Potato Bugs – On Tomato
Q: I am finding these beetles on my tomato plants in Polk County. The leave behind an orange residue when handled. They appear to be eating the leaf edges. What are they?
A: You have Colorado potato beetles, also known as “potato bugs” when I was a kid. The adults don’t fly very well and the fat pink larvae are not very mobile, so picking potato bugs off our Irish potatoes was a childhood chore for me. The beetles can damage small tomato plants but they rarely hurt established plants. Unless you have an acre of tomatoes, I recommend you just pick them off the plants early in the morning and drop them in a jar of soapy water like I did several decades ago.
Colorado Beetle Control Strategies
Colorado potato beetle
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1
Effect of Excessive Rainfall on Pre-emergent Herbicides
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2
Aucuba – Wilting
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3
Geranium – Overwintering
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4
Hercules Beetle Grub
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5
St Augustine – Mowing
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1
Yellownecked Caterpillars – Identification
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2
Geranium – Overwintering
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3
Poinsettia – Forcing to Bloom for Christmas
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4
Whitefly
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5
Sod – Laying too late
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