asparagus beetle

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Pride goeth before a fall. I was really chuffed with my asparagus this year, been cropping since March and the spears are fatter than ever from my 28 year old plants. So went to get a handful for tea......and they are smothered in these beetles, and all the young spears have what I assume are the larvae sticking out of them like quills. It is totally disgusting. I've never seen these before, heaven knows where they can have come from since no-one grows asparagus for miles around but me. I've read up on what to do, no problem, I'm just so peeved that I didn't see the first one or two and nip the infestation in the bud. I've had to give up on alliums because I unwittingly imported onion white rot, dashed if I'll give up on asparagus!

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[delboy]

Don't laugh, but I get a dose of revenge therapy, for want of another term, by walking up and down my asparagus from now through to the end of July and picking off the little buggers and braking them with my nails... Early mornings and early evenings I'll be there...

[small]

Oooh yes, I'm certainly doing that, got 2 of the little devils this morning, I'm still wondering where on earth they can have arrived from......

[ohmeohmy07]

Had the little *fatherless children* both of last 2 years. Very clever beasties - they fall promptly off the plant if they sense you touching it, and have buried themselves instantaneously the moment they touch the ground - so quite uncatchable. I now just hold my cupped hand underneath where they are located, give the frond a little touch, and ... let them drop straight into my hand, catch them, never to release them again! So, yes I've taken a more violent pro-active stance this year: I'm checking for them EVERY day, and finding only a few so far. The next problem will be to squash any bugs once they emerge as they will denude and kill off any frond they devour. So good luck. It is worth it in the end as the asparaguses that we are eating now are actually SWEET!

[saddad]

Despite my removing all the spears... and burning to destroy the eggs I've found a few adults again recently... they have been squished... must have flown in from other plots.

Do you have any flower arrangers locally Small... some grow a bit for "fern"...  :-X