Now that we have reached the time of year when the danger of frost is completely past, we see that our garden plants are responding to the warmer weather by their rapid growth. Unfortunately, they are not the only entity in the garden that is quickly emerging because of the warmer weather.

Several days ago during the first week of May, while inspecting my two foot high potato plants, I was stopped in my tracks by the presence of a dreaded foe-the Colorado potato beetle. If like me you are an organic gardener, this foe can be a very serious problem. The Colorado potato beetle has developed resistance to every chemical used against it. So, for an organic grower there is only one line of defense-hand picking.

The Colorado potato beetle is a yellow insect with 6 legs and 6 black stripes that run down its back. It is about 1/2 inch long when full grown and will defoliate not only potatoes but their close cousins the eggplant and tomato. The larvae are a deep red color and come in two waves each spring and summer.

In my garden (and most others) the ONLY way to absolutely, positively control this scourge is to handpick them from your plants twice a day, everyday. If you don’t wish to squash them with your fingers, carry a pint jar half-full of water and drop them in. Every time you pick one off of a leaf, turn the leaf over and look for a cluster of eggs. Mash this cluster completely. This may sound harsh to some, but if you do not control the first spring invasion of the pest, they will quickly overwhelm both you and your plants in a matter of several weeks, leaving nothing but defoliated stems on your plants.

Many pests in your garden that do extensive damage are very hard to find (think cucumber beetle) and thus hard to control. The Colorado potato beetle however, likes the tops of your plants and is usually easy to spot. If you had only one early spring insect that you must control and eliminate, let his be the one, as it will quickly destroy all early potato plantings.

As if the Colorado potato beetle is not bad enough, at least it only attacks potatoes and is large enough to be detected and hand picked from its host plants. The other major beetle pest is a much worse problem. The cucumber beetle comes in two types: The spotted cucumber beetle which is also known as the Southern Corn rootworm and the striped cucumber beetle.

The first type, the spotted cucumber beetle is considered one of the 10 worst insect pests, feeding not only on cucumbers but also on corn and over 200 other kinds of plants and is thus hidden and the adults attack the silk of growing corn, reducing the number of kernels formed. One good thing-spotted cucumber larvae feed almost exclusively on the roots of corn and will usually die if corn is not available. For this reason, plant corn well away from cucumbers if at all possible.

The other type, the striped cucumber beetle, will feed on cucumbers, squash, muskmelons, cantaloupes, watermelons and pumpkins. It is interesting to note here that most of the above species have hollow stems and that this appears to be a gateway for the beetles. I grow a winter squash, Waltham Butternut, which does not have hollow stems and it has never been affected by the cucumber beetle.

With larvae funding on the roots, adults feed on the first seed leaves (cotyledons) and also transmitting the bacterial wilt. This bacterium causes much more damage than the beetle, usually resulting in plant death within hours. These adult beetles are distinctive with their yellow to green coloration with 3 black stripes.

The spotted cucumber beetle is also yellowish green and has spots on its back, quite often in 3 rows of four.

For those interested, the U.K. “Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky” booklet tells us that cucumber beetles can be controlled by following label directions for malathion 57% EC, Carbaryl 50% WP (sevin), methoxychlor 50% WP (marlate) and esfenvalerate 0.425% EC (Bug-B-Gon).

They also tell us that Colorado potato beetles can be controlled by using: Carbaryl 50% WP (marlate), Bacillus thuringiensis var. san diego and esfenvalerate 0.425% EC (Bug-B-Gon).

My new book “The Back to Basics Gardener II” is now ready and will be available at a book signing in the Middlesboro Library on June 13 at 10 am.

I have arranged with the Bell County Extension Service for them to sponsor tours of my organic garden again this year. All tours are at 10 a.m., weather permitting and will be held June 15 and July 13.

Pat Biggerstaff is Middlesboro’s own organic gardener, columnist and author. Have a question or comment for her? Call her at (606) 242.2906.