Flea beetles can be very destructive to a wide variety of plants, so be sure to take preventative measures.
How to Identify and Get Rid of Flea Beetles
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How to Identify Flea Beetles
Given that there are so many species of flea beetles, they vary in appearance quite a bit. Colors range from black to tan, with other, brighter colors mixed in, and the beetles may have a solid, striped, or spotted pattern, depending on the species.
To identify flea beetles, it’s easier to look for signs of their damage (described below) than for the beetles themselves. At only 1/16 of an inch in length, flea beetles are very tiny and will quickly spring away—like fleas—if they see you approach!
When Do Flea Beetles Appear?
Adult flea beetles overwinter in brush and wooded areas. Adults pose the biggest threat early in the planting season as they are emerging, typically when outdoor temperatures reach 50ºF (10°C). At this time, seedlings are being planted, too, and they are most susceptible to beetle damage.
Eggs are laid at the base of plant stems in early summer after the spring feeding period, and larvae feed at the roots.
Flea Beetle Damage
Adult beetles feed on foliage, producing “shotholes” in the leaves. Look out for these holes, especially on young seedlings, where damage is most rapid and will cause the most harm. The holes they make will be round and can quickly ruin leafy greens. New leaves are usually damaged first, and they will have a lacy appearance.
Flea beetles usually don’t cause fatal damage to established plants because the leaves are already large enough to survive a few holes. The real danger is that the beetles can spread bacterial diseases, such as wilt and blight, from plant to plant. Additionally, in leafy crops like lettuce or spinach, the holes can bring down the quality of the leaves. Therefore, they are still important to consider a pest.
Photo Credit: University of California White Mountain Research Center. Flea beetles can cause leaves to appear lacy after they’ve caused a lot of damage.
How to Get Rid of Flea Beetles
- Try this homemade spray to control flea beetles: 2 cups isopropyl alcohol, 5 cups water, and 1 tablespoon liquid soap. Test out the mixture on a leaf of the plant, let it sit overnight, then spray the rest of the plant if you don’t notice any adverse effects. Spray the mixture on the foliage of garden plants that are susceptible to these pests.
- Dusting leaves with plain talcum powder repels flea beetles on tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and other plants.
- Use white sticky traps to capture flea beetles as they jump.
- Insecticides may be used early in the season, but are generally unnecessary in the control of flea beetles on adult plants. Be extra diligent if your soil has a history of bacterial diseases. Please contact your local nursery or cooperative extension for further advice.
Photo Credit: Jeff Hahn, University of Minnesota Extension. If you didn’t take preventative measures, it might be impossible to stop the flea beetle damage.
How to Prevent Flea Beetles
- In the spring, emerging flea beetles will be waiting to feast on your garden. Cut off their food supply by delaying transplanting or planting by a couple of weeks if possible.
- In the fall, till the garden to unearth any hiding flea beetles. This will also make the soil easier to work the next spring.
- Row covers may be successful at keeping these pests out, as long as they are completely sealed. They should be used immediately after transplanting, so the pests do not have time to find the plant.
- Flea beetles can be kept away from crops by planting strongly-scented plants such as catnip, sage, mint, or hyssop nearby. Nasturtium, radishes, and basil can be used as “trap crops” to take the beetles’ focus off of more valuable plants.
- Check out these tips to attract beneficial insects, which will prey on flea beetles.
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This article says that the flea beetles are repelled by nasturtiums but actually, they seem to be ravaging mine this year.
Yes, nasturtiums can be used as a trap crop; they will take the focus of the flea beetles away from the more valuable crops you are growing.
they live indoors and will jump
This totally did NOT work, nor did placing peppermint leaves on the eggplants. I saw more flea beetles after I sprayed than before. I think they loved it. I only have 6 eggplants, so I picked the beetles off and put them in soapy water. That killed them!
Tried this home brew recipe and 5 mins later, flea beetles were back, happy as ever. This treatment totally does not work. Just FYI.
Do they live indoors
yea and they will jump on you
No, cucumber beetles are not generally a problem indoors, unless they’ve hitchhiked on your clothing or a plant that you brought inside. Even then, they are unlikely to reproduce indoors.
hi, We have some mustard grown here, unfortunately, flea beetle left so many holes on them. After that, I found that the hole edge get purple, so it looks like there are so many purple holes on mustard. It's different from holes flea beetle left on other vegetables. Do you know the reason for this?
Some varieties of mustard naturally have a purplish tinge to the leaves, so our guess would be that the tissue immediately surrounding the holes in the leaves starts to die and lose its green chlorophyll, leaving the dark color around the holes. On the other hand, a fungal disease called alternaria leaf spot may cause purplish-black lesions in leaves. Search google for an image of alternaria leaf spot and see if it matches what you’re seeing. If alternaria leaf spot is the culprit, remove heavily affected leaves and avoid planting mustard in the same spot next year.
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