A formidable enemy of any summer resident is the Colorado potato beetle. Purchased chemicals help many gardeners to effectively deal with it. However, this weapon strikes not only at the pest, but also at our health. Therefore, I give preference to safe folk remedies. From my own experience, I can tell you that some of them really give good results and help get rid of the insidious insect that harms the plantings of potatoes, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes.
The best folk remedy for the Colorado potato beetle
Having tried many homemade recipes in the fight against this enemy of nightshade crops, I have figured out the best and most effective of them. It turned out to be a mixture of mustard and vinegar.
Such a component of the remedy as mustard does not kill a gluttonous beetle and its equally gluttonous larvae. However, it is an excellent repellent, that is, a repeller. The pest does not tolerate the mustard smell. It is enough to treat a potato or tomato planting with a mustard agent so that the Colorado potato beetle ceases to be interesting.
Plants smelling of this seasoning in the beds lose their nutritional value in the eyes of the harmful insect, and it does not eat them.
The second component of the wonderful mixture from the "Colorado predator" is vinegar. It also has a pungent sour smell. But this ingredient can act on Colorada not only as a repellent. Concentrated vinegar (80%) can kill the insect. If this substance gets inside his body, it will burn the insides of the beetle. But concentrated vinegar will have the same destructive effect on plants in the garden.
Therefore, the concentration of this ingredient in the mixture should not be high. Its optimal indicator is 9%.
How to make an effective remedy for colorado
I am preparing a miracle mixture that saves my garden from Colorado beetles and their larvae, like this:
- Pour boiling water (1 l) mustard powder (3 tbsp. l.), mix thoroughly.
- I insist the mustard solution for 2 days.
- I dilute the resulting concentrate with water (10 l).
- I add soap chips (50 g) to the solution. Mix thoroughly until it is completely dissolved.
- I pour acetic acid (100 ml) into the liquid product.
- I filter the finished solution.
If I want to make this remedy even more deadly for Colorado, I increase the content of mustard powder in the solution (take whole pack of the product), additionally enrich it with wormwood tincture (500 ml) and garlic heads chopped into gruel (2 PC.).
When preparing the solution, I take extra care when working with vinegar. Its vapors can burn the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract and eyes, and if acetic acid gets on the skin, it can provoke a burn.
How to use a miracle remedy correctly
The effect of using mustard with vinegar against colorado is determined not only by strict adherence to the recipe, but also by the correct use of the finished product.
To obtain the desired result, I spray the bushes of potatoes or other nightshade crops with a ready-made mustard-vinegar solution, observing the following rules:
- I process the planting after sunset, when the heat has already subsided;
- I spray plants only in calm weather;
- I refuse to use the product on foggy or rainy days;
- I generously process the foliage on the bushes on both sides with a liquid agent;
- I carry out processing many times;
- I use only freshly prepared product.
20 days before harvest, I stop spraying the plants in the beds with mustard-vinegar solution.
If everything is done correctly, mustard and vinegar will drive the "Colorado predator" from the beds, and the harvest of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants will be saved. This agent, accessible and safe for humans and garden plants, has never let me down. It will help you too.
Read also: Three ways to cleanse the garden from infection and restore its fertility
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#Colorado beetle#potato#pest control methods