[MPOWNEY]

Hi  can anyone help me as in my virgin year having an alotment and everything was going really well till i noticed that some leaves on my cabbage ,broccoli. and spinach were being got at. others in nearby plots too. another person from another site told us that a little black beetle was doing it all. how can i rid my site of this pest ... any help greatly received please   mike

[DandG]

If they are small and black and jump out the way when you go near then they are most likely flea beetles - our allotment had them this year on numerous plots.  Good news they like it warm and dry - so they wont like this week!  Keeping things moist seems to help, you dont see them so much.  Link below to treatments etc.

http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/problem-solving/garden-pests-flea-beetle/

[Salmo]

Flea beetles can be a real pest and seem to have got worse in the last few years. I struggle to grow brassicas from seed on my plot and even radishes are destroyed if the weather is dry. Last year they were still attacking big brassica plants well after planting out and restricting their growth. They enjoy life under mesh so that is not the solution. Even more annoying is that they make leaf salads such as rocket in edible due to pock marks.

I am not sure of the date of the gardeners world article but it quotes derris as a solution which is now banned.

Has anyone tried the sticky board solution? I can see it reducing the population if you did it several times.

[Trillium]

My sister has this problem with her cabbages and has a sticky board thing right by the cabbages. It's full of beetles stuck to it and will soon need changing. The cabbages themselves are gorgeous so it obviously works. But I wouldn't remove any netting as cabbage butterflies can quickly finish off your crop for you.