Potato Beetles Have Struck

[BetterHensandGardens]

The potato beetles struck in my garden, so I did a blog post about them here: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/08/01/potato-beetles/
Does anyone have any other great ways of preventing this pest and it's damage?

 

[digitS']

My potatoes are where the beetles have usually not been a problem. The eggplants, on the other hand, are in a different garden and have been hammered by potato beetles from the get-go!

I had a bottle of Bt tenebrionis, variety san diego around for a number of years. Who knew that this variety of Bt was genetically engineered?!? Well, when the organic standards kicked in, the organic growers kicked Bt san diego out! As a result, the labs stopped making it and I guess, I wouldn't buy it if it was available. It did, however, work at killing the beetles.

There's something new called Spinosad. It is "a naturally occuring soil dwelling bacterium." So, it is like Bt in that regard.

I have been spraying with rotenone/pyrethrum weekly and, altho' it is recommended for the beetles, it doesn't work well. Maybe there are just too many of the critters around that garden and the eggplant are too much of a lure!

Right now, I think that I should have bought the Spinosad early in the season. But, speaking of season . . . shouldn't your Yukon Golds have pretty much lived out their season? Would it be okay for you just to harvest them and go ahead and trample the potato bugs in the processes?

Steve

 

[BetterHensandGardens]

Very good Steve, the Yukon Gold's have pretty much lived out their season, and if I harvest and find they did fine, it's been a successful strategy I'll use next year: rotate the potatoes to a new bed, use an early maturing variety, and be done with potatoes before the potato beetle population explodes!

This year though, I've still got Purple Viking potatoes going, and am just praying they don't find them. Hadn't heard about the Spinosad - I'll check it out - Thanks.

By the way, I agree with you on the Pyrethrum/rotenone, it just doesn't seem to get the job done in a full blown attack.

 

[curly_kate]

I had them for the first time this year. I read that potatoes actually can handle pretty significant defoliation and still be productive. Tomatoes, however, are not that lucky. I actually did some massive squishing. It was pretty gross, but after 2-3 days of religious bug squashing, they pretty much disappeared. And they also completely left the tomatoes (stupidly planted right next to the tomatoes!) alone.

 

[journey11]

Yep, mine are getting ahead of me too. If I pick them for a couple days (and I drown mine so I don't have the ~squish~ to deal with) they seem to be gone after that. My chickens won't eat them!

 

[curly_kate]

Yep, mine are getting ahead of me too. If I pick them for a couple days (and I drown mine so I don't have the ~squish~ to deal with) they seem to be gone after that. My chickens won't eat them!

I was disappointed that mine won't eat them, either! I get a certain satisfaction in squishing them, although some are rather...juicy.

 

[scotexpat]

I am planning on a Vegetable Garden this Year which will be including Potato's.Unfortunately since I live in Canada and insecticides and Pesticides have been banned: Does anyone have any alternatives to beating Bugs and Pests without resorting to the Chemical route?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

the last couple of years here at our house i've been using the advise of one of my companion planting books. it mentions planting a few eggplants at the corners of the potato beds. you'll be using them as sacrificial plants that the bugs will eat first and mostly ignore the potatoes! i have rarely seen potato beetles here but i do remember seeing them and the ugly larva!

 

[digitS']

. . .Unfortunately since I live in Canada and insecticides and Pesticides have been banned: Does anyone have any alternatives to beating Bugs and Pests without resorting to the Chemical route?

I just did a quick search online for pesticides in Ontario and TreeHelp came up. (CLICK) They sell spinosad. In fact, they sell the organic bug killers I was talking about last summer, pyrethrin and rotenone.

I don't know what chemicals you are concerned about, scotexpat, but these are at least considered organic alternatives.

By August, my eggplants were in serious trouble from my inability to keep the potato beetles off the plants!! I had dead potato beetles all over the ground after awhile and their assault finally slowed.

The plants produced a few eggplants before the end of the season but they were so bitter as to be inedible!! Most of my eggplant choices are green -- I had come to believe that they were the least likely to be bitter. Well, that may be so but insect stress must have led to bitterness. Anyway, I am buying a bottle of spinosad this year . . . and also, not growing so dang many eggplants .

Steve

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i remember that the book also mentions planting cabbage in with the potatoes too but i think that is so the cabbage moth doesn't bother them. i'll have to grab my book and check later.