[Lardman]

There are literally 100s of them on my spears  All "getting jiggy with it" - I've given them a spray with bayers greenfly killer, but I can't seem to find any info on it's effects on adult beetles. Have I sealed their fate or given them an excuse for a pool party?

[RaptorUK]

There are literally 100s of them on my spears  All "getting jiggy with it" - I've given them a spray with bayers greenfly killer, but I can't seem to find any info on it's effects on adult beetles. Have I sealed their fate or given them an excuse for a pool party?

I've been squishing them on my Asparagus today . . .  only had my bed 5 mins 

RHS says . . . 

Control
Non-chemical control
Burn old stems at the end of the year to destroy overwintering beetles. Hand pick the beetles and larvae from plants when seen from late spring onwards.

Chemical control
Large plantings, where hand removal is not feasible, can be sprayed with the organic insecticide pyrethrum (e.g. Py Spray Garden Insect Killer, Scotts Bug Clear Gun for Fruit & Veg, Pyrol Bug & Larvae Killer or Growing Success Fruit & Veg Bug Killer). No synthetic insecticides are available to the amateur gardener for control pests on asparagus.  Plants in flower should not be sprayed  to avoid harming bees and other pollinating insects.

Download
Pesticides for gardeners (Adobe Acrobat pdf document outlining pesticides available to gardeners)

[Yorkie]

Bayer Greenfly spray is not licensed for use on asparagus, which is why you won't find details of its effects on the beetle I presume.

https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/pestreg/getfullproduct.asp?productid=20140&pageno=1&origin=prodsearch

[Lardman]

Bayer Greenfly spray is not licensed for use on asparagus, which is why you won't find details of its effects on the beetle I presume.

You mean not only do I have to check if the Euroweenies say I can use it , but on what I can use it on ?!

[BabbyAnn]

A few years ago on my other plot, the asparagus got badly infected with asparagus beetle.  I waited until the flowers had finished (important otherwise it kills the bees), then I dosed the plants with Provado Ultimate bug killer - it's a systemic action insecticide so I forewent any harvesting just to get on top of the problem.

At the same time, I'd read that pot marigold made a good companion plant for asparagus to keep the beetle away and sowed loads.  It never totally cured the problem but definitely knocked it on the head and numbers were greatly reduced.  But you do need to keep on the problem from the moment the first spears come up.  The beetles are also very wily - when I saw the distinctive red colour and approached the plants, the beetles actually shifted to the back of the stems to stay out of sight!  It's as though they knew I was on the warpath.

[RaptorUK]

The beetles are also very wily - when I saw the distinctive red colour and approached the plants, the beetles actually shifted to the back of the stems to stay out of sight!  It's as though they knew I was on the warpath.

I noticed the exact same thing yesterday,  still managed to get them off and crunch them.

[Yorkie]

Bayer Greenfly spray is not licensed for use on asparagus, which is why you won't find details of its effects on the beetle I presume.

You mean not only do I have to check if the Euroweenies say I can use it , but on what I can use it on ?!

Yes.