Picnic Beetles (Sap Beetles)

Eat up and clean up to keep those little black beetles from enjoying your harvest.

Known as picnic beetles, sap beetles, or little black bugs, these scavengers can be found in overripe strawberries and raspberries, cracks in ripe tomatoes, ears of corn and more.

Since they are attracted to overripe and damaged fruit, regular harvesting and sanitation will help keep these pests at bay.  Avoid pesticides that require a waiting period before you can continue to harvest as this delays picking and will result in even more overripe fruit that attracts more beetles into your garden.

Some gardeners find trapping effective. You may want to try this popular recipe:  Mix 1 cup water, 1 cup dark corn syrup, one cake of yeast, and a spoonful of vinegar. Place the mixture in a container outside the garden. Use it to attract the beetles away from the garden, trap and drown them.

A bit more information:  Any fermenting plant juices will also work. Some gardeners report success using ripe bananas and melon to attract and trap these insects.

Tags

problems-pests-weeds vegetables-herbs-fruits tomatoes corn

Related

Audio

Harvesting Sweet Corn

Audio

Managing Picnic Beetles (Sap Beetles)

Audio

Saving Leftover Seeds for Next Season

Article

2025 Energy Park Gardens

Audio

Seed Art

Audio

Fruit and Vegetable Prints

Video

Grow Tall Perennials for Vertical Interest

Audio

Various Types of Corn Celebrated by National Garden Bureau

Audio

All-America Selections 2018 National Vegetable Winners

Video

Saving Leftover Seeds

• <
• 1 (current)
• 2
• >