I don't know what some of these post are talking about. A flea beetle is the size of a pin head, and they do not fly. However a can jump quite a distance for there size. Make sure there is no weeds or other vegetation around the plant. If you put down black plastic in a row and plant the eggplant through the plastic, that will help. One thing you can try is the sticky goo I use for the apple maggot fly. Use a piece of bright yellow plastic card covered with the goo. They are attracted to the color and will get stuck in the in the goo. Depending on the number of beetle, you might have to replace the card or clean it. Vegetable oil is use as a solvent for the goo and then some soap and water. reapply the goo. I would use a piece a card 4" x 6" at each plant.

I have used traps, sprays, covers and so on to control these pesky insects in Wisconsin.... we have severe infestations of them.... they defoliated my cherry tree in one day! Needless to say, since then I rely mostly on netting to prevent the contact with them. Other than that, I have also tried another method, though it is not fun. If you manage to collect enough beetles from your traps, and have an old blender, Grind those suckers up with lots of water, strain the emulsion, and use a pump sprayer with a spreader sticker added to the water. They do not like the smell of dead japanese beetles, and tend to stay away from the plants sprayed with this.... it has to be applied often if you have lots of rain ( a downfall, depending on the size of your vines) but given the relatively dry summer we have had at least, the re-application has only had to be once a week or so. Some long term solutions include adding milky spore to your lawn, this takes a while for the fungus to build up in the soil, but it kills the grubs before emerging as beetles, so I have had success with this. In all honesty, a combination of all of these will do the most good, as well has hand picking in the morning while they are inactive. I hope that this helps you out!

Thank you for your reply!. We are in Dallas, TX . The vines are small, we just planted them this spring, therefore I am afraid that the insects will kill it. So far all we did was to sprinkle the leaves with the water from a hose, as you have suggested. We have other plants in our back-yard (flowers, bushes, pomegranates) - but the insects attacked specifically this plant... I hope that you are right and that the insects (or are they bugs?) will not destroy the whole plant. So far, there is no leave that does not have holes in it...

Milky Spore... That's my plan. The Japanese beetles are eating the leaves off my fruit trees and corn, so I've been spraying Sevin, but I also order me some Milky Spore. Jellyman, who hangs over in the Fruit forum has been using it for years and the stuff works for over a decade after application. When I stopped by his place a couple weeks ago, he had all kinds of yummy stuff that JB's love but I didn't see any JB around and it was his Milky Spore application he did years ago. It's natural and won't harm humans or pets, but it takes a while (maybe a few years) to rid the yard of JBs. The reason is because of the way it works. Milky Spore is a bacteria that grows in the gut of JB grubs which eventually kiils them. As they die off, they produce more Milky Spore, so it will spread out on it's own from your yard to the neighbors. And since JB's don't fly far, they will eventually disappear. BTW, I bought enough Milky Spore to do 20K sq/ft but will use it on an acre since it'll propagate on it's own. It was $150, but it'll be $$$'s well spent because it's basically a one time application that'll work for years to come.