HelpfulGardener.com

I have a fairly young cucumber plant and since it was small I've had issues with aphids. I spray with Neem Oil but they seem to have a tolerance for it. The last week or so I've also noticed tiny beetles that may or may not have a bit of brown on their back, a small green type of bug that jumped when I moved the leaves to get a better look and a white and black and white fuzzy looking bug. Today when I was inspecting my plant I noticed some of the leaves near the base had been eaten. The Neem Oil is not working and I have no idea what the bugs are to do any further research about to control them. I know I'm a little vague but I'm hoping someone can offer a little insight into identifying and controlling these insects. Many thanks!!!

OK I'm just guessing here --

Tiny black/brown beetles -- are there tiny round holes in the leaves? Did the beetles hop away when you disturbed them? If yes to both, then probably flea beetles

Green type of bug that jumped -- maybe leaf or tree hopper?

White black and white fuzzy looking bug -- no idea

Leaf at base of cucumber eaten -- slugs?

It helps to know what you are dealing with and tailor your approaches.

The Neem oil, unless it is sprayed directly on the bug, works when it is ingested. So it works best on leaf eating insects. It is not effective against slugs. Not very effective against aphids which suck juices rather than chewing leaves. Soapy water sprays work best against aphids. To make the soapy water spray more effective, add just a little bit of rubbing alcohol, like 1 tablespoon to 1 quart of the spray. It helps the soap penetrate the insects’ outer shell.

Diatomaceous earth sprinkled around and on plants works against slugs and a variety of soft bodied insects, including flea beetles and leafhoppers, if that is what you have. They can't develop resistance to it, because it is not a poison, it works mechanically by cutting them open. The only trouble is it needs to be reapplied after every rain.

Diatomaceous earth is the fossilized shells of diatoms, laid down 30 million years ago, so it is a non-renewable resource and it is mined.

I posted yesterday asking for insect identification with only a description. That proved to be harder than I thought. I couldn't even identify them on google and I know what they look like. The little beetle looks like a small ladybug but I didn't think they got their spots until they were bigger. Could be wrong. Anyway, any help in identifying these little buggars would be most appreciated.


https://s241.photobucket.com/user/Debshots/library/BUGS

The pictures are tiny and hard to see even when zoomed in, but the tiny black bug still seems like flea beetle to me, or possibly black oily aphid. If it doesn't jump away and lets you squish it, and it leaves a purplish black smear, then it's probably aphid. I normally only see black aphids on cherry trees and peas/beans, but it may be a different species in Hawaii.

The white fuzzy/cottony one looks like a mealy bug to me, though it's not a pest I get in my own garden outside -- only on houseplants. Again, in Hawaii's tropical climate, this may be a possibility? But if it has wings, as it sort of looks like depending on hw you look at it, then maybe it's whitefly? Do they fly up when disturbed?

(Where is imafan? )

The one sort of like a ladybug might be a cucumber beetle:




that's spotted cucumber beetle; there are striped ones too.

Or a bean beetle:



pictures from from bugguide.net

The bean beetle is more ladybug shaped; that's Mexican bean beetle. There are several varieties of them, with some color variations. The cucumber beetle is a bit longer bodied.

Both of those beetles are leaf eaters and as such, should be susceptible to the Neem oil. The soapy water that kills aphids is not effective against hard shelled creatures like this, unless you can drop them into a bowl of it and drown them.

How are you growing your cucumbers? When plants are in distress they are magnets for bugs who can just smell them.

Next time you plant cucumbers or any plant, prepare the area well. Get rid of all debris and check the surrounding areas for host plants for bugs and take care of them too. Add compost and your fertilizer to the soil to get a good start. If you are growing in containers get the biggest ones possible. I like to use 18 gallon tubs or 20 inch pots.

If bugs are a problem, try netting. Tulle from the fabric store over hoops or cages protects young seedlings. I plant trap and companion plants to attract beneficial insects. Fennel, dill, marigolds as well as flowers for nectar plants. I really don't have aphid problems except on my citrus and I fix that by putting out ant bait. The ants protect the aphids from their predators. I keep the plants healthy and growing. they are trellised and have enough air circulation. I do get mildew problems when the weather gets wet and muggy so I do have to use an antifungal spray during those times. Slugs and snails are hand picked and baited. A chicken or a toad works better but I don't have either of those. Netting the plants keeps the beetles out, but it is an exclusion net so it needs to be sealed at the ground and put on before the bugs attack.

If plants are healthy and you have a healthy supply of predators the pests are kept down. I don't have much problems with beetles. I only found two this year that I squashed, the wild birds and geckos take care of most of that. They will also take care of my tomatoes too, so I have to net the tomatoes.

Thank you everyone for your help! I have been observing the plants very closely and haven't seen anymore of the little green bugs and the other bugs do not seem to be damaging my plants so I am going to hope they are beneficial or at least not deadly to the plant. I did observe one of the beetles on a aphid a few days ago and the aphids don't seem to be as populated as before so maybe the beetles are eating the aphids. The plant has a lot of small cucumbers so I'm hoping they'll mature and I can harvest them soon.

It helps to be able to recognize the beneficial insects and plant insectary plants to atttract them. If you have an army of good bugs around, do not spray, just give them a chance.

The best thing you can do for your plants is give them a healthy start. Prepare the soil well, rotate crops if you have had problems, plant at the right time and make sure the plants get enough food, water, air and light. Cull weak plants, they are magnets for pests.

This is a link to identifying the good bugs

https://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05550.html

This is a link to identifying common pests of curcubits. I myself have stopped using sevin for the most part, because it will definitely kill the good bugs faster than the bad ones and it is harmful to bees. Instead I use netting to exclude bugs. Newspaper tubes can protect the fruit. Alcohol and insecticidal soap on soft bodied insects like aphids, and mealybugs. I plant corn to attract the mealy bug destroyer that loves white flies too. Water works to blast bugs off white flies and hand picking of beetles, slugs and snails. A toad eat lots of snail and slugs otherwise use slug and snail bait.

I have flowering plants to provide nectar for bees and beneficial insects. Lavender, marigolds, nasturtiums, and alyssum are beautiful and beneficial.

The work horse of the garden as far as pest patrol for me is fennel. It acts as a trap plant for aphids but it is not really bothered by them. The aphids on the fennel feed the larvae of the lady beetles and the flower heads provide nectar and attract lady bugs, parasitic wasps, hover flies and lace wings and I haven't had a problem with aphids for three years now. The only thing is that the fennel needs to be planted in its own corner of the yard and you only need one plant. It does not like company. I have found that gingers, maranta, horseradish, gynuura are o.k. next to it. They are either not bothered by pests or attract a different kind of aphid. fennel can be kept in a pot on a patio or at least 10 ft from other plants.

https://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/p ... c2207.html