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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Flea Beetle Control:Parasitic Nematodes, Steinernema feltiae

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  • From: Allan Balliett <allan.balliett AT gmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Flea Beetle Control:Parasitic Nematodes, Steinernema feltiae
  • Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:00:14 -0400

My situation is the same as yours: just checking the crop, or, heaven forbid, taking the time to weed it, and I have an infestation of flea beetles that have destroyed the crop. They have eaten emerging seedlings right to the ground and have commonly stunted transplants by eating on the lower leaves.

I have a serious problem and it's moved from a portion of the garden to the whole garden.

I'll probably use surround on transplants this year and may even spray it on emerging asian greens, etc.

I'm also going to use this formula Steve Diver referred me to a few years back:

Cedar Oil (anyone know a modern source for organic cedar oil for ag use??)

MycOtrol - O

Garlic Barrier

You know, your standard $100 a qt organic ag supplement selection.

I think some NEEM goes in this also. (I haven't been able to re-find the original write up)

the point is that the garlic and the cedar are supposed to EXCLUDE the flea beetles from the beds. It will NOT work if the beetles are already in the bed (believe it or not)! But it generally will keep them out if you seed and then spray these repellants.

They probably work not by repelling the beetles but by making it so they can't smell the emerging brassicas

Anyone know the best trap crop(s) to use for flea beetles?

-Allan in WV

On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 8:49 AM, Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net> wrote:

On Apr 15, 2012, at 8:27 AM, Andy Fellenz wrote:

The only thing that I have ever found that works reliably with flea beetles is row cover.  I put it down within a day of the crop being transplanted or seeded. 


I tried that with arugula. I pulled the row cover for all of ten minutes to cultivate and when I went to start harvesting the arugula was swarming with flea beetles and too full of holes to sell.

I deal with it by not growing arugula. This is not ideal, as I occasionally have customers ask for it.

Row covers work fine for flea beetles in eggplant as long as the row cover goes on as soon as the transplants go out, because by the time I have to pull the row cover the eggplant are big enough to put on leaf surface faster than the flea beetles can eat it, and the flea beetles don't generally significantly damage the fruit itself. I've learned, however, not to leave the transplants hanging around at ground level waiting to go in the ground. The flea beetles don't seem to find them if they're up on a table or trailer.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 6A now I think
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale




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