This insect, brought from America, quickly adapted to our region and became one of the most dangerous threats to crops.
Each female beetle lays many eggs, from which insatiable larvae emerge.
To effectively control the pest, you need to know which methods work best.
Mechanical removal of beetles is the simplest and most environmentally friendly method.
To do this, early in the morning or in the evening, when the beetles are less active, they are collected by hand.
It is also important to remember to check the underside of the leaves, where pests lay eggs.
It is better to destroy collected beetles and larvae in a soap solution, since simply throwing them away does not guarantee that they will not return to the garden bed.
Biological control helps to get rid of the beetle without harming the environment.
A good solution would be to use natural enemies of the Colorado potato beetle, such as ground beetles or ladybugs, which feed on the eggs and larvae of the pest.
You can also plant repellent plants next to potatoes: calendula, dill, garlic. Their smell repels beetles.
If the pest has spread en masse, chemical insecticides may be required. Preparations such as Aktara, Karate or Tanrek are suitable for processing potatoes.
They must be used strictly according to the instructions, observing safety standards. It is advisable to alternate the preparations so that the beetles do not develop resistance.
The effectiveness of chemical treatment is increased when combined with other methods, such as mechanical harvesting.
Preventing the beetle from appearing is another method of control.
To do this, they use agrotechnical methods: alternating crops on the plot, planting early-ripening potato varieties that have time to ripen before the peak of pest activity.
Deep plowing of the soil in the fall is recommended to destroy beetles overwintering in the soil.
It is important to keep the area clean by regularly removing weeds and plant debris.
