Flea beetle: the scourge of rocket and radish growers everywhere. These wee beasties eat tiny holes in the leaves of various crops, including brassicas.
How to get rid of this pest without the use of chemicals? The HDRA has a Heath Robinson scheme involving a trolley on wheels with a grease trap.
But if you're gardening on anything less than a large scale, a piece of cardboard coated on both sides with molasses or syrup and held above the affected crop as you run your hands through it just below the card works a treat. The beetles leap up and stick to the card, and the pest-covered card can then be composted, or given to your chickens. (I think this was a tip I gleaned from Bob Flowerdew on Gardeners' Question Time.)
If you don't like the thought of causing mass beetle death, protect your crop with horticultural fleece or mesh instead.
hehe Who wouldn't love the idea of mass beetle death?
Posted by: Gabrielle Adams | April 25, 2005 at 07:39 PM