In article ,
Janet G wrote:
Avoiding controversy and keeping to practicalities I would say that well
over half of the young plants have been lost. I noticed elsewhere though
that flea beetles were crowding onto the mesh covering brassicas but
were unable to get through. So I think the treatment has to be mesh
rather than netting. I had used butterfly netting on these plants rather
than enviromesh. Replacing the netting with mesh at least prevented
further waves of flea beetles.

In my case, it was pak choi etc. eaten to the point of being inedible
by humans - i.e. there was nothing left except dry threads! Now I
use mesh, they have holes in but are still fit to eat.

For some reason there seem to be a lot more this year than usual at
least in my patch. I wonder whether they have come off the nearby rape
fields in greater quantities than normal.

Very likely. There was one year when aphid clouds impeded visibility
enough to cause traffic accidents, following harvest.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.