7 Best Beetle Control Tips to Keep Your Garden Healthy

Beetles are small insects that can cause huge damage in your garden. They don't just chew on leaves and eat fruit; they viciously attack plants and weaken the plant until it dies! Even young beetles can cause major damage to plants and grasses. When you have an infestation, beetles can start damaging your grass at the roots. Luckily, there are some simple and effective beetle control tips you can implement to preserve your garden in just a few minutes a day.

Pick Out Beetles By Hand

If you have only seen a few beetles around your garden, this may mean that the population is still low and it should be pretty easy to inspect your plants and pick out the beetles one by one by hand. To keep the beetles from coming back, you may want to put them into a soapy water solution.

Try Preventive Chemicals Before Beetles Reproduce

You may want to keep your garden safe by using a preventive tool to kill mature beetles before they can reproduce. Thiamethoxam and imidacloprid are two of the active ingredients that work best when applied to beetles at an early age, while granular powders will also help you stop eggs from hatching. However, be careful which chemicals you use because you don’t want to harm the bees that pollinate your garden.

Use Organic Materials

You can try using organic items like neem oil to get rid of pesky beetles. Organic options like Spinosad may be especially helpful to use on fruits, veggies and other produce that you will eat and don’t want to contaminate with strong insecticides. For the best results, apply this product in the afternoon when beetles are at their peak activity.

Buy Insecticide from the Store

Acelepryn insecticide is less toxic to pollinator bees than other pesticides that contain permethrin, carbaryl or imidacloprid. You can use acelepryn products to get rid of beetles without harming bees as long as you follow instructions for proper application. Be sure to read all of the label warnings before you use an insecticide in your garden.

Avoid Irrigation During Beetle Season 

When beetles are at their most active season, you may want to avoid frequent irrigation. This will help prevent beetles from laying their eggs on your turf. Without a moist environment, beetles won’t want to stick around and will move elsewhere.

Invest in a Floating Row Cover 

To keep your plants safe from beetles, you may want to use a protective floating row cover over them. This white, spun-bonded or woven material can be draped over plants to protect leaves from beetles and other pests. Floating row covers can also protect your plants from frost. Just be sure not to pin this fabric down near blooming veggies like pumpkins, which need to be accessible to bees for pollination.

Call a Professional

If you're afraid of damaging your plants and feel unsure about trying insecticides on your own, the easiest and safest option is to schedule professional pest control services. Experts can give you the best advice on what to do to keep beetles out of your garden without hurting you or your pets!

Check out this article for some additional ideas!

1. Take Advantage of Pests’ Natural Enemies

Not all insects are bad. Insects such as parasitic wasps, ladybirds, spiders and ground beetles are all beneficial to a garden as they prey on pests. Look out for these garden-friendly insects and try to encourage them into your garden by planting pollen and nectar producing plants.

2. Use Barriers

Create a physical barrier to stop pests getting to your fruit and vegetables. There are a number of ways to do this but one of the easiest is to use a fine net. Position the net over your plants, leaving enough space for the plant to grow.

Adding a cardboard collar around the stem of a plant and pressed into the soil an inch or so deep, will prevent cutworms and other burrowing insects from getting to your plants through the soil.

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