Help for elderly neighbors please

I'm not into vegetables. I know the basics but it would appear to me that this family has a situation that has spun out of control. They are good wholesome people who attempted to rotate crops in subsequent years to minimize damage but please know that every one of their 300 potato plants is under seige based on what I saw. My gutt feeling was to suggest they place basins of water near each plant then gently bend it over and shake each plant individually to knock off as many as possibly followed up with B. thuringiensis ssp. tenebrionis application however I'm thinking it is too late for this year. They are located in the State of Michigan and they rely upon their crops to feed their family. They can their potatoes and they additionally store them in their root cellar. Any additional vegetables are sold at a farm stand somewhere. Here's the problem-

More of the problem-

Nasty little buggers these Potato Beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) are. Here's another photo-

They are defoliating her plants-

I found several websites for their children to print off and hand to them-
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/coloradopotato.html
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/colpotbeetle.html
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/entfacts/veg/ef312.htm
http://ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/ragsdale.htm

As you can see from the photos, the larva are developmentally all over the board. I can't see as any one approach is going to work. Additionally, they don't have access to chemicals in their state any longer. I tried to explain to her that some pests were becoming resistant to many insecticides and I believe that may be what has happened here.

Any help greatly appreciated. It is my intent to print off this thread for them because they don't have a computer.

I did find a decent source for information on B. thuringiensis ssp. tenebrionis as well as an online source to purchase it if this is the way to go-
http://www.caes.state.ct.us/AlternativestoInsecticides/PDF/Session4Solanaceous.pdf#search='NOVODOR%20tenebrionis'
NOVODOR Biological Insecticide
http://www.valentbiosciences.com/agricultural_products/agricultural_products_8.asp
Valent BioSciences Corporation
870 Technology Way
Libertyville, IL 60048
800-323-9597 – Public Health and Forestry
866-VBC-ESD1 – Indoor and Outdoor Household Insecticides (Environmental Science Division)
vbcwebmaster@valent.com
http://www.groworganic.com/default.html

I was just reading about one farmer who takes a plastic basin - sorta low and rectangular and then goes along the rows and sweeps them into the basin with a whisk broom. Says he gets a lot this way. Yes the other option is Bt (considered organic) and from the looks of it I would do both! ASAP

Your instincts and Bluekat's advice are good. The San Diego strain of bt is very effective on potato beetle larva, but just not as effective on adults in my experience. Mechanically remove as many as possible and spray with bt.

It's been a few years, but we used to hand-pick them off in their various stages and toss them into a coffee can full of kerosene. Took two of us two days to do an acre. Then we went back the following weekend and spent about half a day getting the ones we missed before. I think maybe it would have been earlier than the stage these folks are currently at.

I remember using a stick to knock them off into a can of kerosene back when I was 8 or so and spending time at my great grandparents farm.I didn't have to do the big gardens...just the kitchen door garden.

P

You should, of course, put them in something when mechanically removing them (just brushing them to the ground is not a solution), but kerosene is overkill. A bit of dish soap in a bucket of water is more than adequate.

Years ago, in the South, kerosene was used for everything...I'm not surprised at this remedy...my grandparents also kept a jar of the stuff in the house to smear on cuts and scrapes. Claimed things healed better.

Ah, my instincts were on the mark. Good.

Yes, I would think that plain old water with a touch of Dawn dishwashing detergent should be fine.

Kerosene in a cut- ouch! Better than urine though. I know it is sterile but the thought of urine to dress a cut is right up there with kerosene for me.

Thank you ladies!

Melody... speaking of old time southern remedies--- when I was a young'un, my grandma (Johnson Co.,KY) gave me 1 tsp. table sugar + a drop or two of kerosene for a bad cough. Also, when I once stuck a rusty nail into my foot, she had me sit & soak the foot in kerosene.
LarryD

Oh yes.. I remember that spoon of sugar with kerosene. I remember putting the pillow over my head so I wouldnt be heard coughing.
Dixie