Potato leaves riddled with holes? Shiny black beetles present on potato plants? Could be flea beetles. Learn more about this garden pest.
What is it?
Potato flea beetles are shiny black beetles which jump in the same manner as fleas, but are completely unrelated to what we commonly think of as fleas. Both adult and mature potato flea beetles can be of extensive damage and harm to the potato plants in your vegetable garden at various stages of their development. Potato flea beetles are also known to spread a variety of plant diseases which can harm or kill potato plants as well as the other plants in your vegetable garden.
What does it look like?
Potato plant flea beetles are tiny, shiny and a very dark black insect. Potato flea beetles grow only up to 1/8 inch and they will jump just like fleas when they are disturbed for any reason. You can occasionally see clusters of these garden pests jumping on disturbed leaves if infestations has been allowed to get severe, otherwise you may only notice the damage to potato plants rather than the insects themselves. Potato plants with flea beetle damage will have holes in their leaves which look almost as if they have been shot they are so riddled with openings. The holes are usually about 1/8 inch in diameter which is the typical size of the potato flea beetle, but may join together to form larger openings. The potato flea beetles chew the leaves from the undersides . Potato plant seedlings are especially susceptible and in many cases whole potato plants can wither, wilt, and die if left untreated, regardless of their stage of development or maturity.
How does it manifest?
Potato flea beetles start out as legless whitish grey grubs which have hatched from eggs that have been laid be female potato flea beetles in the soil surrounding your potato plants. These legless grubs feed on the roots and undersides of leaves in potato plants for approximately three to five weeks after they hatch.. After pupating in the soil around potato plants, flea beetles emerge as mature adults and begin the process again feeding for up to two months on weeds and vegetable seeds. Potato flea beetles reproduce quickly, and can therefore create up to four generations of mature flea beetles each growing season. As adult beetles, these garden pests chew holes in the potato leaves, leaving them looking riddled as if by a shotgun. These potato plant leaves quickly wither, dry out and die. Adult potato flea beetles may feed for a period of up to two months.
What can you do about it?
When you see the first signs of potato flea beetle damage on potato plant leaves in your vegetable garden, use an insecticide which contains either pyrethrins, or diazinon to help control the population of these garden pests. Each time new potato plant growth is affected, or you find further damage from flea beetles, repeat the application of the chosen insecticide. You can repeat the insecticide treatment, as long as you are using pyrethrins or diazinon, safely every seven days if necessary. Additionally, make sure to clear away all plant debris which can harbor flea beetles and other garden pests and insect as well as their eggs which can overwinter.
