Cucumber beetle warning

For those of you in the northern half of the country: The first adult cucumber beetles have come on the scene in the last two days.......earlier further south. These adults can decimate new cucurbit seedlings and small plants in a hurry. So check them daily now. These beetles can give cantaloupes fatal bacterial wilt..

The adults feed on new tender plants...especially the just emerged ones and then lay eggs in the ground at the base of the small plant. These hatch and eat on the roots and them emerge to start another cycle...nasty things for your plants.

Thanks for the warning, Indy. My curcubits -- squash, cukes, pumpkins, even melons -- got infected by that wilt, courtesy of the cuke beetles, last year. This year I'm being more careful. Young plants are covered by row cover, I have a "trap crop" of grain amaranth planted in the (hee hee) chicken pen, and I've got the duster ready w/ diatomaceous earth...

Oh no. I think they got my seedlings. I was wondering where the roots went. I had most of my seedlings die last week...or so. When I pulled the shriveled limp plant out, no roots. I dug around for them too. I replanted seeds and they've just sprouted. How do I get rid of the cuke beetles/larvae???

Thank you Indy. Time to cover my squash and cukes.

How do I get rid of the cuke beetles/larvae???

Well sevin dust or spray works, but needs repeated after rains. Row covers help for a while, but cantaloupes can be infected after blooming as these beetles seem to prefer cantaloupes even when plants are large. In fact they can be terrible then. If Sevin is used on large plants, it should be in spray form and applied in evening after bee time.

These beetles are especially bad on emerging seedling of all cucurbits except gourds. Watermelons are not usually effected except for the first adult flush which is what is happening here now.

The report of several days ago said that the melon producers of SW Indiana were having high cuke beetle numbers.

could I have had cucumber beetles when I started my seeds inside.
I only had them out hardening off for a couple days, but when I went to transplant they were falling over, looked like rot at the soil level, and they wilted to nothing.
I put in some more seeds on three days ago- Maybe I should get some powder. it was either that or the 90 degree wx that we had over the weekend?
I put my cantalope right next to cucumbers- I had better treat them too. Is Sevin powder easy to find?

epatz,

Cucumber beetles eat on the cotelyons and new young leaves at this time of year. They can "eat up" the young plant in a day or two. What you describe doesn't look like cucmber beetle damage. Also the beetles don't usually attack things up near the house but rather on the garden and field perimeters first.

Sevin dust and liquid concentrate is sold in all garden centers. It is not organically rated but is the quickest and handiest thing to use in an emergency. Never apply it real heavily. Some use bt and other organically rated products. In my little opinion they could probably be fairly effective if skillfully used. Sevin is super effective...so use only in a careful manner on large blooming plants. I would not recomend using it close to harvest....just to be safer.

I have cuc beetles for the first time yikes what a massacre !!! they did ,but i did save some with seven and am hoping for t he best. As soon as i see my cuc sprout i have been spraying a lite spray of sevin on the little sprout, i hope it is ok to do that but if i don't they are gonners:(, when i dug up the dead plants i can see the dead beetls on the roots !!! little @#$ 's they are.
sue

oh yes i did order some prayamantis egg sacs so when the platns get bigger , the egg cases with be hatching and hopfully i can get them under control. Hopefull the prayamantis don't eat all my bees and butterflys too, i will have to talk with them .
sue