Dealing with Flea Beetles

Flea beetles on a broccoli plant.Due to a mild winter and the current drought conditions, flea beetles have been especially bad this year, and we’re getting lots of reports of infestations in home and community gardens, particularly affecting brassicas (plants in the cabbage/broccoli family). Flea beetles are tiny, black, and shiny, and will leave lacy patterns in plant leaves. Judy Elliott, DUG’s Education & Community Empowerment Coordinator, and resident horticulture expert, gave us some tips for treating plants affected by flea beetles:

• Pull any badly affected plants out.
• Cultivate the soil around the plant to expose the pests to birds.
• Spray the tops and bottoms of affected leaves, and the soil around the plant, with soapy water every three days or so.
• Alternatively, you could spray with a hot pepper mixture. Combine half an onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic, and a hot pepper (seeds and all) in a blender with water. You can also add strong smelling herbs like oregano and sage if you have them on hand. Blend, let sit overnight, and then strain with cheese cloth or a coffee filter, then dilute with water by 50% before spraying plants.
• To strengthen plants, you can spray with kelp.
• For preventing infestations, companion plant your brassicas with strong smelling plants like garlic and onions.

Have more questions about organic pest management? Contact us!