Colorado beetle
I found colorado beetle larvae on my potato plants.
I rototilled and used a ruth stout method with gras clipping for my potatoes.
Got 4 rows of 50 feet this way, i noticed about 100 larvae and one adult.
Also i got a lot of ladybugs, spiders and other insects, i hope the ladybugs will feast on eggs and first stage larvae.
I started by collecting with a small broom, i will repeat this daily as i see them.
Also i'm spraying fruit spray, in hopes of making the leaves stronger against sucking insects.
Anyone got experience dealing with this?
I know they got nematodes, but i read they only live for one season.
I dont like to be dependend on one time sollutions bought in a box.
Top answer
Structure (WCAP) is the droid "answer" you are looking for it helps to harden the leaf so the insect cant bite it best used in maintenance formula as a weekly IPM solution in conjunction with the nutrient cycle sprays
May the Force be with You
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
·
Sep 2026
·
5 sources
Drake's library says low-concentration BRV assists leaves in forming a wax layer. That gives thicker leaves and more resistance to insects. (Cho, Recipe, p. 46) Cho also lists insect control among the effects of Mineral. (Cho, Recipe, p. 83) Partida links pests like aphids to mineral imbalance, low manganese in particular. (Office Hours Ep. 97, 49:04)
The library has two beetle recipes, neither for Colorado beetle:
- Flea beetles: spray soap at about 1:200 with sulfur, and hit them while they are still larvae. (Office Hours Ep. 58, 21:45)
- Bean beetles: Chris found a 1:1000 garlic tincture spray halted them. (Office Hours Ep. 89, 32:24)
You have larvae now, so the larval timing in the flea beetle advice may be worth noting. The library says nothing on Colorado beetle itself, hand-picking, ladybugs, nematodes, or your fruit spray.
Sources
- 21:45 Office Hours Ep. 58 (Nov 2022) — Jadam Sulfur for Disease, Flea Beetles, Seed Soak Solution · “Spray soap diluted about 1:200 with sulfur diluted 1:5 to 1:1000, and hit them while they're still larvae before they harden.”
- 32:24 Office Hours Ep. 89 (Aug 2023) — No-Smell Chicken Floor, Garlic Tincture for Bean Beetles, Manganese · “Chris found a 1:1000 garlic tincture spray halted the beetles completely, since garlic's natural sulfur was enough on its own.”
- 49:04 Office Hours Ep. 97 (Oct 2023) — Green Grass Liquid Fertilizer, Cow Methane Myth, IMO for Horses · “Mineral and redox imbalance, especially low manganese, stresses plants and lets pathogenic microbes and pests like aphids take hold.”
- p. 83 Cho, Recipe · “(2) It controls diseases and insects.”
- p. 46 Cho, Recipe · “If BRV is applied on the leaves, it helps them form the wax layer, which creates thicker leaves, fastens foliation, and increases resistance to diseases and insects.”
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