I keep an organic garden which is mostly insect free. Occasionally I’ve had white flies and aphids but was able to treat the problem using your insect soap. But lately I’ve seen large ground beetles and they’re pretty tough. The soap doesn’t seem to work on them too well. Do you have something stronger thats still organic?
Ground beetles are pretty tough and no doubt most common organic sprays will have difficulty penetrating their thick exoskeleton. As explained in our ground beetle control article, the use of a wetting agent or spreader sticker can provide better results. But if you must use something organic, there is only one or two products we recommend.
The most complete product we have is the BUG PATROL RTS. It’s both fast acting and able to penetrate the thick skin which protects ground beetles so well. Bug Patrol RTS comes with its own sprayer so all you need to do is hook it to your garden hose, turn on the water and go to work. It’s certified for organic gardening and safe to use around children and pets.
The best concentrate we’ve seen that works well on ground beetles is the GARDEN DEFENSE WITH NEEM. You will need some type of PUMP SPRAYER to apply this material so it’s not quite as convenient to use compared to the Bug Patrol. Additionally, we recommend adding some of the organic SPREADER STICKER to the tank mix for good penetration.
In summary, if you spray the ground under your garden and the surrounding turf using the bug patrol every two or three months, you should be able to keep ground beetles under control.
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