Cabbage affected by black flea beetle How to recognize that a pest has settled in your area:
- see the insect itself, despite its small size it is easy to see with the naked eye;
- gnawing in the form of ulcers appeared on the leaves;
- damage in the form of skeletonization;
- Numerous holes are visible on the leaves of root vegetables.
Damaged leaves begin to dry out, which leads to the death of the entire plant. In addition, adult individuals lay eggs in the soil, and the hatched larvae feed on young roots of seedlings, which negatively affects its development.
Description of the pest
The cruciferous flea beetle looks like a miniature beetle, the size of which is 0.15-0.3 cm. The insect is also known as the cabbage flea beetle or black flea beetle. The body of the beetle has an oval-oblong shape. The insect has whiskers, the length of which is equal to less than a third of the body.
The beetle moves by jumping on its hind legs. There are many varieties of flea beetles, differing in the color of their elytra. The adult insect feeds on foliage, and the larvae feed on weak parts of the roots.
What to do if a flea beetle attacks strawberries?
Many summer residents have noticed that in addition to typical pests (slugs, stem and strawberry nematodes, mites, weevils), sometimes a cruciferous flea can literally attack strawberries. If nothing is done or the presence of the pest is not noticed in time, the crop can be seriously damaged. In some cases, it is eaten clean!
Read on dacha6.ru:
One summer resident on the forum complains: “Having overwintered on autumn green manure, mustard and rapeseed, the flea ate last year’s strawberries and began to try the recently planted ones. Having finished with the strawberries, the pest furiously attacked the raspberries...” A reasonable question arises: how to stop these insatiable insects and save the harvest, at least partially?
Reasons for appearance
Cruciferous flea beetles live in the winter in the upper layers of soil or under plant debris. When spring comes and the ambient temperature rises above 15 °C, flea beetles come out of their wintering shelters. If the time of planting the crop coincides with the time of leaving hibernation, the insect will feed on young foliage.
Another reason for the appearance of insects on seedlings can be considered a large number of weeds and cruciferous plants. Their abundance near the future location of the seedlings influences the fact that the cruciferous flea beetle has a source of food and they can develop.
The appearance of leaf beetle insects is influenced by soil moisture levels. The cruciferous flea beetle is an insect that does not tolerate moisture well. In dry and hot weather, the flea beetle grows actively. If you water lightly or plant crops in soil with low moisture, you may find an increase in flea beetle infestation.
How to get rid of insects and prevent reproduction?
Depending on the host's preferences and environmental conditions, different methods of controlling the parasite can be chosen. The level of distribution and reproduction of individuals also plays a role: the more there are, the more powerful the remedy should be. If the number of fleas is small, you can get by with safe agrotechnical (which are more of a preventive) methods or folk remedies. If these methods do not work, then you should immediately start using a store-bought chemical flea repellent on cabbage and other plants.
It is not possible to use chemicals always and not everywhere. For example, it is strictly forbidden to do this if there are hives with bees near the site. To poison fleas safely and harmlessly to humans, you must carefully read the instructions for the medications.
Signs of appearance
To recognize the pest in time allows you to be savvy in determining the appearance of an insect by the first signs. The signs are:
- Detection of ulcerative gnawing marks on the leaf parts of plants.
- The appearance of damage on the leaves in the form of skeletonization.
- Detection of interveinal gnawing.
- Detection of the insect itself.
Damaged foliage begins to dry out, which leads to the death of the young plant. The cruciferous flea beetle damages the leaves and stems of young seedlings, which subsequently turn yellow and die.
Harmful cabbage aphid
An equally dangerous pest for cabbage is the cabbage aphid. It is a very small insect two millimeters long, gray-white. Aphids reproduce pathogenetically, laying small elongated eggs without fertilization, which overwinter on stalks, weeds, and cabbage seeds. In the spring, larvae appear and develop into wingless insects, which again give birth to larvae. After this, females with wings appear, which in mid-summer move to the cabbage from the weeds and begin to reproduce there, each producing 40 larvae.
When aphids multiply en masse, the leaves of cabbage crops are completely covered with aphids, sucking the juice and discoloring the leaves. In this case, the latter curl and the plant stops growing and producing seeds. Control of cabbage pests - aphids - is more effective before July, when the movement of winged individuals occurs.
Ways to fight
Remedies for cruciferous flea beetles are used in different variations. Destruction methods are divided into categories:
- Agrotechnical procedures that prevent the appearance of insects;
- Traditional methods of influence;
- Application of insecticides.
The combination of several methods gives a positive result.
Use of agricultural technology
Let's look at how to get rid of the cruciferous flea beetle using agrotechnical measures. They consist of following the necessary rules for planting crops in the ground:
- Plant young seedlings at a certain period - in early April or late June. In April, the insect hibernates, and after the first month of summer, the time begins for a change in generations of insects.
- Remove cruciferous weeds.
- Water promptly and regularly.
- Plant crops with plants that have phytoncidal properties (dill, garlic, coriander). The smell of such plants repels insects.
- Covering young seedlings with material that prevents the entry of insects and provides a sufficient amount of moisture, light, air (spunbond, agrospan, lutrasil). After the plant gets stronger, the material is removed.
These rules relate to preventive measures to combat insect pests.
Using traditional methods
As folk remedies, dusting, spraying of plants, and traps are used. Dusting is based on the fact that leaf beetles do not feed on contaminated leaves. Accordingly, the presence of dust on the foliage repels bugs. Different compositions are used for dusting: ash, tobacco dust, road dust, ground red pepper. These components can be combined in one consistency. Powdering technology:
- The selected product is placed in a gauze bag;
- During morning dew or after watering, scatter the composition over an individual plant;
- After about a week, re-powder.
The number of operations is 3-4 times. Dust stays on the leaves for a long time. But during precipitation, the pili are washed away, so the plant should be treated again.
The fight against cruciferous flea beetle is also carried out by spraying with various decoctions and mixtures:
- A solution of ash and tar soap, which requires 2 cups of ash and 1/4 of a crushed piece of tar soap. The ingredients are placed in a bucket and filled with water. Next, you should leave the solution for about two days.
- An infusion of tomato tops and garlic cloves, prepared by mixing crushed ingredients. The volume of both ingredients is 1 cup. Garlic and tomatoes are placed in a container with 10 liters of water, where there is a small amount of soap. After mixing it can be used.
- A solution of previously crushed tobacco in soapy water. Use 200 g of tobacco base and 10 liters of hot water. After cooling, the solution can be used.
- A decoction of wormwood and garlic, which is prepared by boiling 1000 g of wormwood and 100 g of finely chopped garlic for 15-20 minutes. After cooling, the solution is filtered and brought to the 10 liter mark with water. After this, the decoction can be used.
- A vinegar solution prepared by mixing about 200 g of table vinegar (1-2 tablespoons of essence) with 10 liters of water.
- A decoction of tomato and potato tops, which is prepared from 4 kg of tops. The herb can be boiled in 10 liters of water. Boiling time is about half an hour. The filtered solution is diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio.
- A solution of dandelions, for which you will need to collect 0.5 kg of roots and leaves of a flowering plant. The crushed grass is poured into 10 liters of warm water and filtered. Soap is added to the filtrate, and the product is ready for use.
Another popular method is the use of traps made of materials lubricated with glue or grease.
To protect against insects, you can use various medications with a pungent odor: ammonia, valerian. The drug is taken at the rate of 40 drops per 10 liters of water. Anti-flea shampoo for dogs has an effective effect, 1 cap of which is mixed with 10 liters of water. The resulting solution is used for spraying.
Getting rid of cruciferous flea beetle through prevention
Compliance with planting deadlines
A simple and simple way to avoid suffering from flea beetles in your garden is to get mature plants either BEFORE the mass appearance of the pest, or AFTER. This means that spring plantings should be done as early as possible, for example, in early April, and summer plantings, on the contrary, as late as possible - at the end of July or early August.
If these planting dates are observed, the plants will have time to sprout, grow stronger and become somewhat rougher before the flea flea attacks them. And since she prefers tender young leaves, there is every chance that your plantings will survive.
If you have a greenhouse, plant early cruciferous crops there in March. And you will reap the harvest for the May holidays, and you will not see any fleas on the tops.
Removing Cruciferous Weeds
The second method is quite effective, but really complicated. Since grass appears immediately in the spring, and cultivated plants appear later, the flea beetle begins its “meal” on weeds: rapeseed, shepherd’s purse and other wild cruciferous plants. And only then he switches to our radishes and turnips. The goal is to destroy, if possible, all the thickets of attractive weeds in the area. The flea will go where there is food, and the further its “dining room” is from our site, the better.
Maintaining Humidity
Have you noticed that the cruciferous flea beetle is especially rampant when spring is hot and dry? This insect cannot tolerate high humidity. Wonderful! This means that it is best to plant radishes, cabbage, daikon or turnips in the dampest areas of our garden and do not forget about daily abundant watering. Moreover, it is better to water not with plain water... but we will talk about this later.
Cover with non-woven fabric
Covering young seedlings with spunbond, lutrasil, agrospan or any other material that allows light, moisture and air to pass through works well. Fleas rarely penetrate under cover. Of course, you'll have to tinker with the arches as a frame, but it's worth it. When the plants are strong enough not to suffer from fleas, the cover can be removed.
Mixed plantings with phytoncidal plants
The method favored by natural farmers is mixed planting. The cruciferous flea beetle is sensitive to strong odors, and we can use this weakness to our advantage. For example, grow cabbage in the same bed with garlic, coriander or dill. Flea fleas are well repelled from late plantings of cruciferous crops by calendula, marigolds and nasturtium, growing with them in the same bed.
If you haven’t had time to plant repellent flowers or herbs next to the cabbage, we advise you to place bunches of fresh wormwood between the rows and renew them daily.
Traditional methods
Wood ash will help not only prevent the appearance of fleas, but also fight them. If these garden pests have been noticed on the plantings, then you can sprinkle the plants with this powder. Liquid products using this product are no less effective.
Recipes with ash
To make it stick to the leaves better, I advise you to also use household or specialized green soap.
