Bugs on the potatoes

This is my first year growing potatoes and I've got some bugs eating the leaves off. I want to know what they are and how to get rid off them. They haven't touched anything else in the garden, just the potatoes.

I have always heard them called potatoe bugs. Sevin works , some people dust self rising flour on the leaves and when the bugs eat the flour they swell up and burst.

those are potato bugs. there is some thing to dust the plants with to kill the eggs. put some gloves on and just sqush the big ones. if there are not to many they will not damage the potato. if you have egg plants, they will eat them. we had lots of rain for a week once that killed them all. David

Colorado Potato beetles. Larval stage, and adult stage. I was hoeing in my garden today and found a couple adults already. Planted my potatoes a couple days ago, and they're not even up yet! Bugs must be planning on getting a head start...
This is potato country, and although there aren't any fields real close, and those that are are just barely coming up. So, I am thinking they wintered over in the ground....
With all the potatoes raised around here, they're pretty much immune to Sevin, and most other common insecticides. Try whatever you got in the shed. Growers here are known to use a mixture of several insecticides, and rotate the mixtures in subsequent sprayings. I usually try not to use the chemicals until it is evident I can't keep ahead of them by daily inspections, picking them off, and disposing of them. Be sure to get the little yellow egg clusters under the leaves. Those bugs will infest other common garden crops too, tomatoes and zuchinni come to mind - so spray them down too.
squash here

Only sure way I have found is to to knock them off the plants into a pail with a splash of gasoline in the bottom. They are immune to most pesticides. If you leave them there will be a lot more next year. The larva can eat up a full grown potato plant in a few days if there are enough of them.

I have used plain old garden lime. works for me and is good for the ground.

I see one of the pesticides is carbamate which to me may be related to carbaryl which is in vegetable dust which is[couldbe]available in the shop. Excellent for eradication of European wasp also. Thrips, Aphids & Caterpillars.
I think Pests that ingest.

They are pretty much immune to everything around here. Spraying them with soap seems to work though, it basically suffocates them. I'll be very afraid of the bug that gets immune to that spray.

Be warned, they will also eat tomatoes and egg plants.

I have not had much luck with poison. I do walk down my rows most every day and pick them offk. Sometimes throw them in the pond for the fish. As someone else mentioned if you ignore this they will get out of hand.

I haven't had Colorado potatoe beetles since I started to plant marigolds amonst the rows-one every ten feet. Works for me.
Chas.

I spray them with sevin sometimes weekly. I never plant potatoes in the same area two years in a row. My wife use to pick them off by hand and seal them in a mty. coffee can back when we tried to be more organic.

Last year I didn't have one potatoe bug. When I do have them, I pick/knock them off into a small can with gas in the bottom. Planting a few eggplant among the potatoes--I usually use the space between the rows--will supposedly attract them away from the potatoes.

Larry

colorado potato beetles are the correct name i believe. The only thing i have problems with them eating is potatos also ,though some folks say they will eat tomatoes up .They also eat bull nettles ive noticed so they arent all bad!.I used sevin dust for a long time and it worked well,but now i just turn quail loose in garden.chickens will take care of them also, if you really want to go organic.I like quail because they are poor scratchers and wont dig out seeds or small plants.I do lose a few to critters though.My quail are so tame that they will come right up to you and get under your feet.I just wait until they covey up late of an evening then scoop them up in a fish net and put them in a cage the chicken house.If you dont have cats or dogs that will chase them during the day just an occasional hawk or owl will get one.As of last night,i started with eight and have 7 left this year.Mine become pets with all the girls around here ,but you can put them up in the freezer also in the fall if they dont squeal too loud.we have poultry only auctions around here,so i buy them pretty cheap, generally around $1.00 to $1.50 each and they are very easy to keep.my uncle used to keep bantams in his garden all the time,and they did well also.they also would go back to the chicken house of a night to roost so all he had to do was shut them up,but my quail wont.