tater bugs

[randyt]

Tater bugs are bothering my taters. I've been picking them off but have been wondering about a natural pesticide to help with getting rid of them. Not really into using sevin dust. Any thoughts?

[bacpacker]

Sevin is all I use other than picking them. It breaks down pretty quickly. But I know of nothing natural that works on them.

[gryffynklm]

I don't have a problem with hornworms, but you got me curious. I found a recipe for a dish soap, water and garlic solution that is supposed to work. I haven't tried it but here it is. The link also speaks of hand picking, Bacillus Thuringiensis, and roto tilling as a prevention for next season. Interesting info.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/natural...rms-27632.html


Because most commercial insecticides contain chemicals that can harm beneficial insects and other wildlife, many gardeners choose to kill tomato hornworms using homemade remedies. Try making your own insecticide spray by combining 1 cup of vegetable oil with 1.5 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of dish soap. To make a garlic insecticide spray, steep several crushed cloves of garlic overnight in a mixture containing one part liquid dish soap and 100 parts water. Homemade insecticide sprays can be poured directly into a hand-held spray bottle and applied to the leaves and vines of your tomato plants. To increase the potency of your homemade insecticide sprays, try adding some cayenne pepper powder or steep a few chili peppers in the liquid mixture.

[Rick]

First, let's define what we're talking about since a bunch of bugs go by the name potato bug. I'm going to assume Colorado Potato Beetle because of where you are located. Yellow and black striped beetles?

There are a number of things you can do to offset the damage but I'm not aware of any natural insecticide. The best thing you can do is plant spuds early so the flowers bloom before the beetles can do damage. I know that's tough in your neck of the woods.

If you mulch your taters that helps. It attracts hunting spiders and carabid beetles so they help control all pests including the potato beetle. I mulch my garden and the dang thing is lousy with spiders. But they do a pretty good job of taking out the riff raff.

You can purchase nematodes but they are pretty expensive. You can also look for something called Btt. It's a bacteria that causes disease in the potato beetle but doesn't bother us or critters. Here's some information on it.

http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/veg202.html

Or you can do what you've been doing. When grandpa's spuds came into bloom everyone hit the field and hand picked the blasted things and dropped them in a paper sack. Then everyone's sack was burned to destroy them.

[bacpacker]

I hadn't heard of using Bt on tater bugs. I do use it on all my cole crops cabbage cauliflour brussell sprouts. It breaks down in about 3 days in sunlight. I try that on the taters next year. Guess you need to start spraying around egg time when they lay.

[randyt]

Thanks for the advise. I'll probably use some sevin dust this year and then next year rotate my tater patch to another area.

they are the colorado potato beetle.

[gryffynklm]

Ah a bit different . Try Diatomaceous Earth. It is a fine powder that irritated the joints on beetles. It is inert and will not effect your soil. Like other things it will wash off and may have to be reapplied after a rain.

[nell67]

I use just dish soap and water in a pump up spray bottle on all the little critters that feed on my plants,1 tsp of dish soap per quart of water,just don't keep spraying when the water runs out and it is only suds left in the bottle,the suds hang around on the leaves and when the sun hits,burn the leaves.

[nell67]

SInce plants breathe through their leaves,I would not use any oil in the dish soap and water mixture,you will not only smother the plant,but fry the leaves when the sun hits them as well

[randyt]

I gave them a touch of sevin dust earlier today. Next time around I'll try the dish soap mix.

I have a big container of D-earth too, I'll give that a try too.

[Rick]

Just remember that DE doesn't work once wet. So if it rains after application you'll need to used it again.

[nell67]

Just remember that DE doesn't work once wet. So if it rains after application you'll need to used it again.

Normally THAT wouldn't be an issue (not calling it a problem) but this year we are inundated with rain,our area has had from 10-20" in one weeks time,that's a lot of rain for us for a whole summer,but we really haven't had flooding to speak of due to the way it has fallen,1-2" a day,we have not had a day without rain in that past 3 weeks,kinda feels like Florida weather.

Back to the topic,I quit using sevin because I am going organic,my boyfriend rather is going organic at my direction,because everything I mention, he does,since I am still restricted in what I am allowed to do and he makes sure I follow those restrictions. I tried an organic bug dust from Bromide,but it didn't touch the aphids on the tomatoes,I found the dish/water suggestion online and it worked great other than I sprayed the suds on on plant that was very infected and tried using them to loosen and rub the bugs off,it worked,but the suds didn't drip off and burned those leaves.

[oldtrap59]

I use the soap and water treatment in our garden often. I used to use sevin and another product called ronotone alot but have now gotten away from those. Rotation is the best answer to bug problems imo. I understand that the size of your garden kind of controls how much you can rotate your crops but do what you can. It will make a difference.

Oldtrap

BTW I agree with Rick on the idea of mulch helping by giving the preditors a place to live. I mulch heavily and my garden is full of spiders, lady bugs.

[Oddmott]

We've been potato-pest free for nearly 5 years running now.

There's a plant growing near our gardens that is a relative of the nightshade/potato family. It's repelling and poisoning the pests. I'll try to get a bit more information, correct name and some images to share.

Plant a couple of these at the corners of your garden and you're laughing.

[randyt]

thanks for all the comments. Currently rabbits are wreaking havoc on my garden and would ya know since I started carrying, the rabbits disappeared. I never had a rabbit problem when Lyla dog kept watch. She kept everybody toeing the line.

[Rick]

Randy - Next year plant your taters in Ottawa.

[randyt]

It's such a walk when it comes to weeding and hoeing but I'll take it under consideration.

[Oddmott]

I've tried asking around for more detailed information but can't find much. My family kinda just passes down information without really worrying too much about identifying plants exactly by latin name.

What I have found is that planting various other nightshades (common, bittersweet, even deadly) near your garden is great for keeping all manner of pests away. They are highly attractive to many pests, but very poisonous to them as well, eliminating your problem with little effort.

A lot of people also suggest planting onion, garlic and bean barrier rows between their rows of potatoes to inhibit the spread of the beetles. However, if you're like us and planting a 1/2 acre or more of potatoes, that doesn't really make sense.

I'm waiting for an email from my uncle who has better answers, but he's a full time electrician and a full time farmer and hasn't sent me an email in 4 months. lol

[nell67]

I've tried asking around for more detailed information but can't find much. My family kinda just passes down information without really worrying too much about identifying plants exactly by latin name.

What I have found is that planting various other nightshades (common, bittersweet, even deadly) near your garden is great for keeping all manner of pests away. They are highly attractive to many pests, but very poisonous to them as well, eliminating your problem with little effort.

A lot of people also suggest planting onion, garlic and bean barrier rows between their rows of potatoes to inhibit the spread of the beetles. However, if you're like us and planting a 1/2 acre or more of potatoes, that doesn't really make sense.

I'm waiting for an email from my uncle who has better answers, but he's a full time electrician and a full time farmer and hasn't sent me an email in 4 months. lol

Picture??? We love playing the guessing game with plants around here,and sometimes,somebody actually knows what something is.Really!

[Oddmott]

Picture??? We love playing the guessing game with plants around here,and sometimes,somebody actually knows what something is.Really!

Yeah I'll get a few. It'll be a week or two till I get up to our plot though. Awaiting the birth of my first son (currently 4 days overdue) and can't risk straying the 2 hours away from the hospital to head to the homestead. Wife has had me on lockdown since early june... going a little stir crazy.
I'll ask my bro to see if he can grab some pics quicker.