Should I give up on eggplant?

[Zeedman]

it takes quite a long time for those beetles to actually drown. i'd made the mistake one summer of throwing them at the end of the driveway to encourage birds to learn to eat them only to finally figure out that they were just crawling away. once i realized that i started squishing them with my fingers or stepping on them and leaving them in the gardens hoping to accomplish the same. something was eating them. i don't know what but i suspect that it could have been chipmunks. no proof, i still don't know for sure what is going on out there. birds would be the other suspect, but until i verify it i can't say for sure.

No sign of anything eating dead Japanese beetles here - I wish. Perhaps because of the smell. Once dead (especially in numbers, as when I dump the traps) those beetles really stink! Once all the beetles were dead, I would dump them in one location in the gravel driveway, hoping something (skunk, possum, raccoon) would develop a taste for them. Not only did that not happen, but in Spring all of the beetles from the previous year were still there, like metallic mini-mummies.

and no, i'd not try to hand pick flea beetles... i'm crazy, but i do have my limits.

 

[digitS']

I have wondered if it is different species of flea beetles one year or one wave to the next.

They seem to be attracted to some plants and then the others. In 2021, they went after the potatoes in a big way. Strangely, it was a very easy year for me re Colorado Potato Beetles. Debated with myself but no spraying of potatoes, last year. Maybe, the bugs are in competition.

Something else I wonder about is how much damage the larvae does below ground. How to know? What to do? Garden Life -- Life is a Mystery.

Steve

 

[digitS']

ArtichokeLover,

If eggplant is really too much of a struggle ..

. can we expect you to become an expert with fried green tomatoes, instead??

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

I have wondered if it is different species of flea beetles one year or one wave to the next.

They seem to be attracted to some plants and then the others. In 2021, they went after the potatoes in a big way. Strangely, it was a very easy year for me re Colorado Potato Beetles. Debated with myself but no spraying of potatoes, last year. Maybe, the bugs are in competition.

Something else I wonder about is how much damage the larvae does below ground. How to know? What to do? Garden Life -- Life is a Mystery.

Steve

Flea Beetles - What They Are, What They Eat and How To Get Rid Of Them

Flea beetles are tiny, shiny jumpy little things that feast in your garden come springtime. Seedlings are among their preferred bites.

www.ruralsprout.com

need something like a big sticky trap that you can put over an area to catch them all as they try to hop away.

since i do rotate crop and bury garden debris i am lightly cultivating and keeping debris absent enough. i do have some flea beetles but the most i see damage from their feeding is on some young bean plants. after a few sets of leaves have come on the plants the flea beetles are usually done.

 

[ducks4you]

https://www.almanac.com/companion-p...bles+(read+more)&utm_campaign=Companion+Daily
This article has good suggestions including:
garlic
chives
nasturtiums
mint
cilantro
and
oregano
as companions to repel insects like flea beetles, or encourage predators that eat them.

 

[ducks4you]

Do you rotate crops? The local farmers, in their Lack of wisdom, rotate corn, soybeans, ad nauseum. Studies show that eradicating the corn borer needs 3 years of no corn, so they pay to spray, instead of finding another crop to rotate.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Do you rotate crops? The local farmers, in their Lack of wisdom, rotate corn, soybeans, ad nauseum. Studies show that eradicating the corn borer needs 3 years of no corn, so they pay to spray, instead of finding another crop to rotate.

Yep. The eggplant in particular has never been planted within 100ft of last years planting.