Ways to combat the Colorado potato beetle on folk remedies

First Colorado the bug appeared in Europe in 1877 and began to regularly cause catastrophic damage to the potato crop. In the fight against the Colorado potato beetle you need to act decisively and consistently.To date, the fight against the Colorado potato beetle with folk remedies is the most popular alternative to chemical treatment. Folk remedies for the treatment of the Colorado potato beetle are popular in that when the measures are followed, they do not harm plantings and do not adversely affect potato tubers. In order for treatment with folk remedies to succeed, you need to deal with the Colorado potato beetle in the early stages of its appearance.

Fighting the Colorado potato beetle dstvami

Characteristics of the Colorado potato beetle

To diagnosed growers planting infestation properly, Colorado potato beetle should be identified, that it was him. The insect can reach up to 15 mm in length and has unique identification features. On the body of an adult pest there are 5 black longitudinal stripes and yellow wings. You can also see several black spots on the yellow or orange abdomen.

In the soil you can see pest larvae that appear with a reddish-brown body, on the head and sides of the pest there are bright, black spots.

Males and females visually almost indistinguishable. Depending on weather conditions, the eggs of Colorado beetles can ripen from 3 to 15 days. Over the next 2-4 weeks, larvae develop in various stages. Then the larvae fall to the ground to penetrate deep into the soil. After about 1 month, the pests crawl as adult beetles and their life cycle repeats.

Causes of occurrence

• In colder climates, adults hibernate deep in the soil. In this case, it is very important to carry out soil treatment before planting potatoes.
• When the temperature is 15 degrees and above, the beetles go hunting and begin to hit the plantings. In this case, insects need to be removed from planting before the time of warming.
• Nests are located in groups on the lowest leaves of the plant, so it is important to weed the beds and spud potatoes in time.

Why you need to fight

It is recommended to deal with the appearance of the Colorado potato beetle immediately and you can use improvised methods for this. If you start infection with insects, then the beetle can eat all the potatoes. The Colorado pest breeds quite actively, so many gardeners do not use chemicals.The main reason for this is the ability of the beetle to adapt flexibly and quickly to any chemical-based drug.

This is accompanied by the rapid development of insecticide resistance. Experienced gardeners are experiencing all kinds of options and methods in the fight against the striped beetle. Destroy it is not easy, due to its biological specificity, but it is possible. Well-known folk recipes from decoctions and infusions of various plants.

Please note that summer heat and excess moisture adversely affect insects. For this reason, they hide in the soil several times a season, so some methods of controlling the parasite can be ineffective.

Methods of combating the Colorado potato beetle

Eliminate striped beetles on potatoes can be various folk remedies that have been tested by gardeners for many years. Mostly gardeners carry out tillage before planting and use different methods of influencing the beetle in order to surely eradicate the pest from their site. In autumn, the soil where potato tubers will be planted must be dug deep. In deep grooves for potatoes, you can try to sprinkle fresh manure and loosen the soil between it and the plantings. During the winter, manure will burn out most of the parasites and larvae, and in the spring when snow falls from the soil, manure will be an excellent fertilizer.

You can make different mixtures such as manure with horseradish or nettle.You can deal with the pest with the help of mint, caraway seeds or mustard or sprinkle the place of planting with onion husks, wood ash. All these odors, the pest does not tolerate. In the struggle for a bountiful harvest, you can cook special herbal decoctions, mustard or vinegar. With the help of such decoctions, the smell of which is not tolerated by pests, Colorado beetles leave your potatoes for more convenient planting.

Simple methods

Collecting the pest manually

You can collect beetles with your hands

Many gardeners adhere to this rule that do not use various chemicals or even harmless folk remedies for growing vegetables. Therefore, in this case, you can get rid of the insect only by removing it from the plantings manually. To do this, wear protective gloves and inspect each potato bush. As soon as you see the Colorado potato beetle, you should remove it away from your site. Such a measure to protect your plantings is considered more humane for nature, but such a method of eliminating the pest requires a lot of time.

Plants that repel Colorado potato beetles

Properly planted plants can help prevent the spread of Colorado pest larvae.During the planting of tubers, you can throw the seeds of one of these plants into the hole:

• Beans
• Dill
• Coriander
• Calendula
• Tansy
• Basil

The Colorado potato beetle will not damage your plantings if it senses the presence of these plants in the soil. Also, with them you can perform the processing of mustard. Many gardeners consider it an effective way to plant garlic around the perimeter or between rows of potatoes, and with it onions. Garlic and onions have a pungent odor that cannot be tolerated by the Colorado potato beetle.

Hilling potatoes

Hilling helps prevent the appearance of insects on your plantations, as it creates a natural barrier to pests. Hiding young shoots in the soil layer, additional sprouts form on the plant. As a result, the bush grows, becomes more powerful and resistant to insect attacks. Potato should be earthed several times during the root growth period in May, June and July.

Early potato varieties can be earthed as soon as the sprouts have appeared, later potato varieties should be earthed out when the plant has reached a height of 5-10 cm. After hilling, loosen the soil between the rows. Hilling and loosening will save your landings from nesting of eggs and bugs. After hilling around a bush of young potatoes, you can pour a little wood ash, and then onion husk. The ratio in the proportion of half a glass of ash and a handful of husk. The smell of rotting husk repels the insect perfectly.

Traps on the Colorado potato beetle

Gardeners often use the so-called traps for the pest. In the spring, as soon as the soil woke up and the night frost ended, you can pour a bunch of potato peels on different ends of the garden. After hibernation, insects attack light prey. Here the main thing is not to miss the moment and watch when most of the pests gather. After this, the beetles should be collected in a jar and released as far as possible from their site. According to the same method, there is another option: several potatoes are laid out in a glass floor liter containers and put in small cavities across the field. When the cans are filled with pests, they need to be released elsewhere.

Using solutions

Copper sulfate

Before planting potatoes, you can process the tubers themselves from parasites and fungal diseases. A teaspoon of copper sulfate is bred in a three-liter jar, the tubers that are being prepared for planting are lowered into the solution for 1-2 minutes. Then the tubers are dried and three days later planted in the ground. Instead of copper sulfate, manganese can be used. This is done so, one gram of potassium permanganate is diluted with a liter of water and thoroughly mixed. This solution is recommended to fill in the sprouted tubers for half an hour, and then remove, dry and plant on the third day.

Vinegar processing

You can get rid of pests

A good effect in protecting the plant is vinegar rinsing. Half a liter of vinegar and 100 grams of baking soda are added to a 10 liter bucket of water. After preparing the mixture, you can immediately spray the bushes. When spraying with any solution, it is recommended that you observe the safety precautions.

Wood ash

The field before planting can be sprayed with the following composition: 10 liters of water 1 kg of wood ash. It is advisable to pollinate 2-3 times until the potatoes sprout. When planting a root crop, a small amount of fertilizer and wood ash is added to each well. In ash mixed with fertilizers, you need to plant potatoes in the usual manner and sprinkle with soil on top. Ash is also used in this embodiment: hot ash is poured into the hole to a depth of 10-15 cm and covered with soil from above. After 2 weeks, you can plant potatoes in the prepared soil.

Spraying the grown tops up to 15 cm, can be carried out using a soap solution with ash. Pour water into a 10 liter pan or bucket, pour 1 kg of ash and boil for 5 minutes. Infuse the solution should be 50 hours. Next, the solution must be filtered and rubbed into it half of a piece of laundry soap, mix everything thoroughly and dilute with another 10 liters of water.

Using infusions

Tobacco infusion

To prepare the tobacco infusion, boil 10 liters of water, pour 500 grams of tobacco into the water, all mix and let it brew for 20-30 hours. After the infusion has been infused, add half of the laundry soap to it, mix and add another 10 liters of water. We spray the young tops with the resulting infusion. The pest does not like the smell of tobacco and the bugs go to other sites.

Infusion of wormwood and dandelions

Infusion of wormwood with wood ash repels the beetle and its larvae well. To prepare the infusion, you should boil 5 liters of water, add 150 grams of bitter wormwood and a glass of wood ash to the water. Insist 3 hours and spray on tops. The sharp smell of wormwood discourages the pest from growing for the full length of potato tubers.

One of the first flowers, a yellow-headed dandelion appears in spring and can be useful in the struggle for potato yield. To prepare the infusion, you need to take a glass of collected dandelions, add a glass of horsetail and boil in a 10 liter saucepan for 30 minutes. The resulting infusion is cooled and diluted with another 10 liters of water. Sprinkle potato tops with dandelion infusion during the growth period.

Horseradish infusion

Basically, such an infusion in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle is popular in the countries of the former USSR. To prepare horseradish infusion, you need to take fresh or dried horseradish.If the horseradish is freshly cut, then it requires 1 kg, if dried, then 200 grams. Horseradish is thrown into a tank or barrel of 10 liters. A container of horseradish is placed in a sunny place for 2-3 days. The resulting mixture should be filtered through a sieve or gauze. Processing horseradish infusion is carried out both on young tops and on infected plants. The treatment procedure with horseradish infusion is recommended to be repeated after 2 weeks.

Peppermint infusion

Experienced gardeners spray the plantings with a peppermint composition almost every week from the start of potato planting to digging the crop. For 10 liters of water, 1 kg of mint is required. Mint should be boiled for 10 minutes, then the infusion should stand for 1 hour. Before use, the solution is filtered and processed planting potatoes.

Infusion of tops and leaves of a tomato

In autumn you can stock up on leaves and tops of tomato from a tomato for future use, then dry and store them in a dry and ventilated room until use . To prepare an infusion of tomato leaves for processing potatoes, you must first grind the leaves and tops, and then pour the mixture into warm water. The proportions are as follows: 10 liters of water are needed per 1 kg of leaves.Leaves are poured with water and insisted in heat for 4-5 hours. In the resulting mixture, you can rub half of the laundry soap. After filtering, the infusion of leaves and leaves, the tomato is ready to use.

Infusion of walnuts

Lovers of purely ecological vegetables, prefer the use of natural methods in the fight against leaf beetle. The infusion of walnut peels and young leaves will scare away the eaters of the crop. Skins can be cooked in the fall when collecting nuts. In boiling water per 10 liters, you need to add 1 kg of skins from nuts and 1 kg of young leaves. The mixture must be cooked for 15 minutes, then let it brew for 30 hours and strain. Soil cultivation with walnut infusion takes place around root crops.