Flea Beetles and Homegrown Pineapple

Keep flea beetles away from eggplant using wood ashes and regrow a pineapple by peeling off the bottom leaves to find small roots.

By Reader Tips
Updated on December 14, 2021
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by AdobeStock/Fotikphoto

Flea Beetles Be Gone

I love eating eggplant, and I’ve been trying to grow the plants for years. I’ve tried all the suggested ways to prevent flea beetles, from growing catnip alongside the plants, to spraying the plants with soapy water, to watering them with hot pepper water. I’ve also tried neem oil, diatomaceous earth, and reflective foil. Nothing worked!

closeup of purple eggplants growing on a stem

This year, someone suggested I try wood ashes. I heat with wood and have a lot of wood ash, so I sprinkled it around my baby eggplants and dusted it on the leaves. I did this each time I saw new leaf growth or after a rain. I continued a regular application of wood ash until I saw fruit starting to form. After that, I just kept my eye on the plants and sprinkled more ashes as needed.

It worked wonderfully! I didn’t find a single flea beetle or other plant-chomping insect on any of my eggplants, even though I saw them on nearby weed-like plants. This is the first time in my gardening experience that I’ve had beautiful, 3-foot-tall eggplants loaded with lots of fruit and bunches of flowers.

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