How to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle permanently, its appearance and means of control
Every year, people who grow potatoes come across the Colorado potato beetle in the bushes. This pest is very dangerous, since it constantly feeds on plant shoots until the tubers are fully ripe. Any poison from the Colorado potato beetle will help get rid of this insect. However, before you poison the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes, you need to familiarize yourself with the main methods of dealing with it.
What does the Colorado potato beetle look like
This pest is quite large and therefore difficult to miss. An adult insect grows up to 15 mm long and 8 mm wide. Beetles are characterized by a short oval shape with a large bulge on top. The distinctive black of these pests is their color. Their back is covered with black stripes. On the belly of insects, there are also small spots, which consist of seven segments.
Insects have three pairs of legs with small hooks, with the help of which they cling to the surface of the leaves. Their legs are poorly developed, and therefore they move rather slowly.
How to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes by chemical means
Most often, chemical treatment of potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle is carried out. For this, special preparations are used, which include insecticides and pesticides, which help to quickly clear potato bushes. Such preparations for the Colorado potato beetle must be used correctly so that they do not have a negative effect on the grown potatoes.
Killer
Often, when fighting the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes, they use the combined preparation Killer. It can be used not only to combat the potato pest, but also to destroy other insects. The killer is sold in small 1.5 ml glass ampoules.
This remedy is made against the Colorado potato beetle based on chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin. When any insect enters the body, these substances immediately begin to affect its nervous system. Chlorpyrifos interrupts the formation of a protein that is used to transmit nerve impulses. Cypermethrin disrupts the functionality of sodium channels.
Before poisoning pests on potatoes, you need to familiarize yourself with how to make a working solution from Killer's ampoule. To do this, all the liquid from the ampoule is mixed with eight liters of water. The prepared mixture is enough to process one hundred square meters of the site. Do not spray the bushes with Killer too often. It is enough to carry out this procedure once during the period of fruit ripening. At the same time, we should spray in the evening in calm weather.
Gulliver
Beetles are afraid of such an effective drug as Gulliver. This product was created not only to kill insects, but also to stimulate plant growth. Therefore, it can be used if the potatoes do not grow well. Gulliver is sold in 3 ml containers. These poisons include thiamethoxam and cyhalothrin. Of course, these components affect insects in different ways, but what unites them is that they disable the nervous system of pests. After spraying the bushes near Colorado potato beetle convulsions begin, which lead to death. With this tool, you can completely destroy pests in one week.
Before using this effective drug, you should familiarize yourself with the features of its use. It is not recommended to spray the bushes with Gulliver in rainy or windy weather. The rain will quickly wash away the drug from the leaves, and the wind can transfer the chemical liquid to neighboring plants.
It is only necessary to process potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle with a pre-prepared working solution. To create it, one ampoule of Gulliver is mixed in ten liters of cold water. The prepared solution cannot be stored for a long time, and therefore it is better to use it immediately. The created solution is enough to process 200 square meters of a vegetable garden.
On the spot
To get rid of potato pests permanently, you can use On the Spot. This insecticide is sold in small 2-3 ml ampoules. A feature of this tool is that it can be used to destroy both the Colorado potato beetle larva and the adult.
Outright made from cypermethrin and imidacloprid, which begin to act immediately after the pests enter the body. They disrupt the functioning of the nervous system of insects, because of which they gradually die. Within 2-3 days after the first use of the insecticide On the spot, the entire pest colony will be completely destroyed.
To create a working mixture, add 3 ml of the drug on the spot to 5-7 liters of water and mix. Then the prepared mixture is poured into a spray bottle, after which you can start processing the bushes. We deal with pests only in protective clothing, as contact of liquid on the skin can cause slight irritation.
How to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle without chemistry with biological drugs
The fight against the Colorado potato beetle without chemistry using special biological preparations is very popular. They are good because they are free of hazardous chemicals. That is why these biological products are absolutely safe for humans. To find the best biological product for insect control, you need to familiarize yourself with some of them.
Bitoxibacillin
Bushes with a beetle can be sprayed with Bitoxibacillin, with which you can get rid of pest larvae and adults. The drug is sold in small paper or plastic bags with a volume of 10-20 kg. The product is available in liquid form and is sold in 30 ml ampoules.
We fight the beetle at any stage of the development of the bushes. Some people use Bitoxibacillin even during the flowering period of potato bushes. To prepare the working solution, add 10-20 ml of the product to ten liters of water. Then another 3 liters of pure settled water is added to the mixture. We get rid of pests only in the evening, so that there is no sun and rain. Sprinkle potatoes Bitoxibacillin is needed three times a month.
Bicol
Reviews of many gardeners indicate that the Colorado potato beetle is afraid of the biological product Bicol.Therefore, when choosing an effective insect repellent, you should pay attention to it. The main advantage of the product is that it is absolutely non-toxic to humans, bees and some insects. Bicol is sold, like most other biological products, in 10-20 ml ampoules.
To prepare a working mixture at home, mix 10 ml of Bicol with 7-9 liters of water. It is recommended to spray the bushes during the mass appearance of pests on the leaves. It is necessary to process the bushes three times. Moreover, there should be an interval of at least five days between each spraying. It is necessary to use Bicol only in sunny weather at an air temperature of 20-25 degrees.
Agravertine
Some argue that the most effective remedy for the Colorado potato beetle is Agravertine. It is available as an emulsion with small 5 ml capsules. Larger containers with 10 ml of liquid are less common.
Agravetrin helps to get rid of not only the Colorado potato beetle, but also from many other pests. It is used to protect plants from aphids, moths, moths, cabbage scoops, and whiteworms. After the solution enters the body, paralysis begins in insects, and they die within 10-15 hours.
Before you spray potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle, you need to prepare a working solution. For this, the ampoule with Agravertine is opened, and its contents are poured into a small saucepan filled with 10 liters of water. Then the whole mixture is poured into a spray bottle, with the help of which the bushes will be treated from the beetle. The fight against it should be carried out at a temperature of about 15-20 degrees.
How to deal with the Colorado potato beetle folk methods
Many people think that in 2018, few are fighting the Colorado potato beetle with folk remedies, but this is not the case. Such measures to combat the Colorado potato beetle are popular today. It is recommended to figure out in advance how you can process potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle.
Red pepper
When spraying plants, they often use folk remedies for the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes, made from red pepper. To prepare such a solution, you need to finely chop 2-3 peppercorns and pour 5-7 liters of hot boiled water over them. The mixture should be infused until it cools completely. It is necessary to spray the tops and bushes of potatoes twice a week.
Mustard
The most effective DIY solution is made from mustard. Shrubs treated with this agent can be protected from pests before harvest.
To prepare the insect repellent, 250 ml of vinegar and 150 grams of mustard powder are added to 10 liters of warm water. All components are thoroughly mixed and infused for 2-3 hours. The ready-made mixture should be used once a week until the pests disappear completely.
Conclusion
Not every vegetable grower knows how to deal with the Colorado potato beetle and what remedy to use for this. To understand this, you need to study the most common methods of dealing with them and choose the best insect repellent.
