I exhausted every method to get rid of flea beetles with no luck, but this quick hack worked first time – all you need is a piece of card and some Vaseline

This is the first year with a garden of my own and I've already had to tackle a wide range of pests. The latest to show up on the scene? Flea beetles. They decided to attack my sweet alyssum and have proven to be quite persistent.

I've tried every natural pest control method to get rid of these pests that destroy plants, including sprinkling chili powder to deter them and placing repellent plants nearby. Neither of which seem to bother these tiny, shiny insects. The best way to get rid of flea beetles is to physically remove them, but they have a tendency to jump away when disturbed, making it incredibly hard to remove them for good. That was until I tried using Vaseline to get rid of flea beetles, which immediately trapped them.

It's a solution I wish I found earlier, as I watched it instantly fix my flea beetle problem. Plus, it only takes minutes and you need just two materials to make this hack work, which you likely already have lying around the house. Here's what you need to know to use Vaseline to get rid of flea beetles.

How to use Vaseline to get rid of flea beetles

If you have a kitchen garden full of brassicas or a flower bed with sweet alyssum, wallflowers, and nasturtiums and spot foliage full of tiny little holes, much like the image above, it's likely you have flea beetles. They're identifiable as tiny flying black beetles, sometimes with white stripes, and they jump away when disturbed.

This makes physically removing them hard to do, but it's the most effective way to get rid of them. Even when I have blasted them with water to remove them, these pests just came straight back.

I even tried ways to repel them, but I found spices to deter common pests, like this chili powder from Walmart, didn't do much. This is likely explained by flea beetles' varying sensitivity to the chemical compound capsaicin found in spices.

After doing some research I stumbled across a fool-proof hack that traps flea beetles when they jump, so you can dispose of them away from your susceptible plants.

All you need is a piece of card and some Vaseline (from Walmart). Yellow card (from Amazon) is a good choice because the flea beetles are attracted to this bright color. You can also use another sticky substance if you don't have Vaseline to hand, for example this insect barrier glue from Amazon.

You then want to cover your card in the Vaseline or glue, leaving one edge dry. You then drag the dry edge of the affected plants to disturb the flea beetles. When they then jump, they get trapped on the sticky side of the card.

I can't believe how well this worked. With a card full of flea beetles, I disposed of it away from my plants to ensure they didn't break free and come back.

For an extra precaution, you can also attach a stick (like these lollipop sticks from Amazon) to your card trap and insert it in the soil near the affected plants to make your own sticky trap. Or, use these ready-to-use insect sticky traps from Amazon to catch the flea beetles.

FAQs

What's the best homemade flea beetle spray?

You can make a homemade bug spray to get rid of flea beetles by using two cups of isopropyl alcohol (from Amazon), five cups of water, and a tablespoon of liquid soap. The isopropyl alcohol and soap both work to dehydrate flea beetles. It's best to put this mixture in an empty spray bottle (like this one from Amazon) for convenient application.

Does vinegar get rid of flea beetles?

Vinegar can be used to repel flea beetles, but it won't kill them. The acidity and strong scent of vinegar is unappealing to flea beetles, so you can dilute it in water and spray it on your affected plants to keep these pests away.

Flea beetles are just one of the spring garden pests to look out for in the warmer months of the year. As well as using Vaseline to get rid of flea beetles, consider also planting these flowers to deter pests in your vegetable garden to keep your crops safe from damage.