , record hop , and nibble over my garden as they please . After all , they ’re naturally part of my garden ’s ecosystem , and I picture they are probably a great food for thought origin for some big garden critter that I do savour seeing around . Typically myOenotherareleaf in a few week after the apple blossom flea mallet disappear , and the other types typically do n’t appear in number that cause problems for my vegetable gardens . In the event of brassica flea beetle too , avoiding a spring crop of brassicas will significantly thin out their act . And for most type , polish off crop dust from your gardens can help somewhat with most flea mallet types , as many feed on craw stem or hide in crop debris for at least part of their lifecycle . This wo n’t eliminate the beetle , though , which well come in from less exacting gardens and wild infinite and can travel nifty distances on air stream .

How to manage flea beetles naturally

Having some direction tricks for those rarefied years when it ’s clear that flea beetles will induce problem for my crop is key . These day , my preferred direction tactic also happens to lash up a prime “ unbalanced nurseryman ” view for my neighbors : 6 a.m. sees me haul a cordless vacuum through the garden . I then , probably to the entertainment ( but perhaps the pain in the ass ) of my neighbors , vacuum-clean my flora .

This is a whoremaster instruct to me by a former coworker ; I laughed until I tried it . The trick , tomyamusement , was promiscuous and faster than using an insecticide , and just as efficacious . If you think you ’ll bother the neighbour , wait for a nerveless twenty-four hours so you may begin a piece later ; as long as temperatures are below 50 ° degree Fahrenheit or so , the flea beetles move lento . Just do n’t forget to impart a bit of rubbing alcohol to the vacuum ’s reservoir , or you ’ll let loose a flea beetle cloud when you attempt to dump the canister .

Flea beetles aren’t easy to manage with insecticides

Once they are warm up , flea beetles are such strong fliers that they can make their room into atmospherical flow . Whitney Cranshaw , retired entomologist for Colorado State University , latterly reminded me that flea beetles were the insects he caught the most of while sampling for insects at 2,000 feet by planer . When they pull this epic stunt off , the buggers can literally rain down down in a few waving on your garden as they devolve out of the sky . So the vacuum whoremonger appeals here too , as keeping flea beetles at bay in a bad twelvemonth without my trusty garden vacuum cleaner would require repeated insecticide software . Being highly mobile , flea beetle are one of relatively few garden pestilence or pathogens that are n’t evaded with a crop gyration either . Thankfully for my relationship with my neighbors , however , they ’re rarely bad enough to need any alive management . Should you have a problem with them , consider yourself armed with the knowledge to take charge of the job , assume you ’re unforced to risk your gravitas !

appear out for these other plague in the Mountain West :

How to Get Rid of Japanese Beetles

Pest Control for the Mountain West : Ips Beetles

For more Mountain West regional reports , clickhere .

Bryan Fischer lives and gardens at the intersection of the Great Plains and the Rockies . He is a horticulturist and the conservator of plant appeal for a local botanic garden .

Photos except where noted : Bryan Fischer

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