tiny weeny black bugs eating up my garden

[LIBRA]

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! Theres lil black bugs eating up my eggplant and broc, brussel sprouts too :( there so small and shiny, kinda look like a mini beetle. What the hell are they and how to I destroy those plant eating evil mini bugs????:confused:






:bawl:

[StellaBlue]

They sounds like flea beetles. They are shiny little beetle-looking critters. I'm not too sure how to get rid of them, but I do know they don't usually cause enough damage to permanently harm the plant. Sorry, I'm not much help in how to get rid of them, though, I don't know if there is a good way without the use of chemicals. Can you hose them off your plants with water? That works for me when I spend mid-to-late-summer battling the Japanese beetles. Maybe if you google "flea beetles" you can find something. Let me know. And good luck in killing the little bastards! :)

[Gaston]

Flea beetles are bad this year, they've damaged a lot of plants for us this year. Normally, spraying them off the plants with plain water is enough, but not this year. If they get any worse I'm going to have to pull out the old pyrethrin/rotenone or the whole garden will be lost.

Gnats are bad this year. We seldom have more than an occasional mosquito in the yard, they stay under the timber, but this year we have beaucoup. And slugs. I dread seeing what the cucumber beetle and June bug crop is going to be like.

[LIBRA]

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/what-are-flea-beetles.htm


ahhh haaah thats what those lil buggers are, thanks stella!!!

Great tips on that site and I just mulched the hell outta my whole garden last night so hopefully that willl help.

Gnats are horrible this year, gyspy moths too. Yuck.

[Hippie Staff]

You need some skunks. I have a little family that preens my garden at night. They do dig a little, but so far haven't hurt any of the plants. They eat all the worms/caterpillars. Go guys go.

Those flea beatles look gnarly - good luck! I planted a bunch of marigolds around my veggies this year..not sure if they are helping w/ keeping bugs away or not..supposed to lol

[LIBRA]

I thought marigolds kept away critters, not bugs? Besides skinks, im sure smells must not bother them,lol


I went to the farm and feed store and bought some rotenone mixed some with water and sprayed my eggplant. Its not organic, but the man at the store claimed it was natural. Ive been reading all morning and it most def not all natural but it is a plant based product. That breaks down fast, doest harm ground water either. Anyway I used it or else those lil buggers were gonna eat up my garden :(
pretty sure my eggplants are a goner but we'll see.


http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/rotenone.html

[StellaBlue]

At least you know what they are now and can get rid of them. My only pest so far has been the cutest little bunny, but he (she?) so far has only nibbled on the weeds. The blood meal I put on my plants seems to be working. I get a little nervous though when I watch the little guy munching away out there. But hey, he's gotta eat too, right?

[Gaston]

Some of the rotenone/pyrethrin products which are otherwise organic also contain a small amount of Piperonyl Butoxide, which I believe is used to boost the effect of the pyrethrin. You can find products without it but you have to look hard. I've noticed that pricing varies a lot for the same product (even the same brand), so that's one place some extra time digging on the Net is worthwhile.

I had to pull out the Big Guns this week and mix up a bucket of Pyrethrin/Rotenone spray (I found some without the PB). Two days later my garden practically jumped out of the ground, the bugs were hurting it worse than I suspected. Even the poor chewed-up eggplants look like most of them are going to make it now.

[LIBRA]

I had to replant my eggplant, they were destroyed. I dusted my plants, should have I made a mix with water instead? is that more effective?

[Gaston]

If you wet down the plants completely then the water-based spray is probably better, it's hard to get dust to the underside of the leaves where they hide.

[LIBRA]

gotcha, thanks!!! I actually left the eggplant in the ground and there alive, there alive :D they have small new growth coming in and no more lil bastard bugs!!! yaaa!! So now I have double the eggplant because I planted another 6!! Im going to be eating lots of eggplant, im not sure how you can preserve that. Can eggplant be froze? Im lookin into it.

[Gaston]

Ours are popping up too, now! Looks like the flea beetles are back, guess I'll have to spray again as they multiply fast.

My wife makes eggplant parmesan and freezes it, it keeps well that way. If we have luck with the Italian eggplant I'm going to try making babaganoush and freezing it.

And the gnats! Early on we had our usual abundance of fungus gnats, they just fly around your face and annoy but that's it. Now, we have some I'm calling piranha gnats, I went out to work the garden in a t-shirt and shorts and they've bitten hunks out of my arms and legs. I only felt a few of the bites, but I was doing the itchy-scratchy dance that night.

We've also got a mystery pest back from last year - it's a little, fast fly that tries to get into your ear. I got pistergated at them yesterday and ordered boonie hats with nets for the three of us. I don't know if Mom and Sharon will wear theirs, but I'm sure gonna wear mine whether it looks goofy or not. I can't get any work done while using one hand to shoo and swat bugs.

If it gets any worse I don't know what I'll do. Do they make burkhas in men's sizes? :D