Cabbage is a fairly common vegetable that is quite popular among vegetable growers. Growing it is not so easy, as it needs proper care. If you do not care for the plant well, then over time it may suffer from certain pests. Quite often, bushes are attacked by cruciferous flea beetles. Therefore, before growing this vegetable, you should familiarize yourself with how to treat cabbage against fleas.
Types of flea beetles
Before getting rid of the cruciferous flea beetle on cabbage, you should familiarize yourself with the main types of this pest.The following types of insects most often attack cabbage:
- Wavy. Common flea beetles that are very often found in gardens. They are not too long and only grow to 2-3 mm. The main distinguishing feature of the insect is its black color and yellow stripe on the wings.
- Light-footed. Such insects also very often eat young cabbage bushes. Its dimensions are slightly larger than those of the previous species and can reach 4 mm. It is the light-legged pests that are the largest fleas. It is quite easy to distinguish them from other varieties. They are distinguished by the metallic color of their body and the yellow color of their head.
- Notched. Notched fleas can eat not only cabbage, but also many other vegetables. They do not stand out in large sizes, since their length is 2-3 mm. There are small yellow and black stripes on the body, which are slightly narrower at the back than at the front.
- Black. Black flea beetle is found on cabbage much more often than all others. It differs from most other insects in its dark color. Also, distinctive features include rather large black antennae.
Fight with drugs
The cruciferous flea beetle on cabbage begins to appear after the outside temperature rises to 20 degrees. In warm weather, they immediately begin to crawl out of the top layer of soil and attack vegetables in the garden. When fleas attack the bushes, the leaves begin to gradually dry out and because of this the plant dies.
Therefore, if black flea beetles are found on cabbage, then you need to get rid of them immediately. To understand how to get rid of cruciferous flea beetles, you need to study the basic measures to combat them. Quite often special chemicals are used for this.
Aktara
To get rid of insects, bushes can be treated with Aktara. This product was specially produced to get rid of pests that can attack vegetables. The drug is sold ready-made and therefore there is no need to prepare a working solution before use.
Actara is applied after the first signs of the presence of fleas appear. Treatment should be carried out only in the evening or in the morning when there is no wind. Due to too windy weather, the drug can fall not only on cabbage, but also on neighboring plants. It is also not recommended to carry out treatment in cloudy weather, as rain can wash away the drug.
Aktellik
You can save cabbage and destroy pests with the help of Actellik. This drug is very effective; it is used not only to protect vegetables, but also most garden plants. If you spray cabbage with this preparation, it will penetrate inside the leaves and when the insect wants to eat them, it will die.
Before spraying cabbage with this preparation, you will need to prepare a special working solution. Two liters of water are mixed with 2 ml of the drug. This will be enough to process ten square meters of area. To completely get rid of pests, spray each bush twice a week.
Bankol
The product is actively used against flea beetles on cabbage bushes. The drug is sold in the form of a creamy or white powder that has a slight odor. After watering the bushes, the drug is absorbed into their leaves. When Bankol enters the body of pests, it damages their nervous system, making them unable to move.
Since the product is available in powder form, you will have to prepare a special solution before use.To do this, I add 5 grams of Bankol to 10 liters of water. After this, each bush is treated with 500 ml of the prepared mixture.
Decis
You can get rid of black fleas using a solution prepared at home from Decis. The product is sold in the form of granules, which must be mixed with water before use. The main advantage of Decis is its rapid action. Water the bushes with this mixture and you will notice that the number of parasites will begin to decrease within an hour.
Before fighting the Decis cruciferous flea beetle, you will have to make a working solution. It consists of 10 liters of water and several grams of the drug. We get rid of pests by treating every hundred square meters of land with 15 liters of liquid.
Use of folk remedies
Sometimes flea control is carried out using various folk remedies. Before using folk remedies, you need to figure out how to protect cabbage using these methods.
Wood ash
Protecting cabbage with wood ash is quite often used by vegetable growers. To do this, young vegetable bushes are dusted with a mixture of ash mixed in equal quantities with tobacco dust. We fight insects with this method only on sunny days, so that there is no precipitation outside. The prepared mixture must be used at least three times a week. In this case, you need to completely cover all the bushes with ash.
Tomato tops
Insect control using tomato tops is very effective. Preparing a product to protect young bushes is quite simple. To do this, you will need several kilograms of dry or fresh tops, finely chop them and pour hot boiled water for 5-7 hours.After this, the composition is re-boiled on a gas stove, infused and filtered with gauze. Before using the solution, it must be mixed with water in a one to one ratio. 50 grams of grated soap are also added to it.
Plants need to be treated 2-3 times a month until all pests die.
Solid oil
Some vegetable growers use more radical folk methods to get rid of pests in the garden. One of these methods is the use of grease. To do this, you will need to make a small plywood flag and cover it with a thin layer of grease. Then, waving the flag you made, you should walk between the rows. At the same time, the grease should be in contact with the leaves of the plants. All the fleas from the bushes will begin to jump onto the flag and stick to it. To completely get rid of pests, the procedure should be repeated 2-3 times.
Prevention
To prevent plants from suffering from black flea beetles in the future, it is necessary to take timely preventive measures. To do this, it is recommended to adhere to the following recommendations:
- All seedlings planted in the soil should be covered with plastic film. It is removed only after the seedlings have hardened and become stronger.
- It is recommended to plant cabbage bushes near garlic or dill. The fact is that the smell of these plants repels many pests and therefore the cabbage will be safe.
- Every day, several branches of wormwood should be laid out near the bushes.
- During watering, it is recommended to add a little aromatic products to the water. Pine or fir oil is ideal for this. You can also add 20 drops of valerian to the water.
Conclusion
Quite often, vegetable growers are faced with the problem that flea beetles are eating their cabbage bushes.Before you kill every flea on the bushes, you should familiarize yourself with the basic pest control measures.
