Teeny Tiny little black beetle bugs know what they are?

[the4heathernsmom]

I have some teeny little black bugs that are about the size of the head of a straight pin and look similar to a ladybug but miniaturized and totally black. They are munching on the leaves of my eggplant, and tomatillo plants. They leave a tiny little hole int he leaf. Anybody have a clue what they could be?

 

[vfem]

Do they jump? A flea beetle perhaps?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sounds like flea beetles to me also. Many people say they won't do that much damage, but they riddle the leaves of my eggplant to make it look like lace and stunt the growth. I use Sevin spray to allow the eggplant to grow to where it is big enough and strong enough to withstand them.

A couple of possible organic controls is to use a sticky trap or vacuum. These recommendations come from Rodale's Vegetable Garden Problem Solver by Fern Marshall Bradley, to give what I hope is proper credit. They also mention using a garlic spray on the plants to deter feeding.

Take a piece of yellow cardboard or maybe paint a piece of plywood bright yellow. Many insects are attracted to yellow. For fleas beetles it probably does not need to be yellow, but you can use these for other insects as well. Coat the surface with a clear sticky substance. Or you can buy commercial sticky traps. Hold the trap close to the plant and brush the foilage. Some will jump up and be trapped. Don't leave the sticky trap in the garden permanently as it will attract beneficial insects.

If the plants are strong enough, you can use a hand held vacuum cleaner to suck the beetles off. The book mentions that you may need to do this frequently, maybe daily, to make a dent in the population. I'd suspect it may take more than on trip through the eggplant with sticky traps to make a difference too.

If your plants are growing and developing, you probably don't need to do anything. If the leaves look like lace and dry out enough to turn turn brown and crispy, some control is a pretty good idea.

 

[digitS']

In the arid Wild West, flea beetles are apparently more of a problem than in some other parts of the world. The Flea Beetle is a little bug with an appetite to be a Big Bug but he spends quite a bit of his time hiding under rocks and debris on the soil surface.

I usually don't see a big problem on some plants but the eggplant takes a beating. Ever notice that the Potato Bug likes the noble eggplant better than the lowly spud, too?

The Bonide company seems to be changing some of their products. Bonide Rotenone/Pyrethrins spray no longer appears on their website.

Spinosad may be able to kill a Flea Beetle but that's a new product to me. I don't see Flea Beetle listed on any of the spinosad labels . . . Rotenone/Pyrethrin kills 'em but a Pyrethrin spray by itself should be good enuf. All of these products are natural insecticides and listed for organic use.

Pyrethrin has very little residual effect. The Pyrethrin spray can be "used up to day of harvest" the label says.

The idea is to kill the bug on the first shot. Since the larva of the flea beetle lives in the roots of the host plant, they are probably too deep to kill. The flea beetle also "travels" some. You'll have to be back to spray again later.

Be sure to "over-spray" so that the bug killer hits the soil surface. Those adult beetles enjoying a siesta down there in the shade of a rock or leaf don't deserve the chance to show up later to chew on your eggplant.

Steve

 

[hoodat]

Critters attacking under the surface can be gotten rid of with a neem oil soil drench, some of which is taken up by the plants and acts as a systemic insecticide that is harmless to humans. I recommend only spot applications where there is trouble since a lot of the creepy crawlers under the surface are beneficial and it will get them also.

 

[patandchickens]

Floating row covers are supposed to be pretty helpful vs flea beetles; HOWEVER the trick is you have to cover the crop BEFORE the flea beetles get in there, meaning this may be something to remember for next year

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[the4heathernsmom]

Thank you for the suggestions!!!!!