Check for asparagus beetles. They are sometimes confused with lady beetles. http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/asparagus-beetles/

In my garden snails and slugs destroy asparagus as it emerges, especially if they are mulched.

I read the article and looked very closely in the garden and I did not see any bugs / larve at all and do not recall every seeing those types of bugs previously. The rest of the asparagus is just emerging and all look good except two were curled at the top. We had a very late spring here and the only things in the garden are the asparagus and strawberries.

It has also been very dry, no slugs in sight yet either. No mulch.

Agree that it is asparagus beetle larvae damage. It is the classic appearance. Adults will usually skin away round patches while the larvae do narrow trails as they inch along. It is far more apparent on the purple spears but on green spears you may not even notice it.

So the issue is how aggressive you want to get in eliminating it. Organic controls are limited - hand picking, earlier harvesting, botanical sprays, importing beneficial insects, etc. - so usually some percentage of damage such as you see is accepted. Otherwise it means bringing out the chemical insecticides. That is a choice only you can make.

Dave

Agree with Dave. i had them at my old house and had to pull the leaf mulch off the bed, spray then put new leaves down. That seemed to do the job.

I try to be as organic as possible, but when it comes to asparagus ya gotta make some choices! Nancy

Found a bug. Looks like this http://fyi.uwex.edu/hort/files/2014/11/asparagus_beetle_striped.png

If I go the chemical route will sevin work? If not, what else?

You'd have to check the Sevin label to be sure but I suspect that Sevin would kill them. Of course then you couldn't harvest for the prescribed waiting period after application. There are many far less toxic controls than Sevin with all its side-effects available. Neem or Horticultural Oil spray to name just two.

Unless you discover a huge number of the beetles then hand picking and tossing them in soapy water is all you need to do. And you can hose the larvae off the plants with just a garden hose.

Dave

Yes, if your patch isn't too large you can pick them off.

LOL, Dave, I've never used soapy water. I just squish then as I grab them. They are quick little buggers, though. Maybe knocking them into soapy water would be better, especially on warm days when the beetles move faster....sometimes faster than I can grab.

I'm in Virginia and I was amazed at the number of asparagus beetles. I have 5 stalks (2nd year, so not picking any yet) and one afternoon I knocked 25 beetles off into soapy water. The other days before that day I killed 2-3 every time I checked. Now I am seeing eggs and larva. I think vigilance and hand picking can keep most of the damage at bay.

Thanks to all for your advice

How are your asparagus doing now? I was so proud of myself for staying on top of it and then today I went out and found one beetle, but around 50 larva. And tons more eggs. (I only have 5 stalks. One stalk had been mostly eaten and 25 larva were on that one alone.)

About to go on a solo vacay and no one else in the family at home is going to care about my vegetable garden. The bugs should have a good time these next few weeks. Sigh. I hope my asparagus live to see another season. One more year and I maybe will even get to eat one.

I found only adults. I need to find pictures of larvae and eggs. I think I am only just beginning to be infested. I need to educate my self more.