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Post by brownrexx on Sept 21, 2018 11:04:38 GMT -5
2 of my varieties of dry beans are just setting pods and they are maturing but the darn Mexican Bean Beetles have infested the plants.
I did a lot of hand squishing of larvae and adults but they still proliferated so then I sprayed with Neem after Googling and it was said that Neem would help - it didn't.
I don't want to lose my beans so today I mixed up a pump sprayer with water and 1/2 bottle of hot sauce and sprayed the beans. I hope this works but time will tell.
Does anybody have any other ideas? I may also try insecticidal soap in a coupld of days if the hot sauce does not work.
I will not grow these 2 varieties again since they mature so late and that is when the Mexican Bean Beetles are active but I hope that I can save this year's crop.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 21, 2018 12:26:09 GMT -5
How long ago did you spray the Neem? Neem kills actively feeding insects that ingest it. It's not so much a contact killer unless the oil suffocates the pests. So its action on adult beetles is mostly as an antifeedant, and it takes the beetles a while to starve.
Insecticidal soap is a good option to follow up the Neem, since insecticidal soap should kill any eggs and larvae on the plants.
I know hot sauce or garlic and hot sauce spray works on some pests, but I don't know whether Mexican bean beetles are among them, sorry.
Pyrethrin will kill them, but I am not a fan of using the stuff because it kills so many beneficials, and you have to be careful applying it because it's none too good for humans, either.
I have read that DE works, but of course you need a stretch of dry weather and preferably low humidity for DE to be effective. Did the rains ever stop up there?
Surround would help discourage the beetles from feeding, but won't kill them.
Beauveria bassiana is a fungus that controls a lot of beetles, thrips, and other pests, and it is labeled for Mexican Bean Beetles. Brand names include Mycrotrol and Botaniguard. It's pricey, though. Supposedly the best time to use it is early in the season where the first generation of beetles will infect subsequent generations so they never get out of control.
A couple of people on the web recommend Spinosad, but IFAS (University of Florida) doesn't list it as effective against Mexican Bean Beetles.
There are also parasitic wasps you can order that are effective, but again they are pricey and it may be too late in the season where you are.
Good luck!
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Post by brownrexx on Sept 21, 2018 19:12:04 GMT -5
Thanks Laura_in_FL, I had already priced the Mycotrol and it was really expensive and cost more that my bean crop is worth so I dismissed that idea. I think that DE may work on the beetles but they are few and far between. It's the larvae that seem to be doing all of the eating and turning the leaves into lace. I don't think that DE works on larvae, I think that it supposedly gets under the exoskeletons of beetles and scratches them to death. I have some spinosad which works for Colorado Potato Beetles so I may give that a try in addition to the soap although I also noted that MBB were not listed on the label. We do finally have some mostly dry weather with just occasional showers and we are expecting truly Fall like weather this weekend.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Sept 22, 2018 7:04:50 GMT -5
brownrexx, sorry to hear that. I'm hoping the hot sauce works. The soap might work, but in my experience it burns the plants up if you don't completely get it off. That said, I might not have gotten it all off, but I rinsed like crazy. I only used it that one time, so your mileage may vary.
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Post by brownrexx on Sept 23, 2018 7:03:56 GMT -5
hairymooseknuckles, it is probably different in TX where it is a lot hotter than PA. I have never had plants burn up when sprayed with the insecticidal soap. I buy Safer brand pre-mixed. I do not make my own. The hot sauce didn't work. I still have lots of bean beetle larvae. I don't see any reduction in their numbers.
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Post by bestofour on Sept 28, 2018 8:50:09 GMT -5
How are the beans today?
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Post by brownrexx on Sept 28, 2018 8:58:46 GMT -5
They are looking pretty bad. The darn beetles are having a banquet on their leaves.
I have used both hot pepper spray and insecticidal soap but with the constant daily rain, anything gets washed off pretty quickly.
Yesterday I discovered a lot of adults and not so many larvae so I don't know if my solutions killed the larvae or they just developed into adults.
The adults are eating the leaves and I planned on spreading so DE powder on the plants yesterday but then we got MORE rain last evening and during the night.
It looks like it may not rain today so I am going to spread some DE and hopefully kill some of these adults before they totally kill the plants.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 28, 2018 11:08:14 GMT -5
Aww, that's a shame. I can definitely relate to the "I can't keep spray on my plants because it rains every day" problem. I hope you get a stretch of drier weather soon!
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Post by brownrexx on Sept 28, 2018 14:15:24 GMT -5
Something may have actually helped but I don't know if it was the hot pepper spray or the insecticidal soap. I just went out and sprinkled all of the plants with DE and there were a LOT less adult beetles and hardly any larvae.
I will be away for the weekend and it is not supposed to rain so I will see on Sunday afternoon if the DE did any good.
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