Saving the harvest from uninvited guests: how to find out who is gnawing beets in the garden and defeat the pest quickly and easily

What could be tastier than homemade borscht or beetroot vinaigrette grown in your own garden? Digging up the ground and planting seeds is only part of the job of a rich harvest. The most important care takes place during the growth of beets.

At this time, a phenomenon that is completely undesirable for gardeners often happens - an invasion of pests. Insects, worms, rodents appear, which ruin the crop. Already at the germination stage, they are able to deprive the owners of the freshest beet salad with garlic. How to prevent this, read our article.

Beet pests and ways to control them

Harmful insects are the main enemy of the crop. Beetroot is a favorite among pests - it is a favorite dish of many insects. Any owner of the garden, having discovered a poor-quality crop or its signs, wants to know who is gnawing on beets in the garden.

Let's find out how to recognize pests and deal with them.

Medvedka

One of the most dangerous pests in the garden. Medvedka is a large brown beetle with a hard shell and mustache. The insect can grow up to 10 cm in length. With powerful jaws, it is capable of gnawing roots in the ground.

Medvedka multiplies rapidly, and its larvae do no less harm to fruits than adults. They get rid of the bear in two ways: by spilling its holes or using chemicals.

Nematode

This is a worm that lives in the ground. It causes serious harm to the root crop by eating it directly in the soil. As a result, beets slow down in development and die quickly.

Farmers recommend spilling the soil with boiling water before planting beets. High temperatures kill nematodes.

If the worm is detected during the growth of beets, chemicals will help.

Beet fly

An equally dangerous enemy of beets, which lives on weeds, but then moves to cultivated plants. This fly eats beet tops.

Suddenly dried beet leaves are a sure sign of a beet fly. If you look at the inside of the leaf, you can see transparent larvae that look like caterpillars. This is a characteristic feature of the beet fly infestation.

The affected beet leaves must be removed and an insecticide applied.

Beet bug

The bug, like the beet fly, moves to growing vegetables from weeds. Therefore, the best means of dealing with it is the destruction of weeds near the beds and around the garden.

The bug is barely visible to the naked eye, but eats five times its weight.

A distinctive feature of a bug attack is the bubbly surface of the beet leaves. Bedbugs are also destroyed with insecticides.

Miner mole

At first glance, the small brown butterfly is not suspicious. However, the moth can completely destroy the crop. She lays eggs on the cuttings of beet leaves, and the caterpillars begin to gnaw the path in the root crop itself.

There are three types of miner moths - tomato, chestnut and apple. It appears in the garden when there are appropriate plants nearby. And it is the place of origin of the moth that needs to be processed.

If you notice affected leaves on these trees or bushes, cut and burn. Thus, further reproduction of the insect will be avoided.

Beet root aphid

Small insects with a rounded yellow body. The characteristic feature of aphids is a white mold on the ground around the fruit.

With active reproduction of the pest, the beet leaves dry out and the plant dies. One of the most successful aphids is to remove weeds and apply insecticides.

Beet flea

It is a small beetle from the subfamily of earthen flea beetles. Mass breeding takes place in dry weather. A clear sign of flea beetles is holes in beet leaves.

Preventive measures - weed removal. If you find bugs on the leaves, use a chemical to treat the foliage.

Beet weevil

It is a small black and beige beetle. Weevil lays the larvae in the ground. The larva formed from the pupa in the ground goes directly to the beet root. The beetles are easy to spot.

A dangerous amount per square meter is from 2 to 4 pieces. In this case, decisive measures are needed: completely get rid of the weeds around, examine the entire beet crop. At the indicated concentration of beetles, insecticides are used.

Beet shields

Small but harmful beetles feed on beet tops. A distinctive feature of the invasion of Shchitonos is the "lace" on the beet leaves.

Eating and gnawing leaves, the insect harms the roots themselves.

The main rule of dealing with shchitonoska is early and regular weeding of beet beds from weeds.

If the damage to the tops has already been done, they use chemicals.

Insect pests have appeared, what to do

The harm from beetroot insects is easy to spot. Inspecting the plants every day, an attentive owner will notice the distinctive features of a damaged vegetable:

• dry or yellowed tops;
• deformed leaves: holes, cut edges, bubbles;
• developmental retardation;
• holes in the garden;
• visible larvae, beetles, moths.

These signs indicate that urgent measures are needed to preserve the beet crop. If you have already identified the type of pest, it will be much easier to deal with it. However, there are also universal methods of struggle.

Insecticides

Or chemical preparations that can instantly rid your beets of pest attacks. An effective and quick way to preserve future crops. The most popular among them:

• a solution of an emulsion of 40% "Phosphamide" (treated once every 10 days);
• "Taira" (sprayed with the product once every 14 days);
• "Sirocco" (sprayed with the agent 1 time in 14 days);
• "Avant" (processed every 10-14 days).

Folk remedies

Many of them are used already at the landing stage. There is no 100% guarantee of victory over pests, but it's worth trying:

• an aqueous solution of ash in a ratio of 1:10 (spray around the beets);
• spraying tobacco dust;
• destruction of ants around (they give rise to aphids);
• planting corn, potatoes, peas, marigolds near beet beds;
• water (rinse the beet leaves with a hose);
• onion infusion (30 onion heads per 1 liter of water, leave for 5 hours and spray the beets 2-3 times a week);
• soap and soda solution (for 1 liter of water add a quarter of crushed laundry soap and 20 g of soda ash, spray 2-3 times a week).

Mice gnaw beets in the garden

In addition to insect pests, field mice pose a danger to beets.

Signs of vole mice

You can determine that there is an uninvited guest in the garden by the presence of burrows and paths shallow in the ground. Mice have rather small claws, so they cannot dig deep passages. Nevertheless, they easily eat beet roots and tops.

How to protect beets in the garden from rodents

There are several simple ways to deal with them:

1. Cats and cats. Mice are afraid of cats by nature, and, feeling their smell, they bypass the garden. Get a simple country cat and forget about the problem with mice.
2. Spreading ash on the beds... Her mice hate it.
3. Digging the ground in the fall so that not a single mouse path is left.
4. Clean the vegetable garden area from plant residues in the fall. If you left nothing, then the mice will have no food reserves in winter. Mice will leave your area in search of food.

If these methods did not help you, and the mice are already in charge of the beet beds, try other methods, such as:

• ultrasonic scarers;
• electromagnetic scarers;
• traps;
• special poisons for rodents.

Be sure to read the instructions for each product.

Pest control rules

Prevention in the fight against all types of pests is standard agrotechnical measures for pre-sowing preparation, planting and growing:

• thorough digging with the removal of plant residues in autumn and spring;
• fertilizer earth with universal vitamins;
• do not add fresh manure when growing beets;
• watering the beds with a solution of potassium permanganate or hot water;
• loosening and weeding;
• timely watering;
• when pests appear, planting treatment with approved drugs;
• well dry the harvested beet crop before storing it, look for signs of root rot.

Tips & Tricks

In order not to be disappointed when harvesting:

• observe preventive measures to combat all types of beet pests;
• learn to distinguish between pests in order to apply the most effective methods;
• always have insecticides in your arsenal and find out in advance how to use them;
• remember - the yield of beets also depends on the condition of your garden as a whole (neighboring beds and the surrounding area of ​​the garden);
• regularly check the condition of the root crops in the garden;
• pay special attention to harvesting and storing crops;
• prepare future beds in the fall.

Reviews of gardeners

Many gardeners have already "got acquainted" with pests in their garden:

Antonina, Moscow region: “I noticed that the mice are eating beets in the beds. I got a gray cat, which began to hunt at night. A week later I did not notice a single mouse. "

Nina Ivanovna, Tula: “A bear appeared in my dacha. It never happened, and then I literally began to eat my beets. I saw how she crawled into the burrow. I spilled the minks with "Tayroy", and the bear was gone. By the way, now I regularly completely cultivate my garden around the garden. "

Petr Vasilievich, Kaluga: “At first I did not understand who was eating beets in the ground. At first I thought it was a mouse. I began to study the photos of pests, and realized that it was a beet aphid. First I began to cut off the eaten leaves, then I decided to make an onion solution. I have not seen this muck again. "

Read also:

Why gardeners prefer the Wodan f1 beetroot hybrid.

The Cylindra variety of beetroot, loved by farmers for its ease of care and taste.

Bordeaux beetroot.

Conclusion

Every owner of the garden wants to get a healthy and high-quality harvest that will delight his family in autumn and winter. Unfortunately, pests stand in the way of delicious beetroot dishes. Almost all owners of the garden face them.

Compliance with the rules of soil preparation, care and maintenance of root crops during the entire growth is the key to a successful harvest. Take care of the beets, and delicious dishes from this root vegetable will delight you all autumn and winter.