Asparagus beetles/eggs. Help?

[tezliana]

Earlier this year I had my first go-round with asparagus beetles. Sevin on the foliage seemed to do the trick, but now I'm seeing them on the increase again. Does anyone know if Sevin works on their eggs and larvae, or if there is something better to prevent another population surge? I've just removed the worst affected stems and re-sprayed with

Comments

[low_delta]

I was just reading about them the other night. From what I read, the best treatment is insecticidal soap. Or was that just what the organic site said? They also said that unless your infestation was huge (like you have a whole field if them), the best treatment is picking the bugs by hand, and smooshing the eggs. And best early in the season.

Does Sevin say specifically that it works on them? I'm not sure, but I think they have to eat the stuff, so doing the soil may not help. But they overwinter on the ground and especially in the stumps and roots of the plants, so doing the soil in late fall might make a difference. I'm just guessing, here.

The orange beetles only feed on berries (on male plants) so they're easier to control.

[tezliana]

Sevin says it works on them, but says nothing about the eggs. I imagine it works on the larvae, but am not sure. These are the common asparagus beetles, not the red-orange ones.

I don't have a whole field of asparagus, but 4 rows is enough that I'd prefer something easier than hand picking.

[low_delta]

Four rows sounds like a field, to me! I have less than a dozen plants. I started watching for them early. I've only seen them on a couple of plants. I go out every couple of nights and kill as many as I can. Tonight I only found two, and few eggs.

[virginiadear]

Berries on male plants? I'm new to asparagus-growing, trying it this year from seed for the first time, so doubtless have a great deal to learn, but I thought the fruit appears on the female plants...?

[virginiadear]

I'm a proponent of companion planting, and my usual go-to companion planting guru is Louise Riotte, author of "Carrots Love Tomatoes."

She says tomatoes will protect your asparagus from asparagus beetles. I'm not certain how many tomato companion plants you need to have, or rather to how many asparagus plants a single tomato plant can be an effective companion, but from what I remember of the sketches or diagrams of various types of gardens illustration in the appendices in her book, you would be planting a tomato "every so often" in each asparagus row and you'd want to stagger them so the tomato plants don't line up across the rows of asparagus (creating a kind of plaid effect, I suppose: you want to avoid that