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The potato beetle, scientifically named Leptinotarsa decemlineata, is a beetle insect that is very harmful to potatoes and other plants in its family. Its enormous capacity for reproduction and great voracity make it one of the most dangerous pests in the garden, which can leave our nightshades without a single leaf in a very short time. At first glance it is an insect with a shape that may be reminiscent of ladybugs, although its shell is yellow and has ten black lines, hence its scientific name.
If you want to learn how to combat this plague without resorting to chemicals, using ecological methods, join us in this Green Ecologist article in which you will see 10 home remedies to eliminate the potato beetle.
Crop rotation
The crop rotation is a traditional and very beneficial method, which consists of alternate crops from different families in our plantation, without repeating never two seasons in a row. By doing so, we not only avoid depleting the soil of a certain type of nutrients, but we also favor the fact that pests that depend on certain crops cannot spread in the area as they do not have continued sustenance.
There is a lot of information about crop rotation and there are rotations from very simple to more complex, to which it is convenient to adapt gradually in order to enjoy all its benefits. You can read more about this topic in this other article on What is crop rotation, its types and benefits.
Crop association
There are crops like flax or carrot, which have natural components with the ability to repel the potato beetle. Associating our nightshade crops with these species we can avoid the dangers of this pest, alternating lines of carrots or flax with the plants to protect or, surrounding them with them.
Here you can learn more about the cultivation techniques of organic farming.
Padded
The padding, mulching or carpeting technique It consists of putting a cover of a few centimeters of straw or some other equivalent material on the soil of the crop to be protected. This coverage protects the soil from the sun and extreme temperatures, in addition to helping to maintain humidity and making it difficult for pests to move between plants, as well as favoring the development of predatory species, helping to control biological pests. Shavings of thuja, a kind of conifer that repels the potato beetle.
Here we tell you how to make a mulch for plant or mulching.
Plants that attract potato beetle predators
Another way to easily apply a biological pest control is growing some medicinal plants in beds or hedges with the ability to attract potato beetle predators. If we put some rosemary, chamomile or basil hedges near the potatoes, tomatoes or aubergines, we will attract beneficial insects such as lacewings, ladybugs or predatory bugs, which feed on the beetle. Also many birds attack this pest.
Learn more about Biological Pest Control: what it is, advantages, disadvantages and examples with this other post.
Biopesticide with bacteria
It is possible to use beneficial bacteria such as Bacillus thuringiensis, which eliminates potato beetle larvae, preventing adults from reproducing. The good thing about this method is that the bacteria have a fairly specific scope of action, without harming the rest of the crop.
An alternative to pesticides and pesticides is diatomaceous earth for the potato beetle, which dehydrates the parasites. Here you can learn about what diatomaceous earth is and what it is for.
Fungi vs. potato beetle
This is another method related to the biological control of pests, since there are also fungi that attack this pest and that, therefore, we can apply on our crops to eliminate the plague of this insect. One of these fungi is the Beauveria bassiana, which has the ability to do make the potato beetle sick, so it eliminates it and makes those who survive leave when they see that it is not an area in which they can prosper.
Using early potatoes
Among these tubers, the earliest varieties of potato They do not need to spend so many days on the ground and they allow us to harvest before summer. During these months is when the life cycle of the pest is complete, so an early harvest interrupts it and ends the problem.
We recommend you to know the different types of potatoes.
Ecological insecticide with horseradish and nettle slurry
It can be elaborated ecological insecticide for the potato beetle from horseradish.
- Fill a container halfway with horseradish leaves, then cover them completely with water.
- Let the mixture marinate for 10 days, and then strain the liquid.
- You must apply the mixture obtained with a sprayer, directly on the crop to be protected.
Horseradish is quite harmful to the beetle, so it will not take long to notice how the infestation diminishes. Besides, if you do not have this radish but if you have nettles near the area where you have the garden, you can use the nettle slurry for the potato beetle, which is a fermentation of the leaves of this plant in water, which takes several days to do (even a few weeks) and then you have to spray the crop. Due to the delay in its preparation, it is also used as a preventive treatment, thus avoiding the appearance of various pests. If the plague is severe, you can try the two liquids together.
Citrus insecticide
Another ecological insecticide against potato beetle plague it is made with citrus.
- Separate the skin of some oranges and lemons and bring to a boil for a few minutes.
- Afterward, let the mixture cool and sit for a full day.
- After that time, strain the liquid and get rid of the rest.
- Use the mixture by spraying it with a spray bottle on your potatoes, tomatoes or aubergines. Citrus fruits have a powerful repellent effect on the potato beetle, which will soon leave.
Neem oil
The neem, neem or neem oil It should be used as a last resort, as it has the ability to kill a large number of insects, some of which are beneficial for the crop. It can be made from the plant itself or purchased in specialized establishments and should always be applied while protecting our eyes and respiratory tract, as well as our hands, since in the high concentration it has it can be harmful.
After learning about all these natural remedies to eliminate the potato beetle, we recommend you read here on How to combat pests in organic farming for more information. In addition, we recommend these guides on When to plant potatoes and How to plant potatoes.
If you want to read more articles similar to Home remedies to eliminate the potato beetle, we recommend that you enter our category of Cultivation and care of plants.
