Every year I battle flea beetles eating my plants. Flea beetles are very small black specks that can move very fast and chew small holes in the plants' leaves that look like bullet holes. They harbor the winter in the soil in adult form and emerge in the spring to feed on the plants. I've found that most of my plants have survived the flea beetle damage but I do help them out by applying Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt for short), a natural bacterium that inhibits reproduction of the beetles in the larval stage. Another management method is to plant a "trap crop" which they would rather feed on like radishes or eggplant. I have gotten into the habit of just planting radish seeds willy nilly through the garden - the greens are edible and if watered sufficiently, will provide nice tasty radishes, too. The radishes grow quickly and spread out, helping to keep weeds down.
