Cruciferous flea how to deal with reviews. How to get rid of cruciferous flea beetles on cabbage

After planting radishes and anticipating an abundance of harvest, after about a few weeks you notice that someone has worked thoroughly in your garden: he has chewed the leaves of plants to the holes and thereby caused considerable damage to your harvest ...

The proposed methods will help protect the future harvest and will be effective not only in early spring, when the cruciferous flea appears. The fight against it is most effective during the entire summer period:

  • covering young seedlings with non-woven material;
  • complete eradication of cruciferous weeds: rape;
  • regular weeding and loosening of the soil, especially in autumn, helps to destroy pests that have settled in the ground for the winter;
  • constant irrigation by sprinkling;
  • the use of insecticides: "Decis" at the rate of 3 ml of the drug per 10 liters of water (the solution is enough to treat 100 square meters), "Karate" - 2.2 ml per 10 liters of water;
  • treatment of the site with such biological products as "Aktellik", "Bankol" - 20 ml per 10 liters of water (1 liter of solution is enough for 10 square meters. m);
  • pollination of seedlings with ash with careful processing of the upper and lower leaves at least 3 times with intervals of 4-5 days;
  • plant protection using a special mixture of wood ash and tobacco powder, adhere to a 1: 1 ratio;
  • spraying with vinegar in dry weather: dilute 1-2 tbsp for 10 liters. l. 70% or half a liter of the usual 9% vinegar.

The cruciferous flea has no love for odorous aromas. Between the beds, you can pour naphthalene (for 10 sq. M. 30-50 grams of the product). Plants such as dill, coriander, marigolds, garlic, etc. emit odorous substances that repel pests, so they can also be used, for example, planted next to affected plants. it is advisable to render pests everywhere, calling on the owners of neighboring vegetable gardens to participate and jointly delivering a powerful blow to eliminate the enemies of the future harvest.

As soon as tender cabbage shoots appear (or plant seedlings of cabbage), an infinite number of tiny black bugs immediately appear, which pounce on young leaves ... It happens that in a day or two the shoots will be riddled like this (or even completely "cut off" the greens from the shoot ), that you shouldn't even dream of any harvest.

Cruciferous fleas wake up in spring, when the air temperature rises to + 15 ° C, they begin to actively develop, lay eggs and, of course, eat. The beetles scrape off the skin from young leaves and stalks of cabbage and radish, and their larvae eat thin roots ... If there are a lot of flea beetles, tender plants simply die from damage within 2-3 days.

If you don't fight with these flea beets, you can say goodbye to the harvest. We must fight. Moreover, the tools that will help you with this are always at hand. And remember: you don't have to wait for the fleas to call all their friends for lunch - they just planted (sowed) some cruciferous crops, you need to take preventive measures right away!

Folk methods of struggle

So, useful suggestions from experienced summer residents:

Maintaining a humid environment: with The first method is to water the seedlings and seedlings abundantly (the cruciferous flea does not like dampness). Therefore, cabbage, radishes and other crops affected by flea beetles are good for planting in damp (damp) places in the garden.

Dry pollinationleaves: n We run with the help of a gauze bag, simply shaking it (not empty, of course) over the leaves of cabbage, turnip or radish. If you do this in the early morning, when there is dew on the leaves, the repelling dust will stick to the leaves. And fleas do not like such dirty leaves anymore (either the dust sticks to their teeth, or they are afraid of intestinal infections - their problems, but this is good for us =)

How do we pollinate?

  • a mixture of wood ash and fluff lime in a 1: 1 ratio;
  • a mixture of ash and tobacco dust;

  • a mixture of ash and simple road dust (generally free and available - lying under your feet! =)

Dry pollination of soil between rows

  • tobacco dust;
  • with mothballs.


Spraying with infusions and decoctions of herbs

  • pour boiling water over the ash (in a ratio of 1: 3), insist for two days, add soap (liquid, diluted household soap);
  • mince 1 cup of garlic and 1 cup of tomato leaves and stepsons. Dilute the mixture in 10 liters of warm water, strain, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of liquid soap. Spray with a warm solution;
  • mince 500 g of dandelion leaves and roots, add water to a bucket, strain, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of soap;
  • hot water (10 l) pour 200 g of tobacco, strain, add st. a spoonful of soap;
  • add 1 glass of 9% table vinegar to 10 liters of water. If there is no vinegar at hand, then 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vinegar essence;
  • prepare an infusion of green wormwood, you can add garlic gruel there (100 g per 10 l of water). Strain. Watering in small droplets;
  • Pour 4 kg of potato tops with 10 liters of water and boil. Strain the cooled broth and dilute with water by half. Spray in the evenings;
  • exactly according to the same recipe, you can prepare a decoction from stepchildren of tomatoes.

Shelter for seedlings and seedlings

If you have a lightweight non-woven cover on hand material (spunbond, agrospan or lutrasil), cover young plants with it and feel free to do other things without fear of cruciferous nasty! This material will easily allow light, water and air to pass through, but flea beetles will have to jump to neighboring areas, where safety measures were not taken care of :))

Catching flea beetles on a sticky flag

Such a flag can be made from thick fabric, thin plywood, and even paper. Attach the cloth to a stick, cover it with a sticky adhesive substance (for example, grease or resin) and wave it over the plants, preferably slightly touching the leaves. Disturbed fleas jump and ... fall on the sticky layer of the flag. Several passes with a flag along the beds - and the flea population is significantly reduced! These passages are best done during the hottest part of the day.

Sly car service

If you have a car at your side, then flea beetles are just right to shout the guard - they are easy to catch on pieces of cloth, well soaked in used car or diesel oil. It is enough to spread this fabric on iron or cardboard sheets among the beds with cabbage, radishes, turnips and turnips (the distance between the traps is about 4 m). After 2-3 days, the fabric should be turned over to the other side.


Agrotechnical measures

It is important to prevent the mass appearance of cruciferous flea beetles. For this, it is recommended to regularly destroy cruciferous weeds on which beetles "lodge". , digging or - at choice, but it is better that these weeds were as few as possible.

In the fall, you need to dig or plow the soil. The flea, like many other pests, hibernates in the upper layers of the soil, and, once on an open surface, will die from frost over the winter.

Measures that will accelerate the growth and development of seedlings of young plants and seedlings are also very important: these are feeding with organic matter, saltpeter, regular watering and loosening.

Experienced gardeners advise planting cabbage, radishes and other cultivated cruciferous plants next to plants that emit odors that repel flea bees - phytoncides ... These are dill, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, caraway seeds, coriander, marigolds, nasturtium and calendula.

Well, it's not out of place to adapt to the conditions offered by nature - sowing radish, radish or daikon should be done either early, until the flea wakes up, or later, in late June - mid-July, when the flea is no longer so scary.

Chemical methods

Of course, you can also use chemical preparations, for example, treat seedlings with insecticide solutions: karbofos, Aktara, Decis, Arrivo, Sherpa or others (in specialized stores you will be advised quite a lot of effective means). It is best to spray with these preparations in the evening, after sunset. At this time, fleas, as a rule, sit on the leaves. For early ripening plants, it is advisable to use bioinsecticides:

You can find a large assortment of biological products for pest control in our catalog, which combines the offers of various garden online stores. ...

Cruciferous flea beetles are called one of the most dangerous radishes. They live everywhere, so every gardener can meet them.

Let's see what can be done with these pests and what are the ways to deal with them.

Description of the pest

Cruciferous has a very small size - no more than 3 mm. Often gardeners do not pay attention to them, because the bugs are so small that they merge with the ground. Their black color helps them stay invisible, but some species of flea beetles have yellow stripes on their backs.
The bugs wake up after winter as soon as the ground thaws. In spring, adults mainly eat (wild radish, field jar, rape and others), and then black fleas move to radishes and other cultivated plants of the cruciferous family.

Insect larvae eat mainly roots and cultivated plants. After turning from a larva into a full-fledged flea, the insect comes to the surface and damages the leaves and growth points.

Possible consequences

For radishes, fleas are very dangerous - they eat up thin and delicate leaves to holes, after which they dry out. A large number of flea beetles can destroy all the radishes in the garden in 2-3 days: adult bugs will eat the leaves and eat the skin on the stalks, while the larvae will destroy the roots of the plant.
It is necessary to fight cruciferous flea on radishes immediately after you notice it, and even better, to carry out prevention during planting.

Did you know? The largest radish was grown by the Israeli farmer Nissan Tamir. She weighed 10 kg and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Signs of a cruciferous flea beetle on a radish

The main signs of cruciferous flea beetle infestation are:

  • the presence of small bugs on the plant that jump in all directions if the leaf is disturbed;
  • the leaves of the plant are thin and skeletonized;
  • the presence of holes in the leaves;
  • leaf mining (passages are gnawed inside the leaves).
If at least one of these signs is found, it is necessary to treat the radish from the flea, which can prevent the death of plants.

Control methods

These insects are fought with both chemical and folk remedies. If the owner of the plot is rarely at the dacha, then it will be more convenient for him to use chemical agents to combat flea beetles.

But gardeners who are constantly on the site can defeat bugs and folk remedies.

Folk remedies

You can get rid of the flea beetles on the radishes using a product such as regular table vinegar. In a bucket of water, you need to dilute a bottle of vinegar and process the affected culture in dry weather. A tincture of 500 g of roots and leaves and a bucket of water helps well in the fight against the pest.

Important! Radish is an early ripening culture. If not necessary, do not use chemicals, as they can accumulate in the plant.

Also, a decoction from tomato or potato tops, which can be obtained by pinching the bushes, is suitable for. Add half a piece of grated laundry soap to this broth.
A large amount (2-4 kg) of fresh or dry tomato or potato tops should be soaked for four hours in 10 liters of water, then boiled, cooled and filtered. Then dilute the broth with water 1: 1.

If an excess ready-made broth remains, you can not pour it out, but save it until the next season, tightly closing the vessel with a lid.

Sprinkling the soil on which the radish grows with mothballs or tobacco dust helps a lot. This powder will be a good protection against flea beetles and a useful fertilizer at the same time. The procedure will be effective if it is done at least three times every 4-5 days.

A flea on a radish can be overcome with several more folk remedies. The tops of the plant can be sprinkled with black pepper or slaked lime over the dew that has fallen in the early morning. Experienced gardeners come up with various insect traps.
Often there are special sheds over the beds, the underside of which is smeared with something sticky (grease, resin). After a few days, fleas will stick to the trap and need to be replaced with a new one.

Important! During the pollination of radishes with mothballs, protective masks should be used, since its vapors are dangerous to human health.

Motorists can use pieces of cloth soaked in old car oil to fight insects. Pieces of fabric are laid out on cardboard sheets between radish beds for 2-3 days. After they need to be turned over to the other side and left for the same period. The traps are laid out at a distance of 4 meters from each other.

Chemicals

Before splashing a flea radish, you should try to fight it with natural remedies. If they do not help, you can switch to using special drugs.

The most effective insect control chemicals are:

  • Intavir;
  • "Bankol";
  • "Karate";
  • "Sherpa";
  • Tabazol;
  • "Kaiser";
  • "Zolon".
Observant gardeners have noticed that flea shampoo for dogs also does a good job at fighting these pests. 1-2 caps of shampoo should be diluted in a bucket of water and sprayed on the plants.

Important! Insecticides are used only on medium-sized radishes (they mature for 25 days) and only while the seedlings are young. Otherwise, there is a high probability of crop death.

It is important to take into account the required concentration of drugs, which is always written on the packaging and is different for all substances. For example, 20 ml of Actellik should be diluted with 10 liters of water. And if you use "Karate", 2.5 ml will be enough for the same amount of water.
Before processing all the seedlings, it is necessary to test the preparation on one plant. Then you need to observe the processed radish for a day and, if its condition has not worsened, you can continue to process the culture. They are sprayed with chemicals, usually in the evening, when the sun has already gone down. It is at this time of day that the cruciferous flea sits in a state of calm on the leaves of a radish. It is advisable to check the weather forecast for the night and the next day to make sure the weather will be dry. If the precipitation is still gone, you need to repeat the processing process.

It is important to remember that all safety rules are followed during the processing of plants with chemistry, so as not to accidentally get poisoned and not get chemical burns. You can collect and eat processed radishes only after a month has passed from the date of spraying.

Pest prevention

The appearance of a cruciferous flea on a radish is easier to prevent than to try to fight it with all your might. Cruciferous fleas are afraid of a wide variety of odors. To prevent the appearance of an insect, radish should be surrounded by such plants:

  • tansy;

One of the most dangerous pests in cabbage is the cruciferous flea. Having settled in the beds, she can completely ruin the harvest.

You can understand that this insect has appeared in the garden by discovering holes with uneven edges on the cabbage leaves.

Cabbage fleas live everywhere, excluding areas with very cold summers. They are called cruciferous because they feed on young plants of the cabbage family (mustard, radish, radish) and weeds belonging to this family.

In fact, these are not fleas, but leaf beetles. They got their name for jumping ability, which is similar to fleas and grasshoppers.

The body of flea beetles is round or elongated. These are small insects: female - 3 mm, male - 1.8 mm. The color of the elytra also depends on the gender.

The females of the cabbage flea die in June - July, after laying up to 20 small eggs, of which larvae appear in 6–12 days. These are light worms 2–4 mm long. They live in the upper layer of the earth and feed on small roots. After 15-30 days, the larvae pupate. After another 1-2 weeks, pupae turn into cabbage flea beetles.

The breeding process takes place once a year, but with a large number of cabbage flea beetles (from 50 or more pieces on one plant), they are able to destroy all cabbage plantings in 3-4 days.

The most common types of cabbage leaf beetles are:

  1. Light-footed flea. It lives in the southern regions. The back is greenish black. Elytra with yellow stripes with a black suture stripe. The paws are yellow, the head is black. The body length is up to 3.5 mm. The female lays eggs on a leaf blade.
  2. Wavy flea. Lives in the north of the European part of Russia, in the Urals, in Siberia, in the Far East. The suture strip is black, tapering towards the head. The elytra have yellow stripes with a notch. Body length - 2.5 mm.
  3. Southern cruciferous (black flea). The most dangerous of all cruciferous flea beetles. Elytra are black, with a metallic sheen. Body length - 1.8–3 mm.
  4. Notched flea. Distributed in Yakutia, Primorye, in the Far East. Body length - 2.2–2.8 mm. Elytra are dark with yellow stripes and a wide black suture stripe. Eggs are laid directly in the main root, making depressions.
  5. Blue flea. Lives in the Caucasus, in the European part of Russia, Asia, Western Siberia, Ukraine. The elytra are bright blue or green. It has a long antennae.

They overwinter in the upper layer of soil, fallen leaves or organic debris. They wake up during the thawing of the soil. At first, they settle on the first shoots of weeds of the cruciferous family, later they move to cabbage seedlings.

Cruciferous fleas love warm, dry weather. When the dew falls, they are motionless.

At the slightest danger, cabbage fleas scatter, and they can be seen with the naked eye. They like to hide and inside a fork of cabbage.

How to get rid of a flea

You need to start the fight against the cruciferous flea on cabbage as early as possible: the more insects are divorced, the more difficult it will be to deal with them.

The critical level of the number of cabbage flea beetles, with an increase in which you need to start a fight:

  • seedlings - 10% of plants have 3 to 5 bugs per sprout;
  • the formation of whorls of leaves - 10 bugs have settled on a quarter of the plants;
  • during the formation of a head of cabbage, there are 3-5 bugs on half of the plants.

Planting needs to be processed on a warm morning or evening, when there is no rain or wind.

Using any method, you need to strictly adhere to the instructions: take into account the concentration, time, frequency of treatments.

These pests rarely disappear after the first application of the formulations. Usually it takes at least 2-3 treatments of each sheet on both sides.

Folk recipes

Folk remedies help only at an early stage of the defeat of cabbage by a cruciferous flea.

1. Compositions for spraying:

1) Decoction of tops:

  • fresh tomato (potato) tops - 4 kg;
  • water - 10 l;
  • insist 4 hours, boil, cool;
  • add laundry soap - 40 g.
  • dilute with water 1: 1.

2) Tomato tops with garlic:

  • tops rolled through a meat grinder - 1 glass;
  • chopped garlic - 1 cup;
  • hot water - 10 liters;
  • steam and add liquid soap.

3) Slaked lime:

  • wood ash - 1 part;
  • lime - 1 part;
  • ground black pepper.

For 1 sq. m will require 30 g of the mixture. Landings are treated with dew.

4) Ash solution:

  • sifted ash - 3 kg;
  • water - 10 l;
  • insist 10 days, strain;
  • add 40 g of laundry soap.

Use several times with a two-week break.

5) Suspension of tobacco:

  • wood ash - 1 part;
  • tobacco (makhorka) - 1 part;
  • water.

The solution is also used for watering.

6) Infusion of celandine:

  • dry celandine - 200 g;
  • water - 10 l;
  • insist 2 days, strain;
  • add 40 g of liquid soap.

7) Wormwood decoction:

  • wormwood - 1 kg;
  • boil for 20 minutes;
  • chopped garlic - 100 g;
  • water - 10 liters.

8) Vinegar solution:

  • table vinegar - 200 g (or 2 tbsp. l. essence);
  • water - 10 liters.

2. Dusting:

In the morning or in the evening, when there is dew, the planting of cabbage and the aisles are sprinkled with powders. Apply 30 g of dry composition to 1 m2 of cabbage bed. It is convenient to use a gauze bag.

The procedure must be repeated after watering or rain. During the season, dusting is carried out at least three times with a break of 4–5 days.

Dry substances for scaring away cabbage flea beetles:

  • sifted wood ash;
  • tobacco dust;
  • road dust;
  • dried and mashed celandine or tansy;
  • ground pepper.

Funds can be alternated and mixed.

1) Alcohol:

  • water - 10 l;
  • ammonia (valerian) - 40 drops.

2) Chicken droppings:

  • water - 20 parts;
  • litter - 1 part;
  • wait until fermented.

3) Vegetable:

  • sagebrush;
  • garlic;
  • dandelion leaves.

4) Cold: water with very cold water for several days in a row.

The processing of cabbage according to folk recipes should be carried out regularly throughout the season. But with a large accumulation of bugs, these methods will not help. What to do in this case?

Fighting with chemicals

Chemicals are effective but dangerous... Dilute insecticides strictly according to the instructions. The work is carried out using protective equipment (masks, gloves).

This is done no later than 20 days before eating vegetables. Therefore, insecticides are not used to protect early varieties of cabbage.

The most common substances:

  1. "Imidalite". Designed for seed treatment.
  2. Actellik. Organophosphate insecticide in the form of an emulsion. Dilute 2 ml of the substance in 1 liter of water. This amount is sufficient for the treatment of 10 m2. The plantings are sprayed twice with a break of 20 days.
  3. Bi-58. Contact action liquid insecticide. One ampoule is diluted in 5 or 10 liters of water.
  4. "Decis". A universal preparation for contact action. In the heat it is not used. Safe for humans.
  5. Diazinon. The soil is treated before planting seedlings.
  6. Intavir. Moderately toxic drug in the form of tablets (powder). It is bred according to the instructions and sprayed with cabbage three times with a break of 3 weeks.
  7. "Bankol". Medium toxic powder. Applied during the growing season. Protects the plant for two weeks. Vegetables can be used 1 week after application.
  8. "Karate". Toxic. Effective in contact with an insect. The plantings are sprayed during the growing season by dissolving 2 ml of the substance in 10 liters of water.
  9. Aktaru. Available in granules or in suspension. It can be applied to the soil and used to spray plants.
  10. "Phenaxin". Fast-acting remedy. For processing 1 sq. m is enough 5 g of substance.

Please note that chemicals are washed off by rain. The treatment can be omitted only if the rain has passed no earlier than 12 hours after spraying the cabbage.

Mechanical methods

These are the safest and most effective ways to harm the cabbage.

  1. Catching. A sticky layer is applied to the fabric (plywood sheet, cardboard): glue, grease, syrup. The fabric is attached to the stick. You need to run the cloth over the cabbage. Frightened cabbage fleas jump and stick to the rag. From time to time, the insects are cleaned off and the adhesive is replaced.
  2. Catching for oil. Between the rows of plantings, sheets are laid out, covered with used machine oil. Getting on them, cabbage pests stick. Traps are placed in 2 pieces per 1 sq. m.
  3. Catching flea beetles with sticky tape for flies.
  4. Paper traps. They are made if individual plants are infected. The paper is rolled up in a cone. From the inside, grease with a sticky compound and put on a diseased head of cabbage. In this case, you need to carefully disturb the escape, frightening off the flea beetles.
  5. The traps are solid. The caps can be replaced with sheets of plywood or cardboard by placing them in the aisles. As they move, fleas stick to them.

Between the cabbage heads, you can put flat containers with pungent-smelling substances: for example, diluted kerosene. Pests fall there and die.

Prevention and how to protect planting from defeat

You can protect cabbage plantings from colonization by cruciferous flea beetles. Then you do not have to take measures to combat them and use harmful drugs on the site.

Prevention begins in the fall. The beds are dug deeply so that the insects die.
Waking up in spring, cabbage fleas feed on weeds of the cruciferous family: rape, wild radish, shepherd's purse. Therefore, they must be carefully weeded out.

Moreover, these herbs and flowers should not be taken away even into the compost pit. It is better to remove them completely and around the site.

In the spring, sprinkle cabbage beds with sand or stepchildren of tomatoes, cut grass, chopped tansy.

When planting cabbage, you need to take into account the life span of fleas. The early varieties should be planted in early April, the late ones in July. In this case, the cabbage leaves will have time to harden before the pests appear.

Early varieties of cabbage are planted under a film so that insects that have wintered on the weeds do not move to the beds. When the seedlings are strong, the non-woven fabric can be removed. In summer, cabbage beds are covered from bugs in hot weather.

The proximity to plants, the smell of which these bugs do not like, scares off the flea well. Therefore, cabbage is planted next to garlic, dill, coriander, potatoes, caraway seeds. You can plant marigolds next door.

Timely watering is also important. In cold water, you can add infusions of dandelion, wormwood, garlic.

In order for the cabbage to grow healthy, strong and able to resist pests, it must be carefully looked after and fed on time: superphosphate, ammonium nitrate, potassium chloride.

How to understand that cruciferous fleas are firmly settled on the site? And it's very easy - your landings look like this, and black bugs with a curved shiny back are jumping among them.

cruciferous flea on radishes

You need to start fighting cruciferous flea as early as possible, so it will be easier to save the plants. In a matter of days, this pest can completely destroy seedlings of cabbage, radish, lettuce and other crops. Most often they settle on cabbage or radishes.

There are effective folk remedies for cruciferous flea beetles, but the most powerful remedies are, of course, chemical ones. What to use is up to you.

How to deal with a cruciferous flea

1. Immediately after emergence, dust the plantings with wood ash or tobacco dust. Powder planting with ground pepper and slaked lime helps well. It is advisable to carry out such treatments after each watering, while you see that the pest is still present in the beds.

2. Spray the plantings with a bite solution, diluting a glass of 9% vinegar in a bucket of water, or 1-2 tablespoons. spoons of 70% vinegar essence.

3. Pass through a meat grinder 1 cup of garlic and 1 cup of tomato leaves. Dilute the mixture in 10 liters of warm water, strain, add 1 tablespoon of liquid soap. Spray with a warm solution.

4. Spraying with infusion of garlic and bitter wormwood also helps.

5. In spring, plant marigolds, calendula and coriander around cruciferous beds, they scare away flea beetles.

6. You can fight the cruciferous flea with mothballs, just scatter the dry mixture along the beds (to process 10 square meters of plantings, you will need 50 g of naphthalene)

Many gardeners immediately cover plantings with cruciferous plants with a covering material (lutrasil, spunbond or agrospam), this also saves well from fleas. You can water the plants from above on the material, it passes water, light and air well, but it interferes with flea beetles.

cruciferous fleas on eggplant

Of the chemical preparations for the cruciferous flea, Actellic can be used. Add 20 ml of this preparation to 10 liters of water. For spraying 10 sq. meters of planting usually takes 1 liter of solution.

Do not use chemicals on early vegetables, such as radishes, or the chemicals will end up on your table.

Cruciferous flea, photo

Can you please tell me how you deal with the cruciferous flea on garden plants? What helped to get rid of her? What folk remedies or chemicals do you recommend using in the fight against this pest?