Organic Solutions for Colorado Potato Beetles
A Factsheet from Toxic Free NC
AboutColoradoPotatoBeetles
TheColoradopotatobeetleisacommonpestofthe
“nightshade,”orSolanaceaefamilyofplants.Theseinclude
potatoes,tomatoes,eggplants,toma<llos,tobacco,peppers
andpetunias.Bothadultsandlarvaeeattheleavesofthese
plants,andcankillalotofleaves,hur<ngtheplantoreven
killingit.
Coloradopotatobeetlesareverydifficultpeststocontrol.
Theyhavedevelopedresistancetomostpes<cidesandhave
fewnaturalenemies.
The<psbelowaredesignedtohelpyoumanagethepestsif
theybecomeaprobleminyourgarden.Sustainablepest
managementstrategiesusuallyworkbestwhenused
together.Thinkaboutyourgarden,yourresources,andyour
<me,andputseveralofthese<pstogetherforaplanthat
worksforyou.
Iden2fyingColoradoPotatoBeetles
LifecycleofaColoradopotatobeetle.
Photocredit:ArtCushman,USDA;PropertyoftheSmithsonian
AdultColoradopotatobeetlesareovalshapedandabout1/3
Ins<tu<on,DepartmentofEntomology
inchlong.Theyareyellowish-orangewith10boldblack
stripesrunningdownthelengthoftheirbacks.Larvaeare
soI-bodied,humpbacked,andreddish-orangewitharowof
blackspotsalongtheirsides.Eggsarelaidinclustersonthe
undersidesofleavesandarebrightyellow.
LifeCycle
AdultColoradopotatobeetleshibernateinthesoilinand
aroundthegardenallwinter,andcomeouthungryand
readytoeatintheearlyspring,justasthepotatoplantsare
comingup.AIerma<ng,theylaytheireggsonthe
undersidesofleaves.Theeggshatchin5-10daysandthe
larvaeeatplantleavesfor2-3weeksbeforediggingbackinto
thesoiltopupate.Thereareusually2-3genera<onsper
year.
Coloradopotatobeetleeggshatchingwithbrandnewlarvae.
Photocredit:WhitneyCranshaw,ColoradoStateUniversity
Preven2on
1)Growhealthyorganicplants.Strong,healthyplantscan
handlesomedamagefromColoradopotatobeetlesbeUer
thanweak,strugglingplants.Makesurethatyourcropsare
geWngenoughsunlightandwaterandthatthesoiliswelldrained,richinnutrients,andhasplentyoforganicmaUer.
Researchhasshownthatpotatoplantsgrowinginsoil
fer<lizedwithmanurearelesslikelytobeaUackedby
Coloradopotatobeetlesthanthosegrowninsoilfer<lized
withchemicalfer<lizers.
2)Plantearlyvarie2es.Bychoosingapotatovarietythat
maturesinlessthan80days,youmaybeabletoavoidthe
secondgenera<onofColoradoPotatoBeetlesthatcomes
outinthesummer.Checkseedcatalogsforthebestvarie<es
andmaturitydatesforyourarea.
3)Mulchwithstraw.Athicklayerofstrawmulch
underneathyourcropcanconfuseadultpotatobeetlesthat
arecomingupoutofthesoiltoeat,makingitharderfor
themtofindyourplants.
4)Userowcovers.KeepColoradopotatobeetlesfrom
findingyourcropbycoveringyourplantswithalightweight
“floa<ng”rowcoversuchasReemay.Thesematerials(as
opposedtoplas<corheavierfabrics)allowwater,air,and
sunlighttogetthrough.Theycanbefoundatgardensupply
storesororderedfromseedcatalogs.
Thecoverscanliedirectlyontheplants(theplantswillliI
thecoverastheygrow),oryoucansupportthecoverswith
wirehoops.Thetrickistokeeptheedgesofthecovers
<ghtlyburiedorweightedsothattheColoradopotato
beetlescannotgetin.
CoveringyourcropworksbestinsoilwhereColoradopotato
beetlehasnotbeenapestinthepast.Ifyouhaveadults
spendingthewinterinyoursoilalready,rowcoverswillkeep
themininsteadofout!
Coloradopotatobeetleeggs.
Photocredit:DavidCappaert,MichiganStateUniversity
GeFngRidofColoradoPotatoBeetlesWithoutToxic
Chemicals
1)Scoutandhandpick.HandpickingColoradopotato
beetlesandtheirlarvaeearlyintheseasoncangreatly
reducetheirnumbers-everybeetleyoukillintheSpringis
onethatwillnotmakebabybeetleslater!Keepacloseeye
onyourplants.InspectoIenbylookingattheundersidesof
theleavesforeggclusters,andatthe<psofnewgrowthfor
larvae.
CloseupofColoradopotatobeetlelarva.
Photocredit:JessicaLawrence,EurofinsAgroscienceServices
2)Planta“trap”crop.Atrapcropisoneplantedtolurethe
beetlesawayfromyourmaincrop.Forinstance,ifyouhave
hadaproblemwithColoradopotatobeetlesonyour
tomatoesinthepast,nextyearplantpotatoesontheedge
ofthegardenearlyintheseasontolurethebeetlescoming
outintheearlyspring.Later,butbeforethefirstgenera<on
ofnewlarvaeheadsundergroundtopupate,killthe“trap”
potatoplantsalongwiththepestsbysealingthemall
togetherintogarbagebagsandleavingtheminthesunto
bakeforafewdays.Then,plantyourtomatoesinanother
partofthegarden.
3)APractnaturalenemies.EventhoughtheColorado
potatobeetlehasfewnaturalenemies,itcan’thurttohost
theonesthatdoexist!AUractbeneficialinsectsandother
helpfulcreaturestoyourgardenandthey’lldosomeofthe
dirtyworkforyou.Pollenandnectarplantswithsmall
flowers,suchaswildflowersandherbs,willaUractparasi<c
wasps.Birds,spidersandpredatorybeetlesliketolivein
perennialherbandflowerbedsandsmallshrubsnearthe
DamagefromColoradopotatobeetlelarva.
garden.
Photocredit:USDAAPHISPPQArchive,USDAAPHISPPQ
4)Bringinpredators.Spinedsoldierbugs,parasi<cwasps,
andparasi<cnematodesthatwillaUacktheadults,larvae,or
pupaeofColoradoPotatoBeetlescanbeboughtand
releasedintothegarden.Checkgardeningandseedcatalogs
forproperspeciesandinstruc<ons.
5)Bioinsec2cideBTSD.BTSD(Bacillusthuringiensis,var.san
diego)isatypeofbacteria.WheneatenbytheColorado
potatobeetlelarvae,BTSDproducesapoisoninthepest’s
gut.Thelarvaewillstopea<ngandeventuallydie.BTSDis
selec<ve,whichmeansitwillkillmanyleaf-ea<ngbeetles
withouthur<ngbeneficialinsectslikepollinators.Itmustbe
eatenbythelarvaetowork,sosprayitontheleavesof
plantswheretheyarefeeding.
TofindBTSD,checkgardeningandseedcatalogs.Makesure
tochecktheBTSDproductyouselectisontheOrganic
MaterialsReviewIns<tute’slistofproductsapprovedfor
AdultColoradopotatobeetle.
cer<fiedorganicfarms.Becausecutwormsspendmostof
Photocredit:C.Trouvé,ServicedelaProtec<ondesVégétaux
their<mehidingunderground,theuseofotherinsec<cides
isnotrecommendedforcutwormcontrol.
6)Otherorganicallyacceptableinsec2cides.Asalastresort,youmightchoosetoapplyleast-toxicinsec<cidesthatare
OMRIapproved.insec<cidesareusuallyonlyeffec<veinslowingdownColoradopotatobeetles,notstoppingthem.
Organicfarmersweaskedrecommendspinosad,andothertypesincludepyrethrin,Neemoil,orinsec<cidalsoap.
Eventhoughthesespraysareapprovedforcer<fiedorganicfarms,theycanbeharmful.Besuretofollowinstruc<ons
onthelabelsverycarefully.Theseproductscankill“goodbugs”youwanttokeepinyourgarden,souseasliUleasyou
can,andsprayonlyintheearlymorningorlateeveningwhen“goodbugs”arelessac<ve.
Insec<cidesusuallydon’tworkagainstadultColoradopotatobeetlesandtheireggs,buttheydokillthesoI-bodied
larvae.Tohitthemostlarvaewithaspray,youneedtouseitsoonaIerthefirsteggshavehatched,andtotallycover
theleaves.Oneroundmaydothejob,oryoumayfindyouneedtosprayagainwhenanewgenera<onoflarvaehatch.
Sources
Ellis,BarbaraandBradley,FernMarshall,editors.TheOrganicGardener'sHandbookofNaturalInsectandDisease
Control:ACompleteProblem-SolvingGuidetoKeepingYourGardenandYardHealthyWithoutChemicals.RodalePress,
1996.
Alyokhin,Andrei.“ColoradoPotatoBeetleManagementonPotatoes:CurrentChallengesandFutureProspects.”Fruity,
VegetableandCerealScienceandBiotechnology,GlobalScienceBooks.2009.ViewedMarch,2012:[link]
Ragsdale,DandRadcliffe,E.“ColoradoPotatoBeetle.”UniversityofMinnesota:VegEdge–VegetableIPMResourcefor
theMidwest.ViewedMarch,2012:hUp://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/cpb.htm“ColoradoPotatoBeetle.”Insect
andrelatedpestsofvegetables.NorthCarolinaStateUniversity:CenterforIntegratedPestManagement.ViewedMarch,
2012:[link]
Thisfactsheetwaswri2enwiththeneedsofnon-commercialhome,schoolandcommunitygardenersin
mind.Cer;fiedOrganicgrowers,orthoseseekingacer;fica;on,shouldcheckwiththeircer;fyingagency
beforeusingANYinsec;cide.Someorganicallyacceptableinsec;cidesareapprovedforuseinCer;fied
Organicsystemsonlyagainstcertainpestsorincertainsitua;ons.