Mustard and vinegar from the Colorado potato beetle - a recipe for a folk remedy

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Published: 11.08.2018

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Every summer resident who grows potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes on his backyard is familiar with an annoying striped pest called the Colorado potato beetle. Colonies of this leaf beetle are capable of destroying plant foliage in a matter of days, therefore, the fight against them is carried out constantly, and the methods for destroying the pest are regularly improved.

• 1 Why is this pest dangerous?
• 2 Dry mustard vs. Colorado potato beetle
• 3 Using a mustard + vinegar mixture

Mustard and vinegar against the Colorado potato beetle: recipes, methods of application

Colorado beetles threaten many vegetable gardens that grow potatoes, eggplants, tomatoes and other crops from the Solanaceae family. These insects destroy foliage on bushes and ruin crops. Most often, chemicals are used to kill parasites. But many summer residents who practice natural farming are fighting the Colorado potato beetle with folk remedies made from mustard and vinegar.

In what cases is it better not to use vinegar and mustard?

Despite the fact that mustard and mustard-vinegar solutions are very effective, there are certain conditions under which this remedy is not recommended. So, in what cases will the use of mustard and vinegar fail?

• If the product is stale. It is useless to use a solution older than three hours. Therefore, such solutions are never stored and prepared immediately before use.
• It makes no sense to process potato shoots in the daytime in the sun. In direct sunlight, the solution will quickly lose its quality.
• When processing potato beds in rainy weather - in this case, the entire solution will simply be washed off. Also, do not start spraying potatoes if the weather is clear that rain is coming.
• It is also not recommended to use mustard-vinegar solution immediately after rain, after heavy dew or in foggy weather.
• Processing potatoes during strong winds will also not bring the desired effect.
• Applying the product in the morning or afternoon is also not a good idea. It is best to process in the evening, closer to sunset.

Colorado beetle harm

Colorado beetles are small insects with a convex oval body, brownish or yellow in color. They are distinguished from other insects by black stripes on the back. These pests have a huge appetite. In the spring, they get out of their hiding places and go in search of suitable food. Young greens of potato sprouts become the favorite food for these beetles. Also, these beetles are able to feed on greens of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and other nightshade crops.

Striped beetles are capable of developing immunity to chemical insecticides. And with each season it only gets stronger. Therefore, more and more gardeners are inclined to use folk methods for pest control. For example, beetles are not able to develop immunity against a solution with vinegar and mustard powder.

The action of mustard and vinegar from the Colorado potato beetle

Folk remedies help get rid of insects without the use of chemicals.The action of mustard from the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes is different from the mechanism of industrial insecticides. The specific aroma of mustard powder drives the insect away. He will not be able to kill parasites, but he is quite capable of driving them away. Dry mustard for shrub treatment is often used in addition to chemical industrial insecticides. Sometimes its use goes along with other means that are among the ingredients of folk recipes.

Mustard has the following effects on parasites:

• scares away insects at all stages of development;
• makes powdered tops inedible;
• not addictive to insects.

Vinegar has shown good results in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle, but precautions must be taken when using it. In contact with the skin and mucous membranes, it leaves chemical burns. Vinegar fumes are also dangerous, so inhaling them is not recommended.

The smell of vinegar scares off Colorado beetles. When it enters the body, the liquid corrodes the insides of the insect and thereby destroys it. But for plants, this substance is also destructive. When using pure vinegar essence, burns remain on the leaves. Therefore, before spraying, it is mixed with water in a ratio of 1:10.

The nuances of using the product

For using dry mustard powder, the weather does not really matter, but if you use liquid mixtures, then wait for dry calm weather. Since on a rainy day or with heavy dew, the remedy will not be as effective.

In dry weather, the effect will last a week - one and a half, but with an abundance of pests, you will need to repeat the treatment.

If you mix mustard with vinegar, then the yellow powder activates all its caustic properties and ensures effective elimination of all kinds of pests. Vinegar has long been used to make folk remedies designed to combat garden pests.

Important: Be very careful when using acetic acid, as non-observance of safety precautions can lead to accidents.

Mustard use

You can fight the pest on potato bushes by treating them with dry mustard. To do this, the plants themselves and the soil around them are densely sprinkled with mustard powder. During the summer, this treatment is carried out three times. You can scare off the parasite if you sow mustard in the aisles of the potatoes. The sown seeds germinate quickly and do not need special care. The plants are periodically loosened and watered along with the potatoes.

Bushes can be treated with an aqueous solution of mustard:

1. Pour 3 tbsp into 1 liter of cold water. l. with a slide of mustard powder.
2. Stir thoroughly, leave the solution to brew for 48 hours.
3. Then the concentrate is diluted with pure water to obtain 10 liters of solution.
4. Boiling water can be used to speed up ripening. Then 4-6 hours is enough.
5. To prevent the solution from draining from the tops, 50 g of shavings from laundry soap are poured into it and mixed thoroughly.

This solution can be sprayed with bushes and watered at the root. Processing is carried out during the growth of the bushes, but after the harvest, it will be beneficial. For wintering, Colorado beetles move deep underground. Therefore, abundant watering with mustard solution will force them to leave and seek another refuge for the winter.

The principle and effectiveness of the components

The use of mustard to combat harmful insects is explained by the inclusion of Achilles oil in the composition of this plant, which has a burning bitter taste and a specific aroma that repels the Colorado potato beetle.

Positive traits:

1. the possibility of long-term use;
2. lack of addictive pests;
3. a qualitative improvement in the structure of the soil, which favorably affects the development of plants and an increase in productivity;
4. strengthening the sustainability of crops grown;
5. good honey plant.

Sowing is carried out between rows of potato, tomato, eggplant bushes. When the mustard plants begin to bloom, they are mowed down and laid out under the plants. This technique allows for the entire growing season to preserve plantings from damage by the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle.

Mustard powder is used with success. But with the help of this substance, insects cannot be destroyed, since the mechanism of its action is to scare them away.

In organizing the fight to eradicate the Colorado potato beetle, the use of vinegar is the presence of esters, complex alcohols, aldehydes, and acetic acid in the composition. These compounds, when ingested by an insect, have a destructive effect.

You can poison pests on potato plantings with a mustard-vinegar solution, which has a complex effect.

Colorado Potato Beetle Mustard and Vinegar Recipes

To get rid of pests with the help of folk remedies, you need to combine them in a certain proportion. There are several recipes that include, in addition to the main ingredients, additional substances. They enhance the effects of vinegar and mustard and make the product more convenient to use:

1. In a bucket of water with a volume of 10 liters, 200 dry mustard powder is diluted. Leave the mixture to brew for 12 hours. Then pour in 150 ml of vinegar with a concentration of 9% and mix.
2. In 10 liters of water mix 1 kg of mustard powder and 100 ml of acetic acid. It turns out a more concentrated product. It is used for severe pest infestation of plantings.
3. In 10 liters of water, mix 100 ml of vinegar with a concentration of 9%, add 200 g of dry mustard and 100 ml of turpentine. Then 2 heads of garlic are peeled and chopped, adding to the main composition. In the last turn, pour in 300 ml of infusion of onion peel and wormwood herb.

Related article: Ratibor from Colorado beetles on potatoes: instruction
The bushes are treated with the prepared solution. Spraying is carried out at the very beginning of the development of the aboveground part of the plants. Re-processing is performed when the number of insects increases.

In order to effectively poison pests, the following rules are observed:

1. The procedure is carried out in the evening hours after the air temperature has dropped and in the absence of an active sun. Such conditions reduce the stress received by the plants and retain the beneficial properties of mustard.
2. The weather should be warm and calm. In the absence of wind, the composition will be sprayed only on the desired areas of the garden and will lie well on the tops. Warm weather will help the active substances to manifest their effect more fully.
3. Processing is carried out regularly at intervals of 2-3 weeks. The last time the plants are sprayed with a mustard-vinegar composition no later than 3 weeks before harvest.
4. The solution remains effective for 3 hours after mixing. You cannot store it.
5. During the rain, the treatment is not carried out, since the water droplets wash off the product from the plants. If it rains immediately after spraying, the procedure is repeated after it has finished and the tops have dried.

Anatoly, 54 years old:

I have been using mustard on my site for many years to process potato plantings. Against the Colorado potato beetle, I use a mustard-vinegar solution. I usually do 3 treatments a week apart. This is enough to kill pests.

Svetlana, 43 years old:

I grow some potatoes for myself. Therefore, I do not need special means for spraying the mustard solution. I can do this simply with a broom, sprinkling liquid from a bucket. I usually get weekly intervals between treatments. Even if it is not possible to destroy insects, their number is greatly reduced and does not cause serious harm to plantings. This is a quick, convenient and safe way to deal with them.

The main harm to potato plantings is caused by larvae and adults of Colorado beetles. Therefore, you need to start processing plants as early as possible. Means prepared according to folk recipes do not harm the environment and are safe for humans. Such a fight against voracious insects allows you to do without harmful chemicals.

We apply the product correctly - the effect is guaranteed

There are several rules that should be followed when preparing and using protective solutions of vinegar and mustard against Colorado potato beetles. Compliance with these rules guarantees high efficiency from the use of the drug and the safety of your potatoes.

It is advisable to process potato plantings in the evening, when the heat of the day subsides. You should also do this in warm, but cool and calm weather.

For the treatment to be effective, a lot of solution is needed. Do not be afraid to overdo it with the quantity - the more abundantly the potato bushes are processed, the more chances that the crop will remain intact. It is also necessary to monitor the regularity of processing and avoid situations when the validity period of the last spraying / watering has already ended, and there is still no new one.

It is recommended that you stop processing potatoes 20 days before the expected harvest.

If the solution is vinegar, then they should not be watered, it is better to process the leaves of the plants. In this case, you need to ensure that the solution remains on the plant itself, soaking the leaves and stems, and does not drain to the ground. Mustard solutions can be watered or sprayed on the leaves.

Potato harvest

Why are folk remedies popular and why is the Colorado potato beetle dangerous?

The lack of addiction is the main advantage of combating the Colorado potato beetle with folk remedies with mustard and vinegar over chemicals. Most poisonous chemicals have a noticeable disadvantage - immunity to the components of a poisonous agent with repeated use.

The Colorado potato beetle easily travels through the air over long distances in search of food, loves young leaves of nightshade crops, the most favorite are potato. On the bright green of the potato tops, it is not difficult to make out the yellow beetles with black stripes. Colorado beetles are large enough in size from 8 to 15 mm, 7 mm wide.

The pest multiplies quickly, the masonry makes large - eggs more than 60 pcs. The larvae hatched from them cause irreparable harm to potato plantations. After the invasion of larvae and imago of the Colorado potato beetle, you can see on the field:

• destroyed tops;
• eaten potatoes.

The tops damaged by beetles do not have time to synthesize the required amount of nutrients, the tubers grow small. The quality of the crop is poor due to damage to the potatoes by larvae. Getting rid of the Colorado potato beetle is very difficult.

Video: ways to deal with the Colorado potato beetle

Probably, one day an ideal tool should be invented that will allow once and for all to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle and at the same time will be absolutely harmless to horticultural crops, humans and animals. But at the moment, there is no such agent among the drugs produced by the chemical industry. So instead of spending money on expensive, toxic and not always effective insecticides, try to get the bugs out of your area with any of the solutions, including vinegar or mustard. These recipes have been tested by thousands of summer residents, and they will certainly help you!

How to get rid of a potato pest using folk methods?

Summer residents, using mustard and vinegar from the Colorado potato beetle, save the crop without the use of chemicals. The mechanism of getting rid of the Colorado potato beetle with mustard and vinegar differs from the action of purchased preparations. Mustard has a specific smell that the Colorado potato beetle cannot stand, it cannot destroy insects, but it will drive away voracious individuals.

Mustard against the Colorado potato beetle acts as a repellent:

• scares off larvae and adults;
• the tops treated with the preparation become inedible for the insect;
• the smell scares away insects from the ridge.

Potatoes can be processed with mustard in parallel with other chemicals or combined with other substances that make up folk recipes to get rid of the gluttonous pest.

Vinegar is an effective remedy for the Colorado potato beetle. You need to work with it carefully. Certain precautions will not hurt:

• avoid contact with skin;
• do not bring it close to the face;
• do not inhale.

Related article: Antizhuk from the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes: instruction

Vinegar and its vapors cause burns to the skin, throat, mouth, eyes. The effect of vinegar on the beetle is not frightening, getting into the body, kills the insect, burns out all the insides. Spraying potato tops with 70% vinegar essence will burn the leaves, therefore, before use, it is diluted in the proportion: 1 part of the essence to 9-10 parts of water.

How to poison a beetle: recipes with mustard and vinegar

There are many recipes from Colorado beetles, which include dry mustard, it is used to prepare solutions or in dry form. You can poison the Colorado potato beetle with mustard in the following ways:

1. Mustard powder, exactly 3 tbsp. l. pour into a liter of cold water. Set aside the resulting solution for two days. Pour the concentrated infusion into a 10-liter bucket of water before use. The resulting solution can be sprinkled on the tops without fear.
2. The express method for preparing mustard infusion differs from the previous one only in the temperature of the water. The infusion will ripen faster if the mustard is stirred in boiling water.
3. Add grated laundry soap to the prepared mustard solution. There is enough 50 g of soap shavings per bucket.
4. This solution will be even more effective with vinegar. Pour 100 ml of essence into a bucket with mustard solution.
5. A thermonuclear recipe for mustard and vinegar from the Colorado potato beetle, containing turpentine, is prepared from 1 pack of ground mustard, 100 ml of acid and 100 ml of turpentine.

The destruction of the Colorado potato beetle with mustard is carried out by spraying or watering potato bushes.

Recipes and proportions of folk remedies

Vinegar solution

Help from various pests:

An interesting recipe for aphids with laundry soap:

Soda solution

Treating Colorado beetles before first laying with baking soda will reduce their chance of breeding. To do this, spray the potato bushes with a solution of 10 liters of water, 0.5 liters of vinegar 9% and 100 g of soda.

A mixture of 75 g of baking soda and 10 liters of water will help to drive away the weevil or aphids, to destroy the fungus from the leaves. Household pests are always uncomfortable. Find out if vinegar helps with bugs in the house and apartment, and how to deal with them.

Do you use folk remedies for beetles at home or in the garden?

Well no

Dry poison

Dry poisons are dissolved according to the instructions in water and sprayed on the areas affected by insects. Substances that are part of dry products:

1. Look for dry poisons against larvae of flies and midges that contain S-methopropene, which inhibits development.
2. Iron phosphate helps against snails and slugs. It comes as an active ingredient in bulk solids produced by industry.
3. Dry mixtures with diazinon help with ants.The substance has a 3 hazard class, that is, it is moderately dangerous for people and animals, and fatal for fish. It does not cause burns and leaf fall in plants.
4. Cypermethrin is a synthetic drug against cockroaches and beetles in the house, in particular ants and silverfish. Indicated for indoor and outdoor use.

Root processing rules

Watering potato bushes with mustard infusion achieves double benefits. Not only striped bugs are afraid of him, the product protects plantings from the ubiquitous wireworm. Watering with the prepared infusion is necessary for bushes and aisles. Carrying out such soil cultivation in the fall, summer residents drive the pest away from their site, it goes to winter to another place.

Reviews of summer residents confirm the effectiveness of the folk method. This is what Irina, a resident of the city of Vladimir, says. I take my grandmother's advice, she said that mustard and vinegar against the Colorado potato beetle are the best remedies.

I prepare the solution simply: pour a pack of mustard powder into a bucket of water, pour 0.5 cups of vinegar essence... In addition to mustard and vinegar, I use household soap, I take a pack that says 72%. I rub the soap on a coarse grater and dilute it in a ladle with hot water.

The potato field is cultivated 4 times per season. The first time I spray the young bushes when they rise 15 cm above the ground, then I repeat the treatment three more times for already mature plants. Well-treated bushes are clean all summer long, I do not collect larvae.

How is dry mustard used?

It doesn't matter if you don't have time to mess around with preparing the solution. You can poison pests on potatoes or scare them away from young potato bushes using dry mustard powder. Ways to use it:

• scatter the bug in the habitat;
• pollinate the aisles;
• dusting young potato bushes.

The bushes can be pre-sprayed with soapy water to keep the powder on young leaves longer. The effect of the folk remedy lasts four days. Provided that the weather is dry without rains. The Colorado potato beetle lives and reproduces in untreated fields. Systemic tillage of soil and plants noticeably reduces its number.

Application rules

The pest causes great damage to the crop, the fight against it gives a positive result if it is carried out according to certain rules. The first condition that affects the quality of processing is the freshness of the solution. Long-term storage reduces its effectiveness.

The second condition is the time of day and the weather. You should never spray potato bushes in the heat. First, the solution will evaporate very quickly. Secondly, sunburn will appear on the leaves. The damage from young leaf burns will outweigh the benefits of the treatment. Evening is the best time to process the bushes with a solution.

It is necessary to give up the fight if weather forecasters promise rains. Do not waste time on processing, precipitation will wash everything off the leaves. The tops must be dry before starting work, without dew drops.

1. Using garden sprayers to spray the liquid mixture over the potato tops.
2. Manual watering between rows and bushes with a watering can.
3. Manual dusting of bushes.
4. Sowing mustard seeds in the aisles, followed by embedding the green mass in the ground.

Sowing mustard, summer residents not only fight potato pests. White mustard is a green manure that improves the composition of the soil, destroys weeds and pathogenic bacteria.

Use folk remedies in time for the prevention and control of the pest, then you will not have to resort to poisonous chemicals.

General information and pest hazard

The Colorado potato beetle feeds on the tops of potatoes, which leads to the destruction of tubers and loss of yield. This pest appears during the beginning of flowering. During this period, delicate greens are very sensitive to any damage. And if you do not fight the pest, then you can significantly reduce the potato yield.

Both adult beetles and larvae feed on fresh herbs, and females lay eggs on the stems from below. If you spray the bushes with chemical solutions, then the eggs usually remain and new beetles appear from them over time.

Important: you cannot use chemicals when an ovary has already appeared on the potato bushes. This is hazardous to health!

Mustard and vinegar from the Colorado potato beetle: reviews

All gardeners are familiar with the Colorado potato beetle.

No plot of potatoes, tomatoes or eggplants has been overlooked by this striped leaf beetle. Therefore, summer residents are constantly inventing or looking for reliable ways to combat this harmful beetle. Among the main methods are:

• chemical;
• agrotechnical;
• biological;
• recipes of folk wisdom.

Related article: Taboo for potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle: instructions, dosage

Today we will focus on the last point. Indeed, many potato growers avoid the use of chemical poisons, they often cannot fulfill all the requirements of agricultural technology. Therefore, the striped beetle is annoying. Another unpleasant ability of the Colorado beetle for summer residents is that it quickly gets used to the action of modern drugs. Therefore, they try to poison the Colorado potato beetle with different compositions.

Why is it harmful

Everyone knows that one of the beetle's favorite "dishes" is potatoes. He does not care what exactly is, everything is destroyed - from leaves to tubers in the ground.

For the sake of food, these insects are ready to overcome long flights. They are very gluttonous, but in case of a forced hunger strike, they can tolerate up to 2 months.

There are many different options for dealing with this pest, they can be combined into two large groups:

• Ready-made chemicals;
• Folk ways.

The second group is more extensive and here are some of the actively used methods:

• In small areas (vegetable gardens, greenhouses), you can manually collect leaves with already laid eggs and larvae, as well as the beetles themselves. Then destroy in any way - crush, pour kerosene or any saline solution of sufficient concentration.
• The Colorado potato beetle finds its food by its smell. Knowing this feature, you can grow next to plants that will kill the aroma of potatoes. These include: calendula, garlic and legumes.
• You can also process potatoes with various solutions, infusions and decoctions. For these purposes, celandine, bitter wormwood, dandelion, horsetail, wood ash are used. You can also sprinkle a mixture of birch and pine (any coniferous) sawdust between the rows.

Burning remedies for leaf beetle

Mustard powder and table vinegar are popular ingredients among summer residents. However, it should be said right away that the folk recipe scares away the adult pest and its larvae, and does not destroy.

Mustard against the Colorado potato beetle is used alone and mixed with various substances. It helps to eliminate from the garden not only the aforementioned pest, but also other unwanted insects. Its ability to grow rapidly, to clear the ground of scab and pathogenic phytophthora saves plantings from moths, wireworms and slugs.

An important quality is the environmental friendliness of mustard. It is sown as a green manure, used in cooking and to protect vegetable beds. You can poison the Colorado potato beetle with mustard using dry powder, which is easy to purchase in the store chain.

Dry Mustard vs. Colorado Beetle

Dry mustard is very simple to use, and its action allows you to cope with pests over a large area. How does mustard work against parasites? It exudes a smell unpleasant for beetles and thus scares them away from the garden. Colorado potato beetle larvae do not like the bitter taste of mustard powder. Therefore, they leave the leaves on which mustard powder is poured.

A complex recipe is not required to apply dry mustard powder.You purchase raw materials in the right amount, scatter them in places where pests accumulate and in aisles. Then sprinkle the plants well. The duration of exposure to the powder is up to 4 days. At this time, the larvae will leave the plants, and the adults will bypass them. To enhance the effect of the substance, different formulations with mustard are used. The mustard and vinegar recipe works well.

The combination of these components enhances the action of the product and allows you to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle faster and more reliably. The beetle does not develop immunity to the mixture or to individual components, so the composition always works.

On a note

1. Vinegar fights various insects: Colorado beetles, aphids, ants and woodworms, grinders and weevils.
2. It is used as a standalone product and as part of other recipes.
3. For the result, folk remedies are used for plant growth 2-3 times.
4. Observe safety rules when working on pest control.
5. Chemicals are more dangerous than domestic ones.

Did you like the article? Share your impressions in the comments!

Using a mixture of components

Not only mustard have a specific aroma, but vinegar also has a characteristic pungent odor. The main thing is to observe the proportions of the components in the mixture of mustard and vinegar against the Colorado potato beetle.

There are several recipes with the addition of additional ingredients to prepare the mixture to combat the Colorado parasite.

The simplest one looks like this:

1. For 10 liters of solution, take one bag of mustard powder (100 grams) or 4 tablespoons.
2. Add 100 ml of table vinegar (9%).
3. Mix the ingredients well.
4. Dilute the mixture with water (10 liters) and mix again.

The second version of the composition is slightly different in the method of preparation and the proportion of the components. For it, take twice as much dry mustard powder (200 g), dilute in a bucket of water (10 liters) and leave for 12 hours to infuse. Then add table vinegar (150 ml). If in the first version a mixture of mustard and vinegar was diluted with water, now we do not mix these substances at the beginning of preparation.

To enhance the effect of the remedy, many gardeners add wormwood, infusion of garlic or onion peel, turpentine to it.

Wormwood, turpentine, mustard, vinegar from the Colorado potato beetle have a strong effect when used correctly. How to apply the prepared solution? Spraying the bushes will be the most acceptable way. Treatment should be started at the beginning of tops growth and at the time of an increase in the number of striped pests.

Certain conditions must be observed to achieve maximum effect:

1. Start spraying in the evening. At this time, the heat subsides, the activity of the sun decreases. Plants get less stress, and mustard will not lose its beneficial properties from direct sunlight.
2. Choose a warm and calm evening. The composition will fit well on plants and not be sprayed outside the beds. And the heat will help the components to better show their effect.
3. Process regularly. The last time is 3 weeks before harvest.
4. The composition must be used within 3 hours after preparation. Otherwise, it will be useless.
5. If it rains after spraying, you will have to repeat the treatment. Drops of water wash off the solution from the bushes and its effect ceases.

Compositions are used not only for spraying potato ridges, but also for watering.