Raspberry beetle: pest appearance and control methods

Raspberry pests include a large number of insects, among which the raspberry beetle is not the last. This article describes various ways to combat it, as well as preventive measures that can prevent damage to plants.

Raspberry Beetle Description

Before taking measures, it is necessary to learn more about what kind of insect it is and what negative effect it has on the raspberry bush.

Appearance

This beetle belongs to the order Coleoptera and the family Raspberries . It lives mainly in places of growth of raspberries and blackberries. Outwardly, it resembles a glitter. The insect has a long oval body from 3.5 to 4.5 mm.

This beetle is painted in dark gray or brown color, covered with numerous villi. The abdomen has a more saturated reddish hue. The antennae are club-shaped, yellow or white, claws with notches.

Beetle breeding

The mating season of this insect falls in mid-May. A raspberry beetle propagates by laying tiny tiny eggs with a diameter of about 1 mm. Masonry is made into the raspberry flower itself.

Further, yellow worm-shaped larvae with three pairs of legs and a hairy body come out of the eggs. Black spots are located on each body segment. The larva grows to 6.5 mm in length.

Adults and young individuals hibernate in the upper soil layer under the bushes at a depth of about 20 cm. In spring, when the air temperature starts to stay above + 13 ° C, insects get to the surface. Usually this period falls on the end of April - the beginning of May.

Did you know? Raspberries with a small degree of damage from raspberry beetle larvae can be used: you just need to place the berries for 30-40 minutes in salted water. From the effects of salt, the larvae crawl out of the fruit, and then you can safely make jam or compote from such raspberries.

Raspberry Harm

Beetles feed on young foliage and raspberry flowers: pests bite into buds and eat nectaries. In appearance, the flower remains intact, but in the future does not give an ovary. The larvae make their way inside the berry and eat the receptacle and the drupes. Because of this, ripe raspberries begin to dry at the base of the stem, deform, lose their taste and later fall off.

Beetle Control Methods

The fight against this pest combines a number of agricultural techniques, as well as preventive and therapeutic treatment of plantings.

We offer you to get acquainted with the features of autumn planting raspberries.

Agrotechnical methods

The fight against raspberry beetle must begin with simple agricultural techniques:

  1. Make a deep digging of the soil in the autumn and spring. Due to this, the number of pupae that winter in the soil is significantly reduced. At the same time, wood ash and tobacco dust should be added to the soil.
  2. In the warm season, sprinkle the soil around the bush with mulch to prevent the release of insects from the soil. For this, chopped peat, sawdust or humus is suitable.
  3. Before flowering under the plants, spread the tarp and shake off the insects from the branches, and then destroy them. The procedure is carried out early in the morning when the beetle is inactive.
  4. To plant raspberry bushes, choose a place as far as possible from apple trees and pears - these plants are used by raspberry beetles as additional food.
  5. Before flowering, the bushes can be covered with gauze or agrofiber - this will protect the plant from the harmful effects of the pest.
  6. Regularly inspect plantations, manually collect damaged fruits, and then burn them.
  7. In early spring, carry out preventive tillage around the bushes with a Bordeaux mixture in a concentration of 2%.

Ground beetles are considered the natural enemies of the raspberry beetle. These are rather large beetles, usually black, which belong to one of the most common families of these insects. To attract ground beetles closer to raspberries, you need to plant garlic or onions next to it.

Biological products

To destroy this pest, the drug “Guapsin” is widely used, which has a very good result in the fight against raspberry beetle - up to 94%.

The same properties are possessed by 2% Bitoxibactyl. Biological preparations should be carried out twice: before the appearance of buds and before the blossoming of flowers.

Chemicals

Processing with insecticides is carried out twice a year: before and after flowering.

To do this, use the following drugs:

  1. "Spark" is a tabletted substance that is dissolved in water at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 liters of liquid.
  2. "Karbofos" - it is used to detect a large number of beetles. 90 g of the active substance must be diluted in 10 liters of water.
  3. “Kinmix” or “Confidor” - emulsions are prepared according to the attached instructions. To process 1 bush, 1.5 l of working solution is necessary.
  4. "Fufanon" in a concentration of 0.1% - recommended for high degrees of damage in the phase of formation of buds.

Important! When working with any of these chemicals, use protective equipment - a respirator and gloves

Folk methods

In addition to chemical preparations, there are also a number of folk ways to combat this pest:

  1. A solution of potassium permanganate . An aqueous solution is prepared from this substance: 1 g of the active substance is needed per 20 l of liquid. The resulting product, after the snow melts, they cultivate the soil under the bushes.
  2. Mustard solution . They process the plant before flowering. To do this, 100 g of mustard must be stirred in a small amount of hot water to a creamy consistency. Then dilute the resulting mass with another 10 liters of water.
  3. Infusion of tansy . In 1 bucket of water during the day, you should insist 700 g of the plant, then bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes. Cool the infusion, strain and add another 10 liters of water.
  4. Tobacco infusion . To obtain it, pour 1 cup of dry matter with 10 cups of water, then stand for 2 hours on fire. Before applying to the soil - dilute with water at the rate of 1: 3.
  5. Soda solution . Before ovaries appear, the bushes should be sprayed with this substance. 10 liters of water will require 1 tbsp. a spoonful of powder.

Processing plants must be carried out in dry and sunny weather. In case of rain, the procedure should be repeated.

It is quite simple to prevent the defeat of raspberry plantations by pests. First of all, it is necessary to observe all the rules of agricultural technology, and also not to forget about the preventive treatments of raspberry bushes before and after flowering.

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