As the sun begins to set over the horizon, it’s a perfect time to go out and collect more potatoes. Potato bugs are a pesky little critter about the taste buds. They feed on sweet potatoes, yams, and other types of tubers, but their favorite food is all that matters. Keep reading the article to know about what do potato bugs eat.
Usually, tomato bugs eat tomatoes, leaves, peppers, potatoes, and small insects. Here’s a short, bite-sized, simple-to-digest list of some foods potato bugs (and many other insects) like to eat.
In this article:
What Do Potato Bugs Eat And Ways To Prevent It
Potatoes bugs eat tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, leaves, and small insects. Keep reading all about the potato bugs.
All About Potato Bugs
Planting is an excellent hobby for those with an abundance of free time. It’s a great hobby to do when one has plenty of free time since it offers plenty of relaxation and benefits for your mind and body. It can also be used to relax and think about things differently.
Probably the best part about growing and enjoying vegetables and fruits is being able to harvest them. One particular crop to grow and enjoy is the potato, which is delicious and versatile. If you care for it properly, you can be sure that it will produce good results. But if you’re not careful, many pests may come and attack your potatoes.
Finding these potato bugs on your crops or in your garden can be a hassle and a problem if you want to grow your food. There are many different potato bugs out there, but you can protect your potatoes by doing what the article suggests.
Bugs of the order Hemiptera (Homoptera) are the second largest order globally. They are commonly known as “true bugs” and include the actual bugs, assassin bugs, and silverfish. Potato bugs belong to the family Lygaeidae. An excellent way to identify them is by the white spots on their body and antennae—this article you how to get rid of these pesky bugs.
Types of Potato Bugs and What They Eat
There are many types of potato bugs and they eat leaves, small insects, potatoes, and tubers. Keep reading about the types of potato bugs.
Colorado Potato Beetle
Colorado potato beetle is a bug with a yellowish color and brown stripes extending to its back. These bugs seem to appear out of nowhere in no time at all. They can also go through a whole potato crop in a short time. Usually, the Colorado Potato beetle is about 10 mm long.
Potato Leafhopper
These minor, wedge-shaped bugs are very active yet frequently unseen because of their size and tendency to feed on the underside of potato leaves. These bugs use piercing and sucking mouthparts to take out the sap from potato leaves.
These insects can be recognized easily by their triangular-shaped spots and how the leaves turn upward when they are heated. They also detect by examining the underside of the leaves for the same kind of marks.
Flea Beetles
The term for these bugs is “psyllid,” as they tend to hop from plant to plant as they develop. Their impact on the potato crops is quite considerable as they often spread to other plants when they leave behind their young, who then eat the leaves.
The larvae of the flea beetle consume plant roots in search of food and can eat holes so big that they hollow out the potato. The larvae are especially harmful because they often lay eggs in the potato. It makes the potatoes vulnerable to fungi, rot, and bacterial infections.
Jerusalem Cricket
Jerusalem crickets are a common species of insect that you will find in your yard. These little bugs come in many different colors but are known to be brown and yellow. They are nocturnal and primarily feed on insects, roots, and tubers, including potatoes, making your garden the perfect environment for this species of bug.
You’d know that there is an infestation of Jerusalem Crickets in your garden when they start appearing inside your home, which could be very concerning.
Blister Beetle
Blister beetles can be in desert regions and rangelands, probably one of the worst-looking bugs you’ll see. These are known as potato bugs or aphids. You’ll notice that they’re about 1 1/2 inches in length if you look closely. They feed on the leaves of potato plants, leaving them looking a bit tattered.
They are not known to threaten the potato, only to the leaves. The plant itself has nothing to fear from them.
How to Avoid the Emergence of Pesky Potato Bugs
There are different ways of getting rid of potato bugs in your garden to successfully grow your plants and harvest your crops when the right time comes. There are various ways to get rid of different types of bugs, depending on infestation.
You may be able to help reduce the impact that potato bugs have on your crops by keeping a close watch on them. Early detection is always the best approach.
If your vegetable crops are susceptible to pests, you can plant trap crops between them. They will attract pests into the area where your vegetable crops are grown, and they will consume the insects looking for a place to eat.
In the case of potato beetles, you may be able to avoid their appearance by digging a trench around your potato crops and covering it with plastic. Then lightly sprinkle some soil on the plastic as, for some reason, these beetles cannot get across plastic when it has dirt on it.
Protect your potatoes from pests by planting your crop in raised beds and adding barriers to prevent leafhopper infestation. Keep any trash out of the area around your plants to make sure that no insects or eggs are laying.
Examples of these plants are coriander, marigold, and horseradish. Planting these kinds of plants may prevent your whole garden from being damaged.
Conclusion – Protect Your Potatoes and Other Crops
It was no surprise that many different potato bugs could invade your crop, as the insects are not confined to a single type. While it may be true that you will find these insects in all parts of the world, they seem to thrive in warmer weather.
It doesn’t have to be just potatoes. You can plant different vegetables, especially if you have a vast space to accommodate other vegetables. All you need to deal with irritating pests is the correct information about what you’re required.
You will be able to enjoy having a garden even without a hard time if you have the proper precautions taken. These include not planting vegetables in the sunniest spots or where weeds tend to grow. When it comes to caring for your garden, take advantage of all the knowledge available on the Internet to give your plants the best care possible.
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