Birch tar as a means of combating the Colorado potato beetle

Potatoes are the favorite food of the Colorado potato beetle. This voracious insect destroys the above-ground part of the root crop over large areas in a few days. There are many methods for exterminating this arthropod leaf beetle. One of the most effective and affordable ways to protect the future harvest is to treat potatoes with tar . Such a simple and inexpensive remedy not only effectively copes with potato beetles, but also helps protect crops from other pests.

The need to treat potatoes before planting

The pest enters the plant from the soil. Before the arrival of cold weather, the insect hides underground to a meter depth. If the winter was mild, then almost the entire population of the parasite survives and safely gets out with the onset of warmth, beginning to multiply quickly.

The Colorado potato beetle has the ability to produce an antidote to popular pesticides.

If the area was treated with chemicals last year, this does not guarantee complete destruction of the colony. The insect feeds not only on potatoes, but also on other crops - tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplants. Therefore, it is better to carry out preventive work in a timely manner than to then spend a lot of time and effort fighting a multiplying pest.

Biological basis for widespread distribution

Years of struggle for potato crops indicate that it is completely impossible to get rid of the Colorado potato beetle larvae. This is due to a number of reasons:

1. Wintering at great depths: up to 50 cm. Therefore, such an effective method against other pests as winter plowing or digging does not guarantee their complete freezing.
2. Possibility of flying over long distances, which amount to tens of kilometers, especially in windy weather. Even completely isolated areas are not immune from their attack.
3. During a season, under favorable conditions, one adult individual lays up to 1000 eggs in stages. At the same time, there can be all varieties of Colorado potato beetle larvae on the site: both those that have just appeared on green shoots and those that have already pupated in the ground. Therefore, a one-time use of any product does not produce results.
4. The ability to hibernate for many years under unfavorable conditions: going underground to great depths, they can spend up to 3 years there.
5. Absence or insignificant population of natural enemies in Eurasia. After all, the beetle originates from North America.
6. Chemical resistance. The rapid addiction is explained by the fact that from 2 to 4 generations of pests change during the season. By the beginning of next year, they will already have developed immunity to the treatment agents, if they are not changed.

Thus, the main thing in the fight for the harvest: patience, consistency and knowledge of what the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle look like.

Tar from the Colorado potato beetle: is it worth using?

In search of the most effective remedy for parasitic insects, many resort to agrochemicals. However, chemicals are poisons and therefore dangerous to the health of people and pets; the active ingredients of some products accumulate in plant tissues and cells. Traditional mechanical methods for killing beetles are ineffective and require considerable effort.

To avoid the risk of poisoning and save time and money, many summer residents use folk remedies. The most popular of them is birch tar. The following facts speak about the advantages of using tar in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle:

1. The substance does not pose a danger to humans, animals and plants.
2. The drug effectively protects crops not only of insects, but also of rodents.
3. The product is not addictive; parasites do not develop immunity to it.
4. The use of tar will not require significant costs and special equipment.
5. The effect of use lasts for a month.
6. Existing methods of processing this substance allow you to choose the best option.

The disadvantages of using birch tar include a strong unpleasant odor, poor solubility in water, and the ability to stick to working parts of equipment. But these shortcomings can be overcome with the right approach.

Benefits against powdery mildew

Therefore, if you grow plants in poor-quality conditions, you should at least carefully monitor that spotty plaque does not appear on your plants - this will be the first sign of a crop disease. If this does happen, prepare a solution of birch tar and ash as soon as possible:

• first heat about 10 liters of water;
• then dissolve 1.5 kg of high-quality wood ash in it;
• here we add 4 tbsp. l. tar, mix the solution thoroughly;
• It is necessary to spray with this product using a high-quality spray bottle, not forgetting to regularly clean the device from ash accumulated in small holes;
• It is recommended to treat all plants on the site for preventive purposes;
• It would also be a good idea to spray with a spray bottle or simply spill the soil in the garden.

Birch tar: composition

The product has the appearance of a thick, oily liquid of a dark color with a green tint. There are two types of tar:

1. birch is obtained by distilling birch bark; it contains antiseptic and antiparasitic impregnation, the smell is persistent and pronounced;
2. birch bark has a more complex manufacturing method, has a more transparent consistency and a less pronounced odor, therefore it is more often used for cosmetic purposes.

Both types are used to combat potato beetles, since they are identical in composition and include the following ingredients:

• phenol;
• toluene;
• dioxybenzene;
• xylene;
• guaiacol;
• phytoncides;
• various resins and organic acids.

Moles

It is clear what to do with insect pests. But summer residents also have other garden enemies, for example, moles. With their active underground activity, they cause significant damage to the health and sometimes even the life of gardening plants.

The mole is an uninvited guest in any garden

To drive these uninvited guests away from the site, mix 1 cup of tar and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil and soak pieces of rags with this emulsion. After this, dig out all the molehills that you find on the site, put a fragrant rag in each hole and fill the holes with earth. After such “aromatherapy,” the moles will quickly leave the occupied territory.

The principle and mechanism of action of birch bark tar on the Colorado potato beetle

Thanks to its unique composition, the product has a distinct and persistent odor that many insects and animals with a keen sense of smell cannot tolerate. The Colorado potato beetle is attracted to the aroma of potato tops and other nightshades. Leaves and soil treated with tar will retain an unpleasant smell for the leaf beetle for a long time, which will scare it away from a distance and prevent it from landing on the bush and starting to reproduce. The substance acts in the same way on other pests sensitive to it.

Manufacturing technique

Tar can be obtained from the top layer of birch bark in early summer, but this procedure requires special equipment, experience and time. Therefore, it is better to use ready-made products that can be bought in special shops, garden centers or pharmacies.

To prepare the working solution, you can use tar or tar soap directly. Recipe options are shown in the table.

Spraying equipment is selected depending on the recipe for the working solution.

Processing rules

Treatment of potatoes with tar from the Colorado potato beetle is carried out in 2 stages:

1. Pre-sowing prevention.

Before planting, it is necessary to cultivate the soil and seed. To do this, 1-2 tablespoons of tar are diluted in a bucket of water, the tubers are immersed there for 5-10 minutes, and then poured onto the furrows and rows before planting the potatoes.

1. Post-sowing spraying.

Immediately after the first leaves appear, it is recommended to spray the plants with a solution according to one of the recipes from the table; It is advisable to repeat the event every 3 days. However, you can limit yourself to three-time treatment: for the first shoots, during budding and during flowering.

In order for preventive measures to be as effective as possible, you need to follow the established recommendations:

1. spray the green part of the plant in calm, cloudy weather, and on sunny days it is better to choose the evening or early morning to minimize burns;
2. do not apply treatment before or after precipitation; in rainy summers, the number of treatments should be increased;
3. start prevention as early as possible, before pests appear;
4. inspect the bushes before spraying for the presence of beetles; they should be collected manually along with the larvae and only then treated;
5. treat the foliage not only from the outside, but also from the inside, where the parasite settles.

When using birch tar against the Colorado potato beetle, you need to remember that it does not kill insects, but only repels them.

Tips and tricks

Tar not only helps to repel wireworms, but also has antiseptic properties. Thanks to this, you can use a solution (2 tablespoons of substance per 8 liters of water) to treat the above-ground parts of garden plants susceptible to bacterial infection.

Advice! The product is used not only in the garden, but also in the garden when pruning fruit trees. To prevent the cut areas from being affected by diseases, they are treated with tar without adding water.

A few tips when working with the substance:

1. To prepare a solution to combat wireworms, separate containers are set aside, in which the substance is diluted, and then the garden is watered. Getting rid of the smell will be quite difficult.
2. Use a respirator or medical mask when processing; the smell can cause irritation of the nasopharyngeal mucosa.
3. Wear special safety glasses if using a sprayer to prevent tar from getting into your eyes.
4. Rubber gloves are put on immediately before working with tar; the smell is so persistent that washing your hands will be problematic.
5. For the same reason, clothing should be closed, especially for working in the garden. The substance is oily. Stains that are difficult to remove and a specific smell that will remain even after washing.

But these inconveniences will fully pay off when harvesting; the vegetables will remain untouched by the wireworm and will last longer.

Birch tar from other pests

Due to its insecticidal effect, the product is used not only against beetles, but also against other equally dangerous pests. The substance works very effectively against butterflies, onion flies, wireworms, sawflies, spider mites and codling moths. Moles, mice and hares cannot stand the tar smell.

Use in the garden

Garden crops are constantly attacked by parasitic animals. To protect the future harvest, tar is used in various ways:

Use in the garden

Tar is used to prepare products that protect fruit trees and shrubs from pests:

Folk remedies

When several acres are allocated for potatoes, and the scale of the damage, due to climatic conditions, is small, you can use folk experience and available means.

For example, plant potatoes together with plants rich in phytoncides, namely:

• marigolds;
• marigolds;
• dill;
• garlic;
• coriander.

Along the perimeter of the potato field you can use legumes: peas, beans, fava beans. It is believed that these plants can scare away pests from the area.

Approximately 10 kg of ash will be required per hundred square meters. Before mass budding, treatments are carried out every two weeks, after flowering - once a month is enough.

In addition to dusting, the preparation of water infusions or decoctions is widely used: walnuts, tobacco, celandine, garlic, tomato tops, birch tar and even onion peels. On average, 1 kg of fresh herbs will be enough to prepare an infusion for 10 liters of hot water. It must be left for 3 to 5 days, filtered and the resulting solution sprayed onto the area.

Even an infusion of the Colorado potato beetle is used. To do this, take pests previously collected in a jar (volume 0.5 liters) and infuse them in a hermetically sealed bucket filled to the brim with water (about 10 liters). After 10 days, the plants are filtered and treated with it. Fermented toxins released as a result of the decomposition of insects are real poison for them.

Prevention of the appearance of the Colorado potato beetle

To prevent the appearance of leaf beetle in a potato bed, you can use a useful experience. Several recommendations will help you get rid of the pest:

1. Joint planting of potatoes and strong-smelling plants such as calendula, basil, marigold, dill, and coriander will help repel the winged parasite. For the same purpose, legumes are planted nearby.
2. Seed material should be carefully selected before planting. Do not use damaged tubers for seeds.
3. Give preference to potato varieties specially developed against the Colorado potato beetle: “Nevsky”, “Vyatka”, “Zarevo”, “Zhukovsky”, “Lugovskoy”.

Birch tar is an effective and affordable remedy against the Colorado potato beetle and other pests. To protect the crop, it is enough to know the recipe and process it in a timely manner.

How to prepare the product

According to reviews, preparing birch tar from the Colorado potato beetle is quite problematic, since the resulting mixture does not dissolve in water due to its composition and specific gravity, which is approximately 0.940 g/cm3.

Therefore, the mixture is prepared using 2 methods:

1. Birch tar is mixed with a small amount of water and stirred quickly, after which it is immediately used for its intended purpose. This method allows you to avoid waiting for the composition to peel off, so treatment of plants is possible.
2. Also, the preparation of birch tar is determined by the following: the mixture is mixed with laundry soap and only after that a small amount of water is added.

Note! The effectiveness of birch tar against the Colorado potato beetle does not depend on the method of its preparation and in any case the same amount of tar and water is used.

Reviews

Natalya Alexandrovna, 76 years old, Rostov region

“I always treat my beds with folk remedies. Tar is a wonderful substance that has helped me out more than once. I don’t use chemicals as a matter of principle. Pests don't like the smell and simply leave the garden beds. And there is no need to kill them."

Evgeniy Petrovich, 69 years old, Krasnodar

“Like my mother, I use special tar-based solutions in the old fashioned way. This is a herbal and absolutely safe remedy. Of course, the smell, to put it mildly, is not very good, but the effect on the face, plus it is very useful for vegetation.”

Mechanical methods of destruction

If the plantings of potatoes or other nightshades are small, you can get rid of the pest with your own hands. The most well-known methods are:

• Collection and subsequent destruction by hand. You can simply collect the pests with your hands in a container of water so that they do not spread, or you can thoroughly shake the tops over a bucket of water. The beetles and larvae are left in the water, covered with a lid, to drown, and then thrown out.
• Traps. To do this, potato peelings are placed in small piles throughout the site in spring or autumn. The beetles that have crawled onto the potatoes are collected and drowned or burned.

Precautionary measures

Concentrated birch resin is classified as a drug of the third hazard class. Therefore, it is advisable to store vials with tar in an inaccessible place; it is better to close them under the key. In addition, you cannot keep other biological products close to them (it is better not to store them even in the same room).

When mixing the solution and processing the plantings, one mask is not enough; you need to use a respirator. A drop of product that accidentally gets on the skin should be immediately wiped off with alcohol and then washed off with soapy water.

There are no sterile conditions for farming. To maintain a productive garden, sooner or later you have to resort to medicinal drugs and insecticides. Among them there are both biological and chemical (often poisonous) agents. Depending on the scale of the damage, everyone makes their own decision on choosing one method or another.

Birch tar in the garden against pests is the most natural and, as practice shows, quite effective. If you follow the rules of mixing, processing and storage, then it is quite capable of helping in the fight against known pests.

Ways to preserve the harvest

You can fight the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle, and even its adults, in different ways. Conventionally, they can be combined into four large groups:

• mechanical methods of destruction;
• folk remedies;
• chemical protection;
• agrotechnical practices.

The choice depends on priorities in terms of harvest quality (for example, obtaining completely organic vegetables), planting area, degree of damage, weather conditions and the availability of one or another method.