How to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle forever, its appearance and means of control

Every year, people who grow potatoes encounter the Colorado potato beetle on the bushes. This pest is very dangerous, as it constantly feeds on plant shoots until the tubers are completely ripe. Any Colorado potato beetle poison will help get rid of this insect. However, before poisoning the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes, you need to familiarize yourself with the main methods of combating 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 in length and 8 mm in width. The beetles are distinguished by their short oval shape with a large convexity on top. The distinctive black of these pests is their coloring. Their back is covered with black stripes. There are also small spots on the belly of insects, which consist of seven segments.

Insects have three pairs of legs with small hooks, with 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 using chemical means

Most often, chemical treatment of potatoes against the Colorado potato beetle is carried out. For this purpose, special preparations are used, which include insecticides and pesticides that help quickly clean potato bushes. Such preparations for the Colorado potato beetle must be used correctly so that they do not have a negative effect on the potatoes being grown.

Killer

Often, when fighting the Colorado potato beetle, the combined drug Killer is used. It can be used not only to combat potato pests, but also to destroy other insects. Killer is sold in small glass ampoules of 1.5 ml.

This remedy against the Colorado potato beetle is made on the basis of chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin. When any insect enters the body, these substances immediately begin to affect its nervous system. Exposure to chlorpyrifos stops the formation of a protein that is used to transmit nerve impulses. Cypermethrin disrupts the functioning of sodium channels.

Before you poison 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 treat one hundred square meters of area. You should not spray the bushes with Killer too often. It is enough to carry out this procedure once during the period of fruit ripening. In this case, spraying should be done 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 potatoes do not grow well. Gulliver is sold in 3 ml containers. These poisons include thiamethoxam and cyhalothrin. Of course, these components have different effects on insects, but what they have in common is that they disable the nervous system of pests. After spraying the bushes Colorado potato beetle convulsions begin, which lead to death. Using this product, 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 bushes with Gulliver in rainy or windy weather. Rain will quickly wash the drug off the leaves, and the wind can transfer the chemical liquid to neighboring plants.

It is necessary to treat potatoes against the Colorado potato beetle only with a pre-prepared working solution. To create it, one Gulliver ampoule 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 treat 200 square meters of garden.

On the spot

To get rid of potato pests forever, you can use the remedy Napoval. This insecticide is sold in small ampoules of 2-3 ml. The peculiarity of this product is that it can be used to destroy both the larva of the Colorado potato beetle and the adult individual.

On the spot, it is made from cypermethrin and imidacloprid, which begin to act immediately after pests enter the body. They disrupt the functioning of the nervous system of insects, which is why they gradually die. Within 2-3 days after the first use of the insecticide Napoval, the entire colony of pests will be completely destroyed.

To create a working mixture, add 3 ml of Napoval to 5-7 liters of water and mix. Then the prepared mixture is poured into a sprayer, after which you can begin processing the bushes. We fight pests only in protective clothing, since liquid contact with the skin can cause slight irritation.

How to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle without chemicals using biological preparations

The fight against the Colorado potato beetle without chemicals using special biological preparations is quite popular. They are good because they do not contain dangerous chemicals. That is why these biological products are absolutely safe for humans. To choose the best biological product for insect control, you need to familiarize yourself with some of them.

Bitoxibacillin

Bushes with beetles can be sprayed with Bitoxibacillin, which can be used to get rid of pest larvae and adults. The drug is sold in small paper or plastic bags 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 bush development.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 clean, settled water is added to the mixture. We get rid of pests only in the evening, so that there is no sun and rain. Spray potatoes Bitoxibacillin is needed three times a month.

Bicol

Reviews from many gardeners indicate that the Colorado potato beetle is afraid of the Bicol biological product. 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 mass appearance of pests on the leaves. The bushes need to be treated three times. In this case, there should be a gap of at least five days between each spraying. Bicol should only be used in sunny weather at an air temperature of 20-25 degrees.

Agravertine

Some claim that the most effective remedy for the Colorado potato beetle is Agravertine. It is produced in the form of an emulsion with small capsules of 5 ml. Larger containers with 10 ml of liquid are less common.

Agravetrine helps get rid of not only the Colorado potato beetle, but also many other pests. It is used to protect plants from aphids, moths, codling moths, cabbage cutworms and white moths. After the solution enters the body, insects begin to become paralyzed and die within 10-15 hours.

Before spraying potatoes against the Colorado potato beetle, you need to prepare a working solution. To do this, the ampoule with Agravertine is opened and its contents are poured into a small saucepan filled with 10 liters of water. Then the entire mixture is poured into a sprayer, 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 fight the Colorado potato beetle using traditional methods

Many people think that in 2018 few people fight the Colorado potato beetle with folk remedies, but this is not so. Such measures to combat the Colorado potato beetle are still popular today. It is recommended to figure out in advance what can be used to treat potatoes against the Colorado potato beetle.

Red pepper

When spraying plants, folk remedies for the Colorado potato beetle, made from red pepper, are often used. 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 left to cool completely. Spray potato tops and bushes need twice a week.

Mustard

The most effective solution that you can prepare with your own hands is made from mustard. Bushes treated with this product can be protected from pests until harvest.

To prepare insect repellent liquid, add 250 ml of vinegar and 150 grams of mustard powder to 10 liters of warm water. All components are thoroughly mixed and infused for 2-3 hours. The prepared mixture should be used once a week until the pests disappear completely.

Conclusion

Not every vegetable grower knows how to fight the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes and what product 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.