Many believe that the Colorado potato beetle exterminate only potent chemicals. However, this is a misconception. If insects wound up on the site, then they can be combated for decades. They quickly adapt to the environment, develop immunity to various purchased drugs. One option remains: the effect of surprise. It is necessary to alternate various methods, use them in combination to get rid of pests. In this case, popular methods of destruction, of which a huge amount, are advisable.
Hand picking Colorado potato beetle
This method will help if the site is small and there is enough free time. To speed up the collection process and destroy the beetles for at least a few days, the following recommendations should be taken into account:
- So that the insects could not crawl out, they need to be collected in a bucket of water with the addition of laundry soap, ammonia, soda or salt. Some use kerosene for these purposes, but poisoning can occur from its vapor.
- You can not crush the pest and its larva between potato beds. They can survive and continue their life.
- In warm weather, beetles are easy to collect at the top of plants. At the same time, do not forget to inspect the lower part.
- When collecting, you always need to destroy the masonry so that new instances do not hatch.
Mr. Dachnik recommends: a device for the easy collection of Colorado beetles
To facilitate the task of collecting the insect pest manually, often use a convenient device - a butterfly net. Do it yourself:
- Take a bag of granulated sugar.
- Make a cut on the side and flash at the top (on the side from where the contents spilled out).
- Make loops along the cut through which to extend a thin (up to 4 mm) wire 2.5-3 m.
- Bend and twist the end to make a handle.
- Cover the bush with a trap and shake well.
- After each row, empty the appliance into a bucket of soap or saline.
Thanks to this device, there is no need to tilt over each plant, and carry the bucket.
Various spray methods from the Colorado potato beetle
Spraying with infusions and decoctions of plants helps. To be effective, you must adhere to the following rules:
- Carry out at dawn or after sunset so that the liquid does not evaporate under the sun. If the weather is cloudy and cool (no more than + 11 ... +14 ° С), then you can process potatoes in the afternoon.
- Spraying should be done regularly 1-2 times a week. The last time - at least 20 days before digging up the tubers.
- Cooked infusions must be used fresh. When they stand for a long time, they lose their effectiveness.
The most effective recipes:
| Main ingredients | Cooking method |
| Garlic or wormwood |
|
| Mustard Powder and Table Vinegar |
|
| Greens (dry) and walnut peel |
|
| Celandine |
|
| Wood ash | Dilute 200 g of powder in 10 l of water. |
The transferred funds can also be poured into the holes made in the ground near the plantings.
“Dry” methods to combat the Colorado potato beetle
This is pollination of the aerial parts of bushes and sprinkling of soil. “Dry” methods will give results only with regular use and alternation of various options:
| Methodology | Recommendations |
| Dusting with ash | Any, but the most effective sifted birch will do. Best done at dawn or after rainfall. One hundred square meters needs 10 kg. After a single pollination, a lot of pests die in a couple of days. Before flowering, the procedure must be done 1 time in 2 weeks. After its completion - once a month. |
| Cornmeal processing | Once in the stomach, it swells. Because of this, pests die. The foliage should be moist during handling. |
| Pollination with cement or gypsum | Many experienced gardeners recommend this method. |
| Dusting | Beetles hate the smell of fresh wood. If you sprinkle soil between rows of pine or birch sawdust, pests will bypass the side of the beds. Before flowering, this must be done once every couple of weeks, after graduation - once a month. |
Neighbors whom the “striped” does not tolerate
There are plants whose flavor the colorado does not tolerate. Therefore, they need to be planted between potato beds to scare away pests. List:
- Chernobrivtsi;
- borago;
- marigold;
- cilantro;
- nasturtium;
- matthiola bicorn (colorful, fragrant and very undemanding flower to care for);
- hemp;
- fragrant tobacco (grass is poisonous for colorado, bushes located at a distance of 3-5 m from it will be precisely protected).
Also, potatoes can be planted in rows, along the perimeter or diagonally next to:
- Nightshade.
- Beans.
- Vegetable Beans. It is recommended to plant on beds with potatoes grown from seeds. It will be small in size and will not shade a repellent plant.
- Onion.
- Horseradish.
They will not only scare away the beetle, but will also produce crops. The following plants, planted around the land plot, will also create an obstacle for “infested” pests:
- tansy;
- catnip;
- clear white.
Of course, this method does not guarantee that there will not be a single harmful insect. However, such a barrier will significantly reduce their population.
Birds, insects against colorado potato beetle
Unfortunately, not all feathered and predatory insects are a natural enemy for this pest. Colorado eat potato tops, in which there is solanine. They accumulate it in the body and become poisonous.
Of the insects, bugs can eat:
| Title | Description | How to attract |
| Ground beetle | Dark-bronze, large (2-3 cm) beetle, an excellent helper for every gardener. It destroys not only the Colorado potato beetles, but also other pests. He has powerful jaws, developed legs that allow you to quickly run through plants in search of food. During the day, the insect rests under stones, fallen leaves, bark of trees, and at night goes hunting. |
|
| Lacewing | A light brown or green insect with long, mesh wings. During the day they prefer to sit in the grass, they begin to exterminate pests at night. In the evening, often flies to the light of lanterns. |
|
| ladybugs | Their larvae are especially dangerous for pests. They are more voracious, so when you see an unpleasant worm with spots on the back on the leaves, you should not rush to destroy it. It will be of great help in the fight against harmful insects. |
|
| Predatory bugs | Destroy larvae, masonry and adult Colorado. When there is a lot of food, they will actively eat it, when it is over, they will leave the garden. Some species are bred specifically to be released to areas with crops for pest control. |
|
| Mantis | In the middle zone of Russia, you can not meet him often. The insect is sold at some major pet stores. It can also be purchased online. It looks like a grasshopper. When sitting in an ambush, takes the pose of a praying person. | To prevent the mantis running, it is necessary to create comfortable living conditions for it: on the site you need to plant peas. He will be a good green manure, a supplier of nitrogen to the earth. In the thickets of this plant, the reproduction of the predator insect occurs. |
Colorado beetles are also eaten by some birds. For example, pheasants, starlings, guinea fowls. You can teach to use harmful insects and turkeys, chickens of the faverol breed for food. In the fodder of young animals, you need to add crushed or crushed colorades rolled into bread balls.
Striped beetles and their larvae cause many problems to gardeners. They eat not only potato tops, but also tomatoes. Destroy them hard, but still possible. For this, you do not need to use expensive poisonous drugs. In addition, such tools are undesirable for crops used in food (plants can accumulate toxic substances).
The pest can be removed by folk (harmless to humans and animals) methods. So that they give the maximum result, you need to use several methods presented at once. If any of them help, you should not give up. You need to try other recipes, of which a huge amount.
