Garden has Blister Beetles

[carold47]

Any one know how to get rid of Blister Beetles they are eating up the leaves on my lettuce and tomatoes and now on my cucumbers.

[Gardener Don]

There is just one way to kill them for me. Spray them with liquid Sevin. It works, not organic, but will save your garden.

[carold47]

thanks for the tip, someone else told me today about sevin dust.

I will give it a try........thank god it isn't a swarm of them or my garden probably would be gone by now.

Thanks again

Carol

[Cuke]

This might be late,but Safer Brand Killing Soap is organic,although I don't know if it would kill Blister Beetles (unless they are related to squash beetles).

[rainbowgardener]

Here's some info about Sevin to think about before you put it in your garden, some from the warning label and some from university studies


* Harmful if swallowed.
* Extremely toxic to aquatic and estuarine invertebrates.
* Highly toxic to bees.
* Causes injury to Boston Ivy, Virginia Creeper and Maidenhair fern. During early season, may injure Virginia and Sand pines.
This product causes reversible cholinesterase inhibition. Repeated overexposure may cause more severe cholinesterase inhibition with more pronounced signs and symptoms. May lead to rapid onset of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, involuntary shaking, excess salivation, pinpoint pupils, blurred vision, profuse sweating, temporary paralysis, respiratory depression, and convulsions.

carbaryl [the poison in Sevin] is quite toxic to honey bees, certain beneficial insects such as lady beetles, and parasitic wasps and bees, certain species of aquatic insects, and some forms of shellfish such as shrimp and crabs. Care must be taken when using carbaryl in areas where these organisms exist."

[hendi_alex]

To me the key to insect control is early detection. I carefully walk the garden each day, looking for signs of unwanted munching. As soon as that is detected, my first line of defense is hand picking, which works well for smaller plantings in a home garden. I'm now fighting the bean beetles, walking out at least twice per day and smashing the ones that are in view. That generally cuts down the population enough to limit damage on the plants. Blister beetles are pretty large and hand picking should be an easy control if the beetles are attacked early. Just be sure and wear latex gloves or similar products and a long sleeve shirt. Rather than smashing the noxious critters, carry a small container of alcohol and drop them in. Some beetles have a habit of dropping right before being caught, so I always hold the alcohol contain underneath and the grab with the other hand from the top.