I am having a hard time/Gulp!!!

[butterfly]

Potatoe bugs are just starting on the plants

They aren't the fully developed bug yet

Blossums are coming too

But I went to pick the bugs off and my tummy took a few flips. Almost got sick. I had gloves on too

I remember as a little kid, my dad would give me a penny a bug but I foget how I picked them

Any suggestions and what do I do with them??

Another question. Where the heck do these bugs come from in the first place?

Before we put a garden in, we don't have cabbge flies or potatoe bugs or any bugs

they come come out of thin air so where do they develope from and how do they know I have potatoe plants to attack??

[Meggylou]

I truy feel for you. The one year I had potatoes pop up in a garde...forgotten from the last people who owned the home I just let them eat the plant to death. I just CANNOT touch them and I'm usually not a squeamish person at all, but they just creep me out. Hence why I don't grow potatoes.

[butterfly]

I truy feel for you. The one year I had potatoes pop up in a garde...forgotten from the last people who owned the home I just let them eat the plant to death. I just CANNOT touch them and I'm usually not a squeamish person at all, but they just creep me out. Hence why I don't grow potatoes.

I am not the squimish type either but this just really made my tummy flip and I have done a lot worse things in my life that didn't bother me at all

I hope I don't need to squish them between my fingers. GULP, triple gulp!!

[Durgan]

Potatoe bugs are just starting on the plants

They aren't the fully developed bug yet

Blossums are coming too

But I went to pick the bugs off and my tummy took a few flips. Almost got sick. I had gloves on too

I remember as a little kid, my dad would give me a penny a bug but I foget how I picked them

Any suggestions and what do I do with them??

Another question. Where the heck do these bugs come from in the first place?

Before we put a garden in, we don't have cabbge flies or potatoe bugs or any bugs

they come come out of thin air so where do they develope from and how do they know I have potatoe plants to attack??

Mommy and Poppa bug have laid eggs and you are seeing the result. In a few days the juveniles will be adults and they will devastate your potato patch , by laying more eggs and producing more voracious juveniles.

If you cannot finger them simple pull the leaf off and place them in a container with soap and water, or kerosene, or javex.

Look under the leaves for eggs and destroy them forthwith. Also you must kill every adult.

Here is a picture of the eggs.
http://www.durgan.org/ShortURL/?CHAWU 2 June 2007 Egg Cluster

The Colorado Potato Bettle is everywhere. They over-winter as adults in your garden area.

[dj_backq]

I do the same thing as Durgan, I drop them in a soapy water or natural insecticide soap.

[butterfly]

It didn't occure to me these bugs of any type were always in the ground, just waiting the for meals to emerge

yuk!!

[Mervyn]

I just thought of this , so it is untested..

Spray em first with some soapy water ( non detergent dish soap and water ) and to pick them up, use a hand held battery powered vacumn, the ones designed for computer keyboards, I think they should have enough power.. think Ill try it out soon...

[beeman]

It's a bit late for this year, but I believe I have the answer for the future.
We were bugged for years with these ugly bugs, then someone suggested black plastic for weed control, so we tilled the garden where the potatoes had been, then weighted down a sheet of black plastic. Low and behold, no more potato beetles.
This is now the 3rd year of this treatment and still no beetles. Seems they winter over in the ground, black plastic cooks them without doing any damage to the ground.
Another treatment is BT, formulated for the potato beetle, but it's only temporary and gets washed off with rain.

[butterfly]

[quote][/quote]


Great tip Beeman. I; will do that in the Fall and give it a od test