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How to Get Rid of Potato Bugs
Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) are well known for their ability to harm plants throughout the nightshade family, but they’re disastrous for potatoes in particular. This post will cover how to get rid of potato bugs, including fixes for if you’ve already found them on your plants and preventative measures you can take.
About Potato Beetles
As you can likely guess from the name, the Colorado potato beetle comes from Colorado, but it is now in nearly every U.S. state. Both larvae and adults eat the foliage off of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. They are resistant to many common types of pesticides.
Colorado potato beetles typically overwinter in the soil, emerging in late April through May depending on where you live. They go through 1-3 generations each summer if left unchecked and can devastate your crop with the sheer number of offspring they produce – each female can lay up to 500 eggs in a season.
(Another common potato bug you may have heard of is the Jerusalem cricket, but they only live on the western side of the U.S. and are not an issue for us northeast gardeners.)
You’ll want to learn more about Colorado potato beetles if you’re new to these bugs. If you’re already acquainted, here’s how to get rid of them:
How to Get Rid of Potato Bugs
Here are 15 tips on how to get rid of potato bugs. Try a few of them at once for the most success!
Hand Pick Them Off
One of the most effective ways to get rid of potato bugs is to pick them off your potatoes. If you check your potato plants daily for potato bugs in all growth stages and their eggs, you can kill them and prevent further damage.
For larvae and adults, you can gather them in a container with a tight lid, drop them into soapy water to kill them instantly, or crush them between gloved fingers.
For eggs, look for small yellow-orange ovals clustered on the bottom of potato plant leaves. Crush them thoroughly with gloves to prevent hatching or pull the full leaf off and drop it into a soapy water mixture.
Always wear gloves when working with potato beetles, since they have a chemical that can irritate your skin.
This method is very time consuming, and while it can be effective, it’s best done in conjunction with a few other methods, like:
Spraying with Soap and Water
Similar to dropping plucked potato bugs into soapy water, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of dish soap to a gallon of water and just spray it directly onto adults and larvae to kill them. You will have to spray the beetles directly, though, making this very similar to the method above, and not a spray-and-leave-it fix.
If you want, you can also add a little bit of ground cayenne pepper and garlic to further prevent potato bugs.
Use Diatomaceous Earth
Sprinkling diatomaceous earth around your potato plants and on the underside of leaves can help control potato beetle populations. The powder cuts into the bugs’ exoskeletons and kills them.
BT Spray
Bacillus Thuringiensis, or BT, is a type of bacteria that is toxic to potato beetle larvae. You can spray it all over the plant, including under leaves, on a weekly basis. The larvae will still eat the leaves, but die of starvation after several days once the BT kicks in.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t work on the adults, and it does take some time to work even on larvae.
Neem Oil
A neem oil spray kills both Colorado potato beetle larvae and adults, but it can also harm beneficial bugs if not used carefully. Spray it all over potato plants, including under the leaves.
Line Trenches with Plastic
Making deep trenches between potato rows and lining them with plastic can potentially capture adults, leaving them unable to get out. Like most of these tips, it’s not a complete fix and should be done alongside other measures. Here’s more on this method.
Essential Oils
Spraying peppermint, sage, or thyme oil on or around the potatoes can mimic having the actual plants nearby and may help confuse and deflect potato bugs.
How to Prevent Potato Bugs
If you’re just starting your potatoes or prepping for next year’s crop, here are a few preventative steps you can take.
Remove Loose Leaves, Grass, Wood, and More Debris
Leaf litter, dead weeds, and other common fall leftovers make excellent hiding places for potato bugs to overwinter. Clearing and cleaning up the area leaves them exposed and less likely to make it through the winter.
Plant Resistant Varieties
Certain potato varieties, like King Harry and Russett Burbank, have some resistance to Colorado potato beetle attacks.
Plant Early or Later in the Season
Depending on when the ground thaws and freezes in your area, you can try planting potatoes earlier or later than usual to avoid peak potato bug times.
Rotate Your Potatoes
If you haven’t planted your potatoes yet, make sure you grow them in an area where you haven’t planted potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, or peppers in the last 1-3 years. This prevents potato beetles that have overwintered in the soil from getting a head start and defends against blight.
Use Proper Companion Plants
Consider growing some of the best potato companion plants near your potatoes. Some, like nasturtiums, coriander, and tansy, can help deter potato beetles.
Good companion plants may also draw in helpful insects, like ladybugs and lacewings, that prey on potato beetle eggs.
Use Row Covers/Netting
Using raised row netting can prevent potato beetles as long as you’ve rotated your potato crop to a new area. The netting, when propped above the plants and secured all the way into the ground, can keep beetles from reaching your potatoes in the first place while still letting light and water through.
Straw Mulch
Adding about 3 inches of straw mulch to the ground after potato plants emerge can make it harder for potato bugs to get back out of the ground after a winter of hibernation.
Growing Potatoes in Containers
Another way to keep potato beetles at bay is to grow your potatoes in a container with fresh potting soil. If you also keep them indoors, it will be even harder for the beetles to get to them!
Happy Potato Growing!
With these 15 tips, you should have plenty of options for preventing and fixing a potato bug infestation. Try multiple ones to see what works best!
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