Beating the asparagus beetle...

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Zeppy Shenandoah Valley, VA(Zone 6b) May 22, 2007

I thought I'd share my discoveries on winning against the dreaded asparagus beetle. Of course, I'm not through with the season, but the ferns look 100% better this year than last, because I'm doing the below.

1. Start early, when the spears are just beginning to stretch up. It was unbelievable how soon I saw the beetle and its eggs. Knock the adult beetles into a pail of soapy water to drown (or into your hand and then squish them).

2. Use a very very gentle brush such as a surgical nail brush to brush the eggs off the stalks. Once the stalks fern out, this will be impossible.

3. Do your knocking-down of the adults early or late in the day, when they're less likely to fly and more likely to be sluggish and fall.

4. Don't spray. Neem, insecticidal soap, hard-core chemicals, whatever. I've tried them and they don't work but for a day. This year I sprayed nothing -- only hand-picking for ten minutes every couple of days -- and I noticed small wasps wiping out the beetle eggs. They did more in a day than I'd done in a week. This didn't happen when I was spraying last year. I'm also noticing tons of honeybees working the tiny hanging flowers on the ferns.

5. The little caterpillar-looking larvae of the asparagus beetle are a breeze. Just hold the tip of the fern the grub is on and flick the other side. The grub will be flung away, and they're not able to climb up from the ground and eat your plant up. It's amazing how much damage one of those larvae can inflict on a fern.

That's it! Hope this helps someone.

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bluekat76 Ijamsville, MD(Zone 6b) May 23, 2007

That helps lots, thanks for posting Zeppy! I had a invasion when they ferns were first coming out but no problems lately. Knock on wood.

-Kim

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sallyg Anne Arundel,, MD(Zone 7b) May 24, 2007

thanks- Zeppy- good tips. Hopeyou did indeed get them under control. Now can you come take care of my squash bugs????
I have also observed a wasp seeming to be hunting, flying slowly thru the fronds looking for larva I guess.
The asp beetles were so bad I kind of gave up on the patch and only have one good plant left. I get a spear about every week and just eat it in the garden : ^ )

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