Cultural and Mechanical Control. Hosing off your eggplant with a strong blast from your garden hose can help control small flea beetle populations. Prevent the pests from even reaching your eggplants by covering seedlings and young plants with floating row covers.
What is the best pesticide for eggplant?
The insecticides used by vegetable farmers on eggplant include profenofos, triazophos, chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, and malathion. Residues from their application have been found in both the soils of eggplant farms and in harvested fruits.
What keeps eating my eggplant?
Aphids and whiteflies both have piercing, sucking mouthparts used to suck the sap out of eggplant leaves and stems. Both pests are primarily found on the undersides of the leaves. As they feed, they secrete a sticky waste known as honeydew.
What do you spray on eggplant leaves?
A variety of chemical insecticides are labeled for flea beetles. Organic options are neem oil, garlic-based sprays, rotenone, pyrethrins and Pyola (a canola oil and pyrethrins combo from www.gardensalive.com.) You might need to spray every week or so through August, when flea beetles taper off for the season.
How do I keep beetles off my eggplant?
Prevention/control
For eggplant, drape the row cover over hoops – don’t let the material lay directly on plants. Spray a product like “Surround”, which are repellents made from kaolin clay mixed with water. They create a particle barrier after drying that inhibits flea beetles and greatly reduces feeding.
How do I make my eggplant bear more fruit?
If you have poor fruit set, hand-pollinate the flowers to help increase production. Use an electric toothbrush to vibrate to flower stems (not the flowers themselves) for a few seconds each to help the pollen move within the flowers. 9. The more frequently the fruits are harvested, the greater the fruit set.
What is a natural way to get rid of flea beetles?
How to Get Rid of Flea Beetles
- Try this homemade spray to control flea beetles: 2 cups isopropyl alcohol, 5 cups water, and 1 tablespoon liquid soap.
- Dusting leaves with plain talcum powder repels flea beetles on tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and other plants.
- Use white sticky traps to capture flea beetles as they jump.
Should I prune my eggplants?
ANSWER: Eggplants, like fellow nightshade family member tomatoes benefit from staking and pruning. In fact, eggplant actually produces more fruit when pruned. Pruning eggplant can also improve the fruit quality of the plant, and decrease the plant’s susceptibility to disease.
What eats eggplant in the garden?
Besides the most serious of eggplant pests, there are also numerous other pests that cause less severe damage. Thrips, flea beetles, cutworms, armyworms, aphids, and white flies can also find food in maturing eggplant plants. The treatment for such insects is usually very simple and can be cured in reasonable time.
Do coffee grounds deter flea beetles?
Coffee grounds are a good repellent for flea beetles, but to get rid of them, the best and most effective option is diatomaceous earth, which will dehydrate the pests on contact.
What insect eats eggplant?
The 10 Most Destructive Garden Insects and How to Get Rid of Them
- Aphids. Radu Bercan/Shutterstock.
- Cabbage Maggot. studio 2013/Shutterstock.
- Caterpillars. polarpx/Shutterstock.
- Cutworms. Sarah2/Shutterstock.
- Colorado Potato Beetle. Sergiy Kuzmin/Shutterstock.
- Mexican Bean Beetle.
- Flea Beetle.
- Tarnished Plant Bug.
How do you make insecticidal soap?
Can I make my own insecticidal soap? Certainly! By mixing 2.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 2.5 tablespoons of pure liquid soap with 1 gallon of distilled water, you’ll have a whole gallon of insecticidal soap for safely spraying plants in flowerbeds or the vegetable garden.
What is the best natural insecticide?
5 Natural Pesticides You Could Use To Grow Your Own Kitchen…
- Neem Leaf. Neem has long been used for its medicinal and culinary properties.
- Salt Spray. One of the best and most natural ways to make pesticides at home is salt spray.
- Onion And Garlic Spray.
- Eucalyptus Oil.
- Chrysanthemum Flower Tea.
What can I spray on my vegetable plants to keep bugs off?
Oil Spray: Mix 1 cup of vegetable oil with 1 tablespoon of mild liquid soap. Add 2-8 teaspoons of this mixture to 1 quart of water and spray your plants as above. The oil in this spray smothers the insects so it is effective on aphids, thrips, mites, and scale.
How do you control eggplant fruit and shoot borer?
Control and Management:
Monitor the area regularly. Remove damaged and infested shoots and fruits and dispose properly. Use of attractant or pheromone lure to suppress male population. Spray botanical insecticides such as neem, hot pepper and kakawate extracts.
Do cucumber beetles eat eggplant?
Image by carol2chat Cucumber beetles will eat the leaves, flowers, and fruit of bean, cucumber, melon, asparagus, corn, eggplant, and squash plants and their larva will chew on the roots of these plants.
Is Epsom salt good for eggplants?
As the plants grow, they need an even moisture supply. They do well with a drip irrigation system, but many watering methods work. When the first blossoms appear, spray the plants with a seaweed extract with one teaspoon of Epsom salts dissolved per gallon. The solution improves fruit set.
Are coffee grounds good for eggplant plants?
What plants like coffee grounds? Like a tomato plant or roses, eggplants thrive in acidic soil, and adding coffee grounds is an easy way to ensure your soil reaches the proper pH.
What should you not plant next to eggplant?
Eggplant – A good companion for amaranth, beans, marigolds, peas, peppers, spinach, and thyme. Do not plant eggplants near fennel.
What time of day are flea beetles most active?
Flea beetle damage can advance quickly.
Julie Soroka, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research scientist with a specialty in flea beetles, says that on warm and calm days, damage can advance from 25% in the morning to 50% by evening.
What kills flea beetle?
Control Flea Beetles
At the first sign of flea beetles in your garden, turn to a trusted pesticide such as Sevin brand for help. Sevin Insect Killer Ready to Use2 kills flea beetles on listed vegetables on contact to help prevent damage to tender seedlings and maturing plants at the first sign of trouble.
Justin Shelton is a professional cook. He’s been in the industry for over 10 years, and he loves nothing more than creating delicious dishes for others to enjoy. Justin has worked in some of the best kitchens in the country, and he’s always looking for new challenges and ways to improve his craft. When he’s not cooking, Justin enjoys spending time with his wife and son. He loves exploring new restaurants and trying out different cuisines.