Someone in the Bug forum thinks I have spotted cucumber beetles - they are eating my small gourd vines. Has anyone had these pests, and what did you do to get rid of them? I'd rather not use chemicals, if possible!
ANY help would be appreciated!
Thanks!
On adults you can use Liquid Rotenone/Pyrethrin or Insecticidal Soap. For the larva you can use Grub-Away Nematodes South. or if you still have seedlings coming cover with a row cover or cloche and remove for pollination as soon as the plants get some size. Or hand pollinate and keep covered until the plants are growing well. You might also want to plant a "trap crop" of radishes to draw them off. Remove the damaged, diseased radishes and destroy.
They like radishes? I'll go get all the seed packets at Walmart I can find! I've just got to get rid of them before my tomatoes are ready to plant out!
Insecticidal Soap doesn't sound too bad . . . thanks for the help, doccat5!
This message was edited Feb 26, 2008 8:39 PM
Just "test" spray it on a small area first.
THAT doesn't sound good! :-$
surround wp is great, non-toxic, mechanically exclusive spray that should keep them off of your vines. It acts by gumming up their mouth parts so they can't feed, and wind up leaving your patch for easier things to eat. This stuff does not work on sucking insects such as squash bugs and aphids. Ohio Earth Food sells it by the bag, at www.ohioearthfood.com
Neem oil is also a good beetle deterrent, and may be more effective for the underleaf feeding cucumber beetle. Neem works great on all scarab beetles (like Jap Beetle), and has done well against the cucumber beetles here on our farm. Of course, it works best when you have a trap crop for them to move to. With no other food source, they might ignore the repellent effects. Neem is totally non-toxic, but due to its effect on larval development of benficial insects sprayed with it, is restricted in use for organic production. Avoid spraying beneficials by spraying at dusk, nighttime, or early dawn.
