Treating strawberries for insects

Question: I would like to know what insects ate all my strawberries this year. These are June bearing strawberries. They blossomed abundantly in the spring. I noticed a lot of green immigrant leaf weevil Beatles during that time. I sprayed neem oil and other organic insecticides as well as collected the insects by hand every day. Also, I suspect I have cyclamen mites. These strawberries are 4 years old. I had a good harvest only the first year. The second and third years, I had fewer cat faced berries. This year, I had none. Every season I spray with organic insecticides. I’m treating small plants with hot water and planting them away from the current strawberry plot. Only two small plants have survived so far. I’m planning to eliminate the old plants and thinking to cover the plot with black plastic in hope that high temperature will kill the insects. What would be your recommendations? Am I doing the right thing? What else can I do to exterminate insects on this lot and how soon can I return strawberries back there?

responder: Deb Reierson  Replied July 02, 2024, 2:09 PM EDT
response: I’m sorry to hear that you aren’t getting any strawberries from your garden. While harvests are generally good this year, in 2022 and 2023 our exceptionally warm summers severely diminished strawberry crops. Strawberries drop their flowers when the temperature is over 90°. Even the Pick your own farms were not open to public picking because the crop was so small.  Your photo of the insects is low resolution so I can’t identify them.  When you say ‘cat-faced’ strawberries I am not sure what you mean but this could be tarnished plant bug.  Good weeding practices and clean up around the strawberry’s will help this.  https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/crop-production/tarnished-plant-bug-damage-in-strawberries/#:~:text=Tarnished%20plant%20bug%20nymphs%20are,fruit%2C%20often%20at%20the%20tip. I have not heard of any ‘hot water treatment’ for strawberries or any other plants.  Now is the time that you want to renovate your strawberries. This is described in the article below. Mow them low and remove all of the clippings. This clean up of the patch will go a long way towards limiting any environment that is conducive to  incests, pathogens and mold.  https://extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-strawberries-home-garden https://extension.umn.edu/strawberry-farming/strawberry-end-season-renovation https://fruitedge.umn.edu/insect-pests/polydrusus-weevils https://extension.psu.edu/pests-and-pesticides-in-home-fruit-plantings I would get a soil test done this fall so that you understand if your garden needs any amending this fall or next spring. Remember that you don’t want to apply nitrogen in the spring.  https://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu/

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 04, 2024, 3:56 PM EDT
response: Hi Deb, Thank you for the information you shared about growing strawberries. Can you please advise me on how to treat strawberry plants  for cyclamen mites?  Julia Sent from my iPhone On Jul 2, 2024, at 1:09 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:   ﻿

responder: Deb Reierson  Replied July 05, 2024, 3:56 PM EDT
response: Your strawberries don’t look like they are suffering from Cyclamen mites. They usually cause foliar damage and the leaves will look chlorotic.  You should find and identify a mite first. You can then spray them with an insecticidal soap. You can purchase this at any garden center. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/insects-pests-and-problems/insects/mites/cyclamen-mites-on-strawberry#:~:text=Steneotarsonemus%20pallidus%2C%20or%20cyclamen%20mites,extract%20chlorophyll%20from%20the%20plants.&text=Yellow%20or%20white%20stippling%20appears,growth%20becomes%20distorted%20and%20curled.