Flea Beetles In The Garden

Flea beetles are common pests in the vegetable garden. They eat a large variety of vegetables. This guide will show you what they look like, how to prevent them, and how to get rid of them.

Description

Flea beetles are small and most are dark-colored. Some flea beetles have a metallic sheen and some have stripes. All of these beetles have enlarged back legs that let them jump long distances when disturbed. Flea beetles also fly.

Lifecycle of Flea Beetles

Adults emerge in the spring and lay eggs singly or in bunches on the underside of plants, in leaves, small holes, or on roots. The eggs hatch into maggots and fall to the ground. The maggots feed on the roots of seedlings. They pupate in the ground. Flea beetles can go through two or more generations in a year. In the winter, flea beetles hide under leaf debris or other organic matter.

Damage Caused by Flea Beetles

Most flea beetles feed on only one kind of plant. However, there are so many species of flea beetles that you are likely to find one in your garden. The adults eat circular holes in the leaves. Most larvae do not cause significant damage. The adults create small irregular holes or pits in a leaf. If too many leaves are damaged, the plant may die. Seedlings are especially vulnerable.

Preventing Flea Beetles

There are some things you can do to prevent flea beetles. Here are the most important ones.

• Remove plant debris from the garden as soon as the plants are done producing.
• Keep weeds down around your plants.
• Rotate your crops by plant families. For example, don’t plant Cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) where any Cole crop has been for the previous year.
• Use row covers to keep flea beetles out. These are lightweight, white fabrics that light, water, and air can penetrate, but that keep pests out. Remove the row covers when the plant flowers so pollinators can reach the flowers.
• Mulch around your transplants. Three inches of mulch retards the larva from exiting the soil as an adult.
• Plant trap crops around the edges of your garden to attract the beetles before they reach your vegetables.

Scout your plants on a regular basis to detect flea beetles before an infestation gets out of hand.

Getting Rid of Flea Beetles

If you find flea beetles on your vegetables, you can attack them with biological controls. Here are some effective ways to harness nature to kill flea beetles.

If you plant nectar and pollen-producing plants like anise, chamomile, clover, dill, and marigold around your vegetables, it will attract wasps and other preditors.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (Steinernema spp. and Heterorhabditis spp.) are parasitic worms that live in the soil. They feed on the flea beetle larva. You can purchase them from many garden supply places online.

The fungus Beauvaria bassiana causes white muscadine. The spores are picked up by the larva while they are in the dirt. The spores germinate and produce a toxin. This toxin turns the insides of the larva into liquid and kills it. You can buy fungal spores and apply them in the evening so they don’t dry out before they germinate.

Sometimes, biological controls are not enough to get rid of flea beetles. Chemical controls can get rid of the flea beetles but should be used as a last resort. Many of them kill beneficial insects, too.

Pyrethrum, neem oil, or spinosad are organic broad-spectrum insecticides. They will also kill beneficial insects. Apply in the evening so that bees are not foraging when you spray the plants. Spray only the affected plants. Multiple applications may be necessary.