Eurasian in origin, the striped flea beetle is common throughout the eastern and Pacific areas of the United States (though not in much of the Rocky Mountain region), as well as in South Africa.

With their chewing mouthparts, beetles make small round pits in the cotyledons and leaves of young plants.

As the plants grow, the remaining thin layers of tissue eventually dry up and fall away, leaving small "shot holes" in the foliage.

Cultivation practices and the use of resistant crop varieties help prevent severe flea beetle infestations.

Seedbeds are covered with strips of a thin transparent gauze to protect seedlings from adult feeding before transplanting.

Good weed control and the destruction of crop residue in and around fields reduce overwintering populations.

These parasitoids include the braconid wasps Microtonus epitricis, M. punctulatae, M. vittatae and Townesilitus psylliodis.