Flea Beetles + Neem Oil

A challenge of organic farming is how to protect your crop from pests…..while keeping your customers and environment safe from pesticides! A common pest that many gardeners face are Flea Beetles. There are over 6,000 different species of Flea Beetle, and each specialize in eating only certain plants! A lot of gardeners have issues with the brassica flea beetle (who is tiny, shiny, and black) feasting on their kale and broccoli. Flea Beetles earned their name for their powerful hind legs that allow them to spring into the air instantaneously and travel 100 times their body length in a single jump (can you imagine??).

The past few seasons I have struggled with the Passionflower Flea Beetle, who spends his days chomping down on Passionflower:

This season I have experimented with using Neem Oil on my Passionflower to cut down on the Flea Beetle population….and I am pleased with the results! The Passionflower Flea Beetle overwinters as an adult in the soil at the base of Passionflower plants. So, over the winter I applied Neem Oil to the soil to kill off the overwintering adults, then applied a second round of Neem Oil as the Passionflower began to emerge from the ground this spring. My Passionflower is MUCH healthier this year!!

Neem Oil is a naturally occurring substance approved for organic gardening, but you do want to wait at least a couple weeks after applying before you consume any plants that you sprayed (and make sure to rinse the produce before eating it, too!). And unfortunately, Neem Oil is an indiscriminate killer, meaning it will kill off other insects, too—-not just your pests. So, you will want to use Neem Oil only sparingly, keeping in mind that you are suffocating the insects you are spraying by clogging their breathing openings.

Happy Gardening!