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All gardeners are familiar with the Colorado potato beetle.
Not a single area where potatoes, tomatoes or eggplants are grown was missed by this striped leaf beetle. Therefore, summer residents are constantly inventing or looking for reliable ways to combat this harmful beetle. Among the main methods are:
- chemical;
- agrotechnical;
- biological;
- recipes of folk wisdom.
Today we will pay attention to the last point. After all, many potato growers avoid the use of chemical poisons and often cannot fulfill all the requirements of agricultural technology. That's why the striped beetle is a nuisance. Another ability of the Colorado beetle that is unpleasant for summer residents is that it quickly gets used to the effects of modern drugs. Therefore, they try to poison the Colorado potato beetle with different compounds.
Burning remedies for leaf beetle
Popular ingredients among summer residents are mustard powder and table vinegar. However, it should be said right away that the folk recipe repels the adult pest and its larvae, and does not destroy it.
Mustard against the Colorado potato beetle is used in its pure form and in a mixture with various substances. It helps eliminate not only the above-mentioned pest from the garden, but also other unwanted insects.Its ability to grow quickly and clear the soil of scab and pathogenic late blight saves plantings from codling moths, wireworms and slugs.
An important quality is the environmental friendliness of mustard. It is sown as green manure, used in cooking and to protect vegetable beds. You can poison the Colorado potato beetle with mustard using dry powder, which can be easily purchased at the grocery store.
Dry mustard against the Colorado beetle
In dry form, mustard is very easy to use, and its effect allows you to cope with pests over a large area. How does mustard work against parasites? It emits an unpleasant odor for beetles and thus scares them away from the garden. And the bitter taste of mustard powder is not liked by the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle. Therefore, they leave the leaves on which mustard powder is poured.
To use dry mustard powder, no complicated recipe is required. You purchase raw materials in the required quantities, scatter them in places where pests accumulate and in the aisles. Then sprinkle the plants well. The duration of exposure to the powder is up to 4 days. The larvae will leave the plants at this time, and the adults will bypass them. To enhance the effect of the substance, different formulations with mustard are used. A recipe with mustard and vinegar works well.
The combination of these components enhances the effect of the product and allows you to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle faster and more reliably. The leaf beetle does not develop immunity to the mixture or to individual components, so the composition always works.
Using a mixture of components
Not only mustard has a specific aroma, but vinegar also has a characteristic pungent odor. The main thing is to maintain the proportions of the components in the mixture of mustard and vinegar against the Colorado potato beetle.
To prepare a mixture to combat the Colorado parasite, you can use several recipes with the addition of additional ingredients.
The simplest one looks like this:
- For 10 liters of solution, take one package of mustard powder (100 grams) or 4 tablespoons.
- Add 100 ml table vinegar (9%).
- Mix the ingredients well.
- Dilute the mixture with water (10 liters) and mix again.
The second version of the composition differs slightly in the method of preparation and the proportion of components. For it, take twice as much dry mustard powder (200 g), dilute it in a bucket of water (10 liters) and leave for 12 hours to infuse. Then add table vinegar (150 ml). If in the first option a mixture of mustard and vinegar was diluted with water, now we do not mix these substances at the beginning of cooking.
To enhance the effect of the product, many gardeners add wormwood, an infusion of garlic or onion peel, and turpentine to it.
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Wormwood, turpentine, mustard, and vinegar against the Colorado potato beetle have a strong effect when used correctly. How to use the prepared solution? Spraying the bushes will be the most appropriate method. Treatment should begin at the beginning of tops growth and at the moment the number of striped pests increases.
Certain conditions must be met to achieve maximum effect:
- Start spraying in the evening. At this time, the heat subsides and solar activity decreases. Plants receive less stress, and mustard will not lose its beneficial properties from direct sunlight.
- Choose a warm and windless evening. The composition will adhere well to the plants and will not be sprayed outside the beds. And heat will help the components to better demonstrate their effect.
- Carry out the treatment regularly. The last time is 3 weeks before harvest.
- The composition must be used within 3 hours after preparation. Otherwise it will be useless.
- If it rains after spraying, you will have to repeat the treatment. Drops of water wash the solution off the bushes and its effect stops.
The compositions are used not only for spraying potato beds, but also for watering.
Reviews from gardeners
Conclusion
When fighting the Colorado potato beetle It must be remembered that the main damage is caused by the pest larvae. Therefore, you should not delay using the chosen means.Traditional recipes are safe for both humans and the environment. Therefore, their use will not only get rid of the voracious parasite, but will also not cause harm.
