Order Your Almanac Today!

How to Identify and Get Rid of Flea Beetles

Flea beetles can be very destructive to a wide variety of plants, so be sure to take preventative measures.

Photo Credit
Greg Bryant, North Carolina State University

Learn How to Prevent These Garden Pests!

Catherine Boeckmann
Print Friendly and PDF
Almanac Garden Planner

The Almanac Garden Planner - Use It Free for 7 Days!

Plan your 2025 garden with our award-winning Garden Planner.

Try Now

Pest Type
Garden Pests

Are you having trouble with flea beetles in your garden? If you’ve noticed leaves riddled with holes, and your precious plants seem stunted, you might be facing a flea beetle infestation. Here’s how to identify, prevent, and get rid of these pesky bugs so that they stop eating your vegetables!

What Are Flea Beetles?

Flea beetles are small, shiny-coated beetles with large rear legs, which allow them to jump like fleas when threatened.

There are many species of flea beetles. Some species attack a wide range of plants, while others target only certain plant families. In the garden, many vegetable crops are susceptible to these pests, particularly those in the Brassica family, like broccoli, cabbage, kale, radishes, and turnips, as well as Nightshades such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

Read Next
Identification

How to Identify Flea Beetles on Plants

Given that there are so many species of flea beetles, they vary in appearance quite a bit. Colors range from black to tan, with other, brighter colors mixed in, and the beetles may have a solid, striped, or spotted pattern, depending on the species.

To identify flea beetles, it’s easier to look for signs of their damage (described below) than for the beetles themselves. At only 1/16 of an inch in length, flea beetles are very tiny and will quickly spring away—like fleas—if they see you approach!

flea beetles
Flea beetle on leaf. Credit: Fotikphoto

When Do Flea Beetles Appear?

Adult flea beetles overwinter in brush and wooded areas. Adult bugs pose the biggest threat early in the planting season as they are emerging, typically when outdoor temperatures reach 50ÂşF (10°C). At this time, seedlings are being planted, too, and they are most susceptible to beetle damage.

Eggs are laid at the base of plant stems in early summer after the spring feeding period, and larvae feed at the roots.

What Flea Beetle Damage Looks Like

Adult beetles feed on foliage, producing “shotholes” in the leaves. Look out for these holes, especially on young seedlings, where damage is most rapid and will cause the most harm. The holes they make will be round and can quickly ruin leafy greens. New leaves are usually damaged first and will have a lacy appearance.

Flea beetles usually don’t cause fatal damage to established plants because the leaves are already large enough to survive a few holes. The real danger is that the beetles can spread bacterial diseases, such as wilt and blight, from plant to plant. Additionally, in leafy crops like lettuce or spinach, the holes can bring down the quality of the leaves. Therefore, they are still important to consider as pests.

Flea beetle damage on radish leaves.
Gardening Products
Control and Prevention

How to Get Rid of Flea Beetles

  • Try this homemade spray to control flea beetles: 2 cups isopropyl alcohol, 5 cups water, and 1 tablespoon liquid soap. Test out the mixture on a leaf of the plant, let it sit overnight, then spray the rest of the plant if you don’t notice any adverse effects. Spray the mixture on the foliage of garden plants that are susceptible to these pests.
  • Dusting leaves with plain talcum powder repels flea beetles on tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and other plants.
  • Use white sticky traps to capture flea beetles as they jump.
  • Insecticides may be used early in the season but are generally unnecessary in the control of flea beetles on adult plants. Be extra diligent if your soil has a history of bacterial diseases. Please contact your local nursery or cooperative extension for further advice.

How to Prevent Flea Beetles

  • In the spring, emerging flea beetles will be waiting to feast on your garden. Cut off their food supply by delaying transplanting or planting by a couple of weeks if possible.
  • In the fall, till the garden to unearth any hiding flea beetles. This will also make it easier for the soil easier to work the next spring.
  • Row covers may be successful at keeping these pests out, as long as they are completely sealed. They should be used immediately after transplanting, so the pests do not have time to find the plant.
  • Flea beetles can be kept away from crops by planting strongly-scented plants such as catnip, sage, mint, or hyssop nearby. Nasturtium, radishes, and basil can be used as “trap crops” to take the beetles’ focus off of more valuable plants.
  • Check out these tips to attract beneficial insects, which will prey on flea beetles.
Garden Pests
About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

More Like This
Gardening Club

Comments

Yes they are in fact a major problem indoors, they will reproduce indoors until you have an infestation of them. I have sticky traps indoors and they are picking them up all the time.
I have evidence of this and live in a top floor flat, i don't have house plants, never have. They will also jump on humans. They are very dangerous, as all the official science says they don't do this, so all reports of it are dismissed. Anyone is welcome to come and stay overnight in my flat and find out what is really going on with these things, they have evolved due to decades of seasonal temp changes, they are different now. If they ever come into your home you will find out 1st hand.

Betty Su (not verified)

4 years 7 months ago

hi, We have some mustard grown here, unfortunately, flea beetle left so many holes on them. After that, I found that the hole edge get purple, so it looks like there are so many purple holes on mustard. It's different from holes flea beetle left on other vegetables. Do you know the reason for this?

Flea Beetles are destroying my black eye Susan’s, echinacea, and daises. They are eating the petals before they emerge. I tried the spray recommended on this web site but not great. Any other suggestions?

I've heard that dusting the plants in talcum powder will help, but my in-laws recommend spraying a mixture of water, vinegar and dish soap on the leaves and stems to repel all insects

Some varieties of mustard naturally have a purplish tinge to the leaves, so our guess would be that the tissue immediately surrounding the holes in the leaves starts to die and lose its green chlorophyll, leaving the dark color around the holes. On the other hand, a fungal disease called alternaria leaf spot may cause purplish-black lesions in leaves. Search google for an image of alternaria leaf spot and see if it matches what you’re seeing. If alternaria leaf spot is the culprit, remove heavily affected leaves and avoid planting mustard in the same spot next year.

Kathleen (not verified)

4 years 7 months ago

I am just wondering whether the dead beetles sprayed with this mixture pose any danger to songbirds foraging in the garden?

Karen (not verified)

4 years 9 months ago

Can I make a spray with 100% alcohol? Maybe only 1shot to 5cups water?? Or would coffee grounds be better on the ground with flour sprinkled on the plants?

Meredith (not verified)

4 years 9 months ago

How often should you use the spray?