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Eggplant Bugs #572579

Asked June 20, 2019, 10:16 PM EDT

Hi! I have a plot at a community garden in Baltimore City. On Sunday I noticed these plump looking bugs munching on eggplant leaves in a neighbors plot, and today I noticed them on mine. It looks like they only eat the leaves, not the stem, but they eat the WHOLE leaf, nothing left. They seem to come in these two colors, a darker orangish-brown and a paler variation like in the pictures. I was wondering if you could identify these bugs and give me some advice on organic methods to preventing their return! Thanks!

Baltimore City County Maryland

Expert Response

Hi- these are Colorado potato beetle larvae. They actually prefer eggplant to potato or tomato. Adults and larvae feed on leaves and there are 2 generations per year.

At this point you need to handpick and kill as many as possible (you can drop them into a container of soapy water). You can also spray with pyrethrins, spinosad, or neem products (all organic).

Next year- cover eggplant with floating row cover material to exclude flea beetles and Colorado potato beetle. Remove the row cover when the plants start to flower.
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/colorado-potato-beetle-vegetables
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/floating-row-cover

Surround (kaolin clay) can also be used to repel beetles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3aExBoMYyY
Jon

Jon
Answered by the Home & Garden Information Center's Maryland Certified Professional Horticulturists Replied June 21, 2019, 3:18 PM EDT

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