I had a big problem with them on my eggplants earlier this spring. I got seriously annoyed and started squishing them by hand. Strangely enough, that seemed to work.

I wrote about it on my blog...

Here is a link that might be useful: my blog post about flea beetles (amongst other things)

That's interesting that you're able to get them like that. I actually did a couple today based on you saying that.

However, the beetles were getting worse, though not bad like they usually are. I still think the mint/catnip is helping, but my eggplants are still so young. I was afraid they might not survive the damage, particularly some tiny Turkish eggplants and some African that were esp. hard hit.

I"m growing lots of radishes as a trap crop, but so far they haven't found them. So i bit the bullet and applied a little dusting of diat. earth on the eggplants. they aren't flowering yet, so no chance of bees landing. And I've got lots of other things for ladybugs, so I'm hopeful I'll only get the flea beetles with my dusting. At least until the eggplants get a bit more stout.

I like your blog, btw...helpful info!

julianna
I always have trouble with flea beetles on my eggplant. Last year I lost all my eggplants to the horrible bugs, and did not get one eggplant. It was very disappointing. I tried dusting them with rotenone several times with no success at all.

I did a search to see if I could find any solutions that I could try this year, and I came across your post.
What was your final outcome? Did the mint/catnip work? The dusting help?

Have you tried spraying the plants with liquid seaweed, molasses, or milk on a 2-week schedule?

Hi there. I believe the mint does work somewhat, but it's not a cure.

But I have something better: kaolin clay. I'm now a devotee of this stuff!

It's not easy to find in smaller amounts. I think Gardens Alive had it last year, as did Johnny Seeds. Gardens Alive has a coupon for first time buyers.

It goes by the brand name of Surround WP and is about $25 for five pounds. You can get big bags (25# and up) from other places, but expensive and unless you're a farmer/orchard grower, you don't need that much.

Mix it up per the instructions - it looks kind of like talcum powder. INVEST IN A SPRAYER. Don't use one of those little hand squirters. I use a pump sprayer and it's just fine...cheap one.

Then spray it all over your eggplants (and other plants that have pest problems). Make sure to get the undersides of the leaves, the stems, all of it. It looks like this drippy liquid at first, but dries to a film. Not so pretty, but prettier than eaten plants.

And then keep reapplying when it wears off or rains hard. I tend to apply about every couple of weeks unless there's a hard rain.

Kaolin clay forms a film that tastes bad and is sticky on their feet. It doesn't hurt any bugs (so your beneficials are safe), but repels them.

One important tip that I've learned by reading and from experience: start using it EARLY. Like when you plant your seedlings. That way when the pests arrive, they'll find the barrier and go somewhere else. It's a lot more effective this way, although I've started mid season with fairly good results.

I'm swearing by this stuff. It helped with flea beetles, cuke beetles and Japanese beetles. They hate it. And it doesn't hurt the bees either. In fact, it's just plain SAFE. They use this stuff in your makeup.

For the home gardener, I think a five-pound bag will last three years, maybe more.

I'm going to guess that the clay also forms a home and moisture controller for beneficial microbes that live on the outside of plants.

Mint and catnip, "Nepeta", have been listed as one of the plants to use to aid in keeping Flea Beetles off plants when they are planted together for many years. The best guess is the odor of the mint so confuses the pests that they cannot find the plant they prefer.
As I recall the clay changes the appearance of what the insect pests want, some think, so those pests cannot find what they are looking for.

Here is a link that might be useful: Companion planting

dchall, is the home and moisture controller for beneficial microbes a good thing or a bad thing?

The way I worked it was this: one day I would spray my plants with my brew of compost tea and liquid seaweed, then the next day they got the clay. That way they got the good stuff, and it didn't wash off the clay.

I have had good success with floating row covers over eggplant and brassicas. Regards, Peter.