Have you ever seen some tiny holes increasingly appearing on the plants in your vegetable garden? That is a good sign that flea beetles have taken over your garden! In North America, flea beetles are bugs that infest the most outside of homes as they can be an ongoing problem because adult beetles only need 10 degrees celcius to emerge and damage your plants. Also, they lay their eggs around plant stems and larvae feed themselves by eating the roots which can be difficult for you to grow any vegetables with beetles around!
- How to identify them?
Throughout our number of experiences, the technicians at Provincial Pest Control can inform you that: under this category of pests, there are different types that target specific types of vegetables like eggplant. While the common flea beetles mainly damage broccoli, cauliflower and any vegetable that belongs to the brassica family. Of course, they can also damage other vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes and beans.
Flea beetles are part of a group of small leaf beetles that ranges from 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch long. Depending on the species, they have a round shape and are black, bronze, brown, blue and gray. They got their name “flea beetles” because they can jump to escape when they see you approaching!
- The Damages
As mentioned before, adults can damage your plants by chewing on them and leaving tiny holes on the leaves. When they feed onto new and young plants, It can fatally damage and kill them.
However, flea beetles can damage both new and “mature” plants as they carry contagious diseases from one plant to another that cause the plants to wilt. That is why they are considered a pest!
If you suspect any signs of flea beetle infestations or have any other issues in Toronto or the GTA, please do not hesitate to seek assistance by calling us at 647-997-5080 or Get in touch with us to get a free inspection and be stress free!
