Last year, my first year growing potatoes, I had a big problem with Colorado Potato Beetles.
This may have been because the first time that I saw them, I was captivated. I mean, theyāre beautiful insects. I noticed them, I admired them, I watched them a little, and then I went off, leaving them to their business.
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Big mistake.
Because not too long afterwards, when I was out inspecting, there were not only adult beetles, but this.
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These are potato beetle larvae, fattening up on my potato leaves. I can say this because it was at about this point last year that I bothered to find out what these bugs were and whether or not I wanted them there.
As it turns out, I didnāt.
They were also eating my eggplant. What to do about it? Well, pesticides were out, so the fact that they apparently become resistant to a pesticide very quickly was immaterial to me. I read a paper from the University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture that said:
āPotato plants can withstand considerable defoliation without yield loss. Plants can lose up to 30 percentĀ of their foliage without yield loss. Generally, insecticides do not need to be applied unless there is more than an average of one beetle or larva per plant. Additionally, some beneficial insects such as birds, predatory stink bugs, and parasitic flies will help to reduce Colorado potato beetle numbers somewhat.ā
This was reassuring to me, because from this I was able to ascertain last year that my problem with the potato beetles was not too bad. I had never seen more than one or two on a plant at a time, and when I walked through all my plants (I had about a dozen banana fingerling plants) I usually only found one or two plants that had any on them at all.
So, I added potato beetle patrol to my list of daily garden chores. Whenever I saw them I would pick them off and crush them. I managed to keep things relatively under control, and got pretty deft at pinching the larvae between the folds of the leaf they were eating. It was a messy and unpleasant business, but I did what I had to do.
This year I was thinking about potato beetles before the seed potatoes even went into the ground. As the plants got bigger (this year I have closer to 40) I kept a regular patrol, walking between the rows. I checked the undersides of leaves. I was vigilant, and my vigilance was rewarded withā¦
Well, as it turns out there was little to be vigilant about. I found and crushed a few adult beetles, then never saw another adult. I found one plant infested with larvae and over the course of a day or two managed to find and crush them all. There were stray larvae on a few other plants. But that was it. My potatoes remained largely uneaten this year. What gives? Whatās different? My gut feeling was that it is this: The ladybug.
I have tons of ladybugs in my garden this year. I didnāt import them. I donāt remember it being this way last year. Theyāre just there. Crawling all over my potato plants, my tomatoes, my peppers. I see them poised on the tips of straw. They land on my arm. Theyāre everywhere.
Still, in my usual fashion, I didnāt jump right up and start researching the issue. I just wandered around the garden, looking at the ladybugs, and thinking, Huh. I wonder if thatās why I donāt really have any potato beetles.
Then, finally, I sat down to a Google page and asked the question. It turns out that ladybugs are sold as a natural predator for, among other things, Colorado Potato Beetles. They eat the eggs. So my hardworking ladybugs probably cleaned up most of the damage done by what adult beetles did visit me, before I ever even knew it was there.
Lucky me.
Iām going to put this experience in the āwin someā column.
Thank you for this, you really helped me with some questions I had.
Shannon, That's awesome! I've never had a problem with Potato beetles, and over the last two years my potato patch has been much larger than in past years. - I have 75-80 plants - I've been watching carefully because I figure growing that many plants should attract some of them but it hasn't. Now I may know why. We always have wild sunflowers that grow intermingled with our potatoes. These attract aphids, and with those aphids, we get Lady beetles. Last year we had thousands aroung the garden I think. That must be helping I think. Thanks for the great info and very good pics too. I'll make sure to thank the ladies as well! Paul~
Thanks N. Dave! Good luck with those potatoes!
@Shannon, I think itās great any time we can balance nature with nature. We got our first wave of Japanese lady bugs last year. I donāt even know if they are related to the lady bug but they look almost identical except for a difference in the number of spots and teeth. The Japanese lady bugs can bite. It feels kind of like when being bitten by a fly. Iām not sure what they eat or if they are beneficial but I know we had lots of them last year. I havenāt seen any lady bugs this year Japanese or American. However, I havenāt had any problem with bugs (Well except for mosquitoes). With all the rain we have been getting those skeeters are huge. Iām glad to hear that the ladies of the bug world have taken care of the dad blasted olā Colorado bugs. My potato plants are looking good. I inspect them quite often and so far havenāt found any bugs of any kind. I plan on rotating my beds each year so hopefully there wonāt be a problem with bugs or diseases. Well thatās my plan. Dumping several inches of new compost on each bed may have helped some as well. Well hereās to a good crop of spuds in 2010 (raising coffee cup). Thanks for giving us a heads up about lady bugs.