Potato bugs are most often found in gardens and agricultural areas where their favorite food plants grow, especially potatoes and other members of the nightshade family.

What “potato bug” usually means

The name potato bug is used for a few different creatures, but most commonly refers to the Colorado potato beetle and, in some regions, Jerusalem crickets. Both are associated with soil and plants, but they live in slightly different places and climates.

Where Colorado potato beetles live

  • Native to the area between Colorado and northern Mexico, this beetle is now found across most of North America wherever potatoes are grown.
  • It has spread through much of Europe and parts of Asia, and can survive in many temperate agricultural regions where host crops like potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants are planted.

Typical habitat around your home

  • Adults and larvae are usually seen on the leaves and stems of potato plants and related crops in fields and home gardens.
  • They overwinter a few inches underground in soil around fields, garden beds, and field margins, then emerge in spring to feed and lay eggs on plant leaves.

Where Jerusalem crickets (“potato bugs”) are found

  • These insects are native to the western United States, showing up from the Pacific Coast eastward to states like the Dakotas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and into parts of Mexico and Central America.
  • They are usually found under rocks, boards, or other objects on the soil surface, in loose soil where they can dig tunnels, especially in moist, organic-rich spots.

Quick recap

  • In casual speech, “potato bug” can mean Colorado potato beetles in crop areas, or Jerusalem crickets in the western U.S.
  • In all cases, they tend to be found in or under soil, around gardens and fields, near plants and decaying organic material they use for food and shelter.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.