Decrease the beetle population by flicking them into soapy water.
Repeat as needed.

I had them pretty bad last year. That was the first year I piled them up with leaves over the winter.
I don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but last winter, I pulled the leaves off the bed a couple of times and sprayed with sevin, then re-covered and had very little evidence of the beetle this spring.
I never even saw one of the little suckers, so I would find it difficult to flick them into soapy water. Nancy

We have had a serious case of asparagus beetles this spring, as have the local organic growers. At first there were too many to squish, so I cut off the infested fronds and composted them. Then I let the chickens in the patch twice, and I think they did a good cleanup job. I've started to let some fronds grow again, and I'm not seeing asparagus beetle larvae.

I think spinosad would work better than neem. It's what I was going to use if the chickens didn't set things right.

Hand picking and bucket of soapy water but no, do not cuts the ferns down now as the crowns need that energy to survive.

If you simply cannot bring yourself to touch them then a sharp pair of scissors snips them in half with little damage to the ferns.

But neem has little to no effect on them.

Dave.

• I have been having a battle with the common Asparagus Beetle. I had never heard of them before getting them for the first time in 5 years so by the time I realized what was happening there was a major infestation. Every 2 days I go out to the asparagus patch and cut EVERY stalk I see and throw it in a bucket of soap water and have not eaten 1 stalk of asparagus yet this year :-( I finally have what I feel is a good pickled asparagus recipe this year and cant even make any. What more can I do to get rid of these things I am cutting every stalk at the base and throwing them away in a bucket of soap water and have been doing this since May 25th.?