Durgan
Cool Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:50 am
Location: Brantford, Ontario, Canada Zone 5

Colorado Potato beetle - Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Colorado Potato beetle - Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Colorado Potato beetle - Leptinotarsa decemlineata

The Colorado Potato Beetle made its appearance today. I picked bout 15 off the potato plants, and removed some eggs on the underside of some leaves. Potatoes have been grown the last three years, and every year there are a few more Colorado Potato Beetles. All I do is pick them off the plants daily, since they are not in quantity.

Years ago my small potato patch was destroyed in one long weekend. Upon returning from a trip the potato leaves were completely covered or what was left of them. With a large infestation and a large field spraying is necessary. Good luck for the organic gardeners.

27 June 2007. I have picked about 20 first generation adults, and probably over 200 second generation immature beetles. Today I only found about 5 immature insects. I have 50 plants so appear to be winning the battle. This labour effort would be impossible on a very large planting.

Durgan.

opabinia51
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Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

I would say that the two presumably safe applications to try to detur these pests would be a weekly spraying of neem oil and also read up on BTU which, if memory serves is a spray containing beneficial bacteria that certified organic agriculture uses.

Though, I would read up on BTU to see if it would work against the potatoe beetle before using it.


Also, not using monoculture plantings would aid in disseminating infestations of the beetle. Planting flowers and other plants that will attract insects and birds that feed on the potatoe beetle would also help.

This is where there needs to be a delicate balance between applications of products like neem oil and possibly BTU as (neem oil for sure and possibly BTU) have negative effects on insect populations and I'm not sure of there effects on vertebrate populations. I think that Neem Oil is relatively safe in that regard.

Some herbivory will always occur with organic gardening, that is for sure.

Durgan
Cool Member
Posts: 82
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:50 am
Location: Brantford, Ontario, Canada Zone 5

In the old days we used Paris Green. Look it up. Everybody used it. Then DDT. A large area of potatoes eaten alive with the Colarado Potato Beetle requires instant action. They can eat a patch completely within days.

Durgan.
Last edited by Durgan on Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Inamon
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Joined: Wed May 16, 2007 8:30 am
Location: PA, USA

It may pay to investigate an IPM (Integrated pest management) plant. This involves not only insecticidal action but also physiological and natural pedatory actions as well. Much advice can be found on line.

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Location: Amherst, MA USDA Zone 5a

As Opa says, there are always alternatives to insecticides. Bringing balance to a garden is the way to go. I have a friend in a big city that has a huge vegetable and fruit garden on his property, a quite unusual size farm located in a big city. He even has a bee colony in it from which he collects honey. He sells the excess produce to expensive restaurants interested in locally grown organic food. He never uses pesticides.

It's a beautiful garden featuring citrus fruits, strawberries, blueberries, artichokes, lettuce, garlic, onions, mustard, asparagus, spinach, squash, pumpkins, various legumes, and many other vegetables. It's a testament to how far you can go without ever using pesticides.



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