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Flea beetle on kale plants

GrannybeeGrannybee Posts: 332
in Fruit & veg
My newly planted, and extortionately expensive, organic kale seedlings are suffering from flea beetle. One seedling has pale brown leaves and is full of holes. Is there anything I can do to save them? I am cooking up garlic  liquid to spray them but also thought that I could dig them up and bring them into the house until they are bigger and more resilient. Does anyone have any other ideas? fool proof remedies? Thank you!

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    My White Sprouting Broccoli has been targeted by fleabeetles as well ... although they’re totally ignoring the kalettes growing next to them ... I’m just hoping that the broccoli will carry on growing strongly and survive the damage. 🤞  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • GrannybeeGrannybee Posts: 332
    Well I have dug them up and potted them into 9cm pots. Oh, and put them in the cool utility room. Every one was covered with the little blighters. And now I think about it, all my wallflower seedlings were hammered last year by flea beetles. I feel very annoyed with myself! We don't get many pests as the frogs from the pond  usually sees most stuff off. Not this one though! Garlic spray is cooling then they will have blast of that too. Just in case.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I have fuchsias with them on, I can’t see any but the leaves are peppered. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • neilbradburnneilbradburn Posts: 142
    Hi Grannybee,

    Sorry to hear about your kale plants! There was a question about dealing with them on this weeks GQT radio show. Essentially they suggested 3 options:
    1. keep the soil surface moist - they don't like getting their feet wet :-)
    2. Running a strip of board/cardbroad with a sticky substance slathered across (eg. molasses) just above the plants and the little blighters will jump up and get stuck to it. Apparently at least one farmer does this on a more industrial scale.
    3. If the ground is dry, brush up a dust cloud and the beetles 'armour' will be impaired and they are likely to leave.

    Oh, and apparently they don't like tomato foliage, but the jury is still out on the effectiveness of this option.
    kind regards.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Sounds good, wonder if golden syrup would do.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • neilbradburnneilbradburn Posts: 142
    Hi Lyn,
    I'm sure it would - and I seem to recall it being specifically mentioned on the program. 
    kind regards.
  • GrannybeeGrannybee Posts: 332
    Yes I heard the GQT question - someone must have heard my moans! I like the ideas of moistness and tomato leaves. There are flea beetles on my rocket too, so I will give the solutions a go and see which works. The rescued kale plants look a little less beaten up now, thank goodness.
    Thanks everyone!
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