Asparagus beetles

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Zeppy Shenandoah Valley, VA(Zone 6b) Jun 21, 2006

Will Bt work on their larvae, and if so, what strain? I am using neem at the moment, but I'm not sure the grubs are suffering much from it. I prefer organic controls... what works for you?

Thanks!

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Zeppy Shenandoah Valley, VA(Zone 6b) Jun 22, 2006

Ah, shoot. No one?

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Big_Red Bethelridge, KY(Zone 6a) Jun 22, 2006

Zeppy,

I'm watching this thread with interest as I just planted asparagus roots this spring. I haven't had a problem beetles as yet so I can't/don't know the answer. Hang in there, someone will come along with some help. ☺

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MaryMD7 Chesapeake Beach, MD Jun 22, 2006

To the best of my knowledge there is no strain of bt that will control AB larva. They are a positively evil pest and the reason I stopped growing asparagus in my home garden. Supposedly, male plants are less attractive to ABs than female plants, but I never noticed that the doggone things were all that particular about their, er, sexual orientation as it were. You can try manual controls like handpicking or even vacuuming up the beetles, but this is obviously only remotely possible with ample time and a small patch. I know I couldn't keep up even with nearly daily attention to a very small plot. What you're left with are toxic broad spectrum pesticides. In the organic nuke category, pyrethrins will control them, but I don't like to use pyrethrins. Not sure if neem will work, but it probably will. The standard chemical nukes -- malathion, sevin etc. -- will control them, but then you're nuking away in your garden with that stuff.

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Zeppy Shenandoah Valley, VA(Zone 6b) Jun 23, 2006

Thanks, MaryMD. Asparagus are a real pain.

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