How to Build Your Empire
The Ultimate Flea Beetle Field Guide
Greetings, fellow beetles,
To ensure our continued domination of Britain’s oilseed rape crops, please follow this essential advice. Remember: well-informed farmers are our greatest threat. Keep them in the dark, and success is guaranteed. Here’s 10 things we all need to do to ensure we can continue to feast…
CLICK HERE TO MEET THE CSFB STRATEGY TEAM AND FARMER TOM IN THE PDF VERSION
1️⃣ Stick Rigidly to the Calendar
Convince farmers to sow bang on their usual dates every year (ideally the August bank holiday). Predictability makes it easier for us to gather en masse and feast without interruption. Early or late sowing is far too inconvenient for us, so discourage it at all costs.
1️⃣ Ditch the Date
Sow early or late to avoid peak beetle migration – do not stick to traditional calendar dates.
2️⃣ Settle for Mediocrity at Establishment
Nothing delights us more than patchy seedbeds, poor seed-to-soil contact, and half-hearted nutrition. The weaker the seedlings, the better. Encourage farmers to rush the drill into dry clods.
2️⃣ Chase Perfection at Establishment
Always wait for adequate moisture before sowing, use the best seed, promote good seed-to-soil contact, ensure adequate nutrition and select varieties with appropriate vigour for the sow date.
3️⃣ Keep Crops Close Together
Minimise rotation gaps. Plant OSR right next to last year’s stubble or as close to other brassicas as possible. It saves us travelling and ensures plenty of egg-laying sites.
3️⃣ KeepYour Distance
CSFB can fly several miles but any distance (space and time) between previous and current crops will improve the chance of success.
4️⃣ Encourage Thin, Spindly Plants
Fewer, weaker plants make our larvae’s job easier. Discourage any practice that results in sturdy stems or higher plant counts, thin crops are a paradise for us.
4️⃣ Improve Larval Tolerances
Fewer, bigger plants will stand up better to larval attack and reduce long-term pest pressures. Stick to the recommended seed rate of 50 to 60 seed/m2 to encourage big, vigorous plants in the spring, which are more tolerant to larval feeding.
5️⃣ Leave It Clean and Tidy
Ban all organic matter. Compost, digestate, or manure disrupts our operations and helps crops grow stronger. Bare, hungry soil is our best friend.
5️⃣ Make Use of Muck
Organic materials can disrupt beetle attack and support crop growth. Apply at sowing and/or during establishment to reduce adult damage and help establishment.
6️⃣ Spray, Spray, Spray
Convince farmers that repeated pyrethroid sprays are the only solution. Resistance is our secret weapon. Plus, spraying wipes out our natural predators that might eat our eggs, perfect.
6️⃣ Park the Pyrethroids
Pyrethroid resistance in CSFB is widespread and severe in England, so pyrethroid sprays are unlikely to be effective and may increase resistance spread (in target and non-target species)
7️⃣ Ban Companions
Under no circumstances allow companion crops or intercropping. Extra plants confuse us, mask the OSR, and can make it harder to find a good meal. Uniform monocultures make life so much simpler.
7️⃣ Create Companions
Companion cropping and intercropping can shield crops from CSFB. Recent ADAS trials show that some companion crops can reduce adult and larval pressures.
8️⃣ Avoid Sacrificial Strips
Ensure there are no trap crops or sacrificial brassica strips to lure us away. We prefer uninterrupted banquets across the main crop.
8️⃣ Build Brassica Buddies
Use sacrificial strips of brassica (e.g. turnip rape) or OSR volunteer trap crops to lure beetles away.
9️⃣ Leave Stubbles Undisturbed
After harvest, do nothing. If they stir up the stubbles with light cultivation, it can disrupt our emergence. A nice, untouched stubble is a perfect nursery for the next generation.
9️⃣ Stir it up after Harvest
Early research by Niab shows that lightly cultivating OSR stubble soon after harvest may reduce emerging CSFB.
1️⃣0️⃣ Keep It Simple
Discourage any talk of “stacking tactics” or “integrated approaches.” Single, predictable methods are easy to overcome. Complexity is our kryptonite.
1️⃣0️⃣ Unlock Hidden Gems
From stubbles to priming to predators – stack as many tactics as possible.
Together, by sowing complacency and keeping growers on autopilot, we can ensure a bumper year for our species. So stay vigilant, any sign of innovation or collaboration among farmers must be stamped out immediately.
Yours in solidarity,
Chief Flea Beetle Strategist
The best way to hit back is to stick together — and these 10 strategies give us the edge.
Every field, every farm, every season counts. So let’s stay one step ahead and show the beetles their days are numbered.
Yours in determination,
Farmer Tom,
The Bigger Picture: What The Reboot Agreed Strategies Help Achieve
By following these (right hand side!) guiding principles, you're not just improving your chances of
success with OSR, you’re actively contributing to a more resilient and sustainable farming future. These
shared strategies reflect a shift towards smart and responsive crop management that works with
nature rather than against it. In doing so, farmers like you are helping to secure the long-term viability
of a crop that plays a vital role in supporting biodiversity, strengthening food security, and driving
economic growth across the UK countryside.
If you'd like to understand any of the AHDB and OSR Reboot Group's agreed CSFB Management Strategies in more detail, please head over to the main page where you can expand each strategy.
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