We introduced green beans into our garden this year and now we have a gold beetle infestation that is eating the bean leaves and has decimated cabbage. Any recs on how to handle? Should we pull the beans? I’m worried about the rest of the garden.
@misslovelymess Neem oil seems to be the common answer:
“ Simply mix two tablespoons of neem oil and one tablespoon of dish soap with one gallon of water. Use a spray bottle to apply the mixture to areas where you see clusters…”
@damselfly59 @Jeffj1111 I, too, learned this today. CoSo is brilliant. The anal fork got me as well.
@misslovelymess @damselfly59 @Jeffj1111
I suspect they all emerged at once. If they're large enough bugs, just picking them off will go a long way. My Japanese beetle infestation was heavy but two days of picking seems to have gotten them under control.
@AlphaCentauri I think I just noticed them today but I told hubs there was something wrong with the beans last week. So they are building an empire, I think.
@AlphaCentauri I did pick a bunch though.
@misslovelymess @damselfly59 @Jeffj1111
If they are really gold tortoise beetles, looks like there's only one generation a year in your area. There's a downloadable tip sheet on Rutgers' website. Probably too late for this year, but it looks like if you grow a sweet potato, they'll all move over to it to make it easier to take care of them.
Another possibility is Mexican bean beetles, which do like beans more than tortoise beetles do, or the bean leaf beetle.
@AlphaCentauri I think they are the last one. I shiny gold/bronze with black spots.
@misslovelymess @damselfly59 @Jeffj1111
When you have spotted beetles there are more options. Neem oil looks like the way to go with bean leaf beetles, which will have 2-3 generations a year and grubs that damage the roots.
https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/green-bean-beetle-control/
@AlphaCentauri I got all the tops, tonight I will go out and pick some more and get the bottom of the leaves. Thanks!
@AlphaCentauri @misslovelymess @damselfly59 @Jeffj1111 beautiful critters, they are
@Jeffj1111 @misslovelymess
Things I learn on thursdays...thanks!
The tortoise beetle larvae’s skin and poop shield defense system known as the anal fork👀 is no match for insects with long piercing-sucking mouthparts, and only really defends the larvae from small predators with efficiency. Damsel bugs😍 , shield bugs, assassin bugs😵 , and several species of ladybird beetle can all be effectively used to kill golden tortoise beetle larvae.