Hi Rusty - those would be flea beetles, and they are the most common pest on eggplant. I use Safer spray on the leaves and it works pretty well to deter them. Other soap-based solutions that you can make yourself might also work. Additionally I have found it to be a good strategy to keep removing the lower worst-looking leaves (the yellowed wimpy ones) as the season progresses. I do this throughout the season to keep the flea beetles in check, and it works for me.

In general flea beetles are a major pest of eggplant, but unless their numbers are massive (think dozens or more per plant) or the plants are tiny seedlings, the damage is mostly cosmetic.

What that means is that most of the time a decent sized eggplant can tolerate the flea beetle damage and not have yield affected. Unless 1/4th of the leaf mass is eaten away I wouldn't worry about them too much.

Neem oil is a good solution as it only ends up killing what eats the leaves sprayed. Broad spectrum insecticides with knock down power such as pyrethrins also do the job, but if the plant isn't literally being eaten before your eyes the way a large infestation on a seedling happens you don't need it, you just need to stop their feeding and neem does that well without any toxicity to you, family, pets or pollinating insects.

Thanks raisemybeds!

Flea beetles, I bet that is it. When I first saw them hopping it immediatley crossed my mind they were very flea-like in their movements, so that makes perfect sense. If it's not too much trouble to post a soap solution I would appreciate it.

I used to listen to an guy on the radio who made all these pest repellent solutions when I was a kid. I guess I should have taken notes, lol.

rusty

justaguy2,

I think the beetles are hitting my plants pretty bad. The only have like 5 leaves each and they are all badly pitted.

Where is neem oil available? I've never heard of it.

Thanks,
rusty

Did not pay much attention to my Ichiban eggplants for the past two weeks and definitely have flea beetles on 7 of 8. The sole perfect plant has a BLACK gallon size plastic pot surround. I had cut the bottom out to use as a windshield. The other plants all have similar shields made of qt size yogurt or cottage cheese cartons that are WHITE. I did not start out to experiment with color/insect relationships.

Tomorrow, four of the eggplants will get black pot shields and the 7 will get lime dustings. (This has worked for me in the past). Will see if the black pots improve the eggplants. I might leave one of the white pots and smear it with vaseline to see if the beetles get caught on it. May also place some yellow 'stickies' on stakes in the area to see what gets caught.

Plants already have buds.
cella jane

Spinosad works very well on flea beetles. Planet Natural carries it a spray called Monterey Garden Insect Spray. It will also take care of Colorado Potato Beetles and other pests. This spray is OMRI listed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Monterey Garden Insect Spray

Where is neem oil available? I've never heard of it.

Many places (probably some local to you), but here is one.

Rusty, my garden had the most serious problems with flea beetles last year, ever. Brassicas always have problems but the damage that showed up on the eggplant was so severe, I think that some of these plants would have died if nothing was done. I did some checking on these pests.

Remarkably, one source of information indicated that only in California and Colorado are flea beetles considered serious pests. My garden is the interior West but in neither of these states. A gardener in the United Kingdom posted a question on GW about flea beetles. She/He attributed the problem to the unusual drought the UK was experiencing. I don't know how WV fits in here but you should know that flea beetles aren't really considered much of a threat in some locations.

Here is what the University of California has to say about insecticidal soap. "Pests controlled: Small soft-bodied insects and mites, especially aphids, whiteflies, thrips, psyllids, leafhopper nymphs, and scales in crawler stage" Please note that neither flea beetles nor any beetle, for that matter, is listed. The only biological insecticide Cornell indicates as a "good control" for flea beetles is rotenone.

University of California further advises, "If flea beetle numbers are high when young plants are in the cotyledon stage, you can reduce damage from adults by applying soaps and pyrethrin/rotenone combinations."

My approach, which was generally successful with all crops, was to do what I've long done with the flea beetles on the brassicas - spray with pyrethrin/rotenone. Overspray the plants so that the insecticide also falls on the ground. Adults hide in cracks and under debris.

Pyrethrin/rotenone is not a long-lasting insecticide altho' it certainly is toxic. It is necessary to spray again after a few days but that has alway ended the bug damage for me. Use caution.

Steve

There's a good article here:

Cultural/Physical Controls Flea beetles are favored by stable warm spring weather and hampered by alternating periods of hot and cold temperatures with intermittent rains. Seedlings of crops are most vulnerable to flea-beetle feeding when stressed, particularly by inadequate moisture. Providing good nutrition and favor- able growing conditions aids in shortening the vulnerable early-growth stages and helps plants survive flea-beetle attack. The literature suggests that organic fertilization may make crops less attractive to flea beetles (3).

Because the pest is so mobile, and because so many genera and species are involved, crop rotation, by itself, has little effect as a control strategy. However, living mulches or polycultures are known to reduce flea-beetle damage (3, 4). One reason for this is that the individual crop plants are not silhouetted against a bare-soil background and are less obvious to the pest (3). The ATTRA publi- cation Companion Planting elaborates further on this subject.

Trap cropping, in which attractive plant species are planted near the main crop to draw the pest away, offers some possibilities for flea-beetle management. Apparently the most practical trap crop is Chinese Southern Giant Mustard (Brassica juncea var. crispifolia), seed of which is widely available. Research has shown that planting this trap crop about every 55 yards between rows of cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower (or as a border around the field) can do an exceptional job of protecting them. To retain effectiveness, reseeding of the trap crop may be necessary, especially if the pest destroys the first planting. The trap is less effective in protecting crops that are almost as attractive to flea beetles as Giant Mustard is, such as Nappa cabbage, gai choy, and choy sum (5).

Another approach to trap cropping is to interplant radishes�"‘Chinese Daikon’ and ‘Snow Belle’ are preferred by the pest�"at 6- or 12-inch intervals among cole crops. In one trial, this measurably reduced damage to broccoli (6). Row-cover materials such as Reema™ can be used to cover seedlings and provide a barrier to adult beetles. It is advisable to get the row cover in place at or before emergence for maximum protection. The covers can be removed once the pest population subsides (7). To be most effective, row covers should be used in conjunction with a planned crop rotation in which the crop to be protected follows a non-susceptible crop. This reduces the chance that pests will emerge under the row cover (8). ATTRA has additional information on row covers, including manufacturers and distributors, in the publication Season Extension Techniques for Market Gardeners.

Growers report some level of flea-beetle control using white and yellow sticky traps (6, 9). Refer- ence is made to individual traps placed every 15 to 30 feet of row. Encircling the field with continu- ous sticky tape is also mentioned. Sources of sticky traps include ARBICO (10) and Golden Harvest Organics (11).

Since the adults overwinter in plant debris, there is value in sanitation procedures that destroy refuge sites. Plowing or rototilling weeds and crop residues in the fall is often recommended, as is destruction of grassy and solanaceous (tomato family) weeds adjacent to the field (12). Unfortu- nately, these procedures are often in conflict with good sustainable practices that strive to maintain soil cover and field buffers. When such conflicts occur, growers can view sanitation procedures as transitional strategies only, and look for more sustainable practices to use in the future. Anecdotal reports have suggested that catnip might repel flea beetles. Research by organic garden- ers in 1997 failed to confirm this information, however. The gardeners reported that catnip used as a mulch or sprayed as an extract tea did a generally poor job of repelling the pest (13).

Here is a link that might be useful: Flea Beetle: Organic Control

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I appreciate all the input.

The easy way to grow eggplant is to cover them with row covers until they start to flower. At that point you need to remove them for pollination, but for some reason eggplant are much less attractive to flea beetles then. It's been absolutely impossible to grow eggplant here organically until row covers appeared. An easy, magic solution.

Flea beetles love eggplant!!

I have never been able to grow eggplant because of FB's. I've tried several methods mentioned here. But, I found that if I let my guard down for a moment the FB's quickly moved in and caused significant damage overnight. They can put a major hurtin on a small plant. Last year I waited to plant them until they had grown to some size. Unfortunately, I planted too late and didn't get a single eggplant all summer.

This year I'm growing them in a large pot and they're already making fruit. I have found that the pot needs to be at least a couple of feet off the ground. The FB's can cling to the side of the pot on their way up to the plant.

Eggplants are heavy feeders and need a good soil mix with plenty of organic matter. I feed mine weekly with a dose of fish & seaweed fertilizer, 2-3-1. Good luck with yours!

BTW, I live across the Potomac from Harper's Ferry.

My flea beetles are starting to leave my eggplants alone (I picked a bad location this year -- none of my trap crops (mustard greens) around, and I didn't do any marigolds or other good companions). I had the sudden realization just the other day that what I thought were my peppers were shaping up to be more eggplants; I must have mixed up my seedlings in the greenhouse. So I'm probably going to be flooded with them this year :P

By the way: was I the only one here who pictured a viscious eggplant plant with teeth gobbling up pests when they saw the title? :)

OK...the plants need to be more than a couple of feet off the ground. I just went out to find the FB's devouring the eggplant. Squeezed em dead and moved the plants to higher ground. Gosh but they're determined to eat my plants.

It ain't gonna happen!!!

Row covers, Peggy. They work like magic.