A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Flea Beetles

For some reason these bugs are attracted to the color yellow.The yellow sticky traps work quite well.

Last year I wised up and made my own.Use any kind of stiff yellow paper.I've been saving those foam plates that meat comes on.Put a twig or bamboo skewer through both sides so it stands up like a sign.
Coat it with vaseline.

This has worked great for me.If your infestation is really bad. neem oil will work too.

happy bug huntin'

Wow, thanks so much for the answer. I'm getting the vaseline right now!
I sure like when I don't have to use chemicals

hey duckie will you post that in the frugal gardening section too???

I have used tobbacco dust to contol flea beetles. It is organic.

And for Companion planting and being organic...

If you plant radish's near another plant that usually gets devoured by flea beetles, the fb's will go to the radish's first and leave the others' alone..
And the radish's grow fast enough too, where they are not bothered by the fb's chewing...

with the yellow sticky cards, don't forget that yellow attracts and will trap your beneficials as well as pest insects.

also i tried the marigolds in my eggplants to repel the flea beetles, they were worthless.. and by the end of the summer the Japanese beetles ate all the marigolds.

I realllllly like the radish's...
They did a great job with them and keeping them off of my Wonder Egg plant....

Well, I should say, they got on those plants and as soon as I moved the containers to where the radish's were, they were gone..........

I agree about the marigolds being worthless. I have heard that they deter certain harmful nematodes when turned under, though.

i would be interested in knowing then how that impacts the native beneficial nematodes that help control things like flea beetles and other pests that spend part of their life in the soil.

I often wonder about those things. I am very reluctant to spray even "safe" pesticides when I see beneficials present, and I lose a lot of vegetables because of that! Also, being a butterfly gardener, I often forfeit a lot of vegetables to cabbage loopers and other caterpillars. I'm a little too generous that way...