Best Way to Kill Aphids and Striped Cucumber Beetles?

[GreyMorningDove]

I go over them with a kleenex and squish all the aphids and they don't come back. Or the soapy water spray works well on them.





So, this soapy water...are we talking, like, liquid dish-detergent?

[rainbowgardener]

No SOAP not detergent. Soap is organic, detergent is synthetic and can burn your plants (doesn't always, depending on concentration and plant, conditions, etc, but we heard some sad stories here about people who sprayed their plants all over with detergent and they all curled up and died).

Soap is things like Dr. Brunner's, Murphy's Oil Soap, Ivory (the kind that says 99 99/100 pure) or slivers of hand soap dissolved in water.

Most dishwashing liquid is detergent. Detergent solutions, especially detergent and vinegar solutions are good herbicides which should tell you something.

[GreyMorningDove]

Thank you so much for clarifying!

What about just plain vinegar in water? Would that work?

I also have Natural Dish Liquid from Seventh Generation which is apparently plant derived...
Ingredients: Aqua (water), sodium lauryl sulfate, lauramine oxide, decyl glucoside and lauryl polyglucose (plant-derived cleaning agents), 1,3-propanediol (plant-derived foam stabilizer), citric acid (cornstarch-derived water softener), sodium chloride (thickener), magnesium chloride (cleaning enhancer), essential oils and botanical extracts* (citrus aurantifolia (lime), lavendula angustifolia (lavender), mentha spicata (spearmint), mentha piperita (peppermint), cananga odorata (ylang ylang)), preservative (details online). Trace materials are commonly present in cleaning product ingredients.
*d-Limonene is a component of these essential oils. No phosphates.

Thank you for all your help.

[rainbowgardener]

Are we still talking about the aphids? I just said vinegar is an herbicide. That means it kills plants. Don't spray it on any plant you want, though you can try it on weeds.

Sorry, if I confused things by throwing the vinegar in there. My point was only that detergents are used in herbicides/ weed killers, so you don't want to put them on plants you want.

[GreyMorningDove]

Yes, okay, reread your post [ busy weekend here, divided attention].

Thank's again for your help.

[graham]

I got some Ivory Soap and made a really diluted spray with the shavings and water,and I sprayed twice. Haven't seen any aphids. But it has been hot and now it is cooler today, so I am interested to see when I get home if they have returned.

I have just been hunting down the cuke beetles and squishing them. They seem to be under control--only saw one yesterday. The only thing that worries me is that the few that have been around may have laid eggs, and the problem could get worse????? I know that you can spray the diatoms on the soil to control that...does anyone know if the diatoms hurt other beneficial things in the soil?

[rainbowgardener]

"I know you can spray the diatoms"

You are talking about diatomaceous earth? I don't believe it can be sprayed. It comes in powder form to be sprinkled on the soil around plant. You can even dust it on leaves of plants that are being eaten. It works because it is made of very sharp little tiny pieces. It cuts open things that crawl over it, meaning it is especially useful for caterpillar/ worm type crawlies. I don't know that it would bother your cucumber beetles very much, since they walk on legs and their bodies are elevated above the dust. Earthworms though they crawl are mostly under the soil and they are pretty tough, so they are not bothered by the DE either.

Here's a really nice article about organic cucumber beetle control:

https://www.ghorganics.com/CucumberBeetles.htm

It doesn't mention DE, which I think is an indication that it isn't effective against them. Larvae would be more likely to be affected by DE than the adult bugs, but I think the cuke beetle larvae are in the soil, not on it, so again, DE probably would probably not bother them.

[graham]

"I know you can spray the diatoms"

You are talking about diatomaceous earth?

I meant predatory nematodes. Sorry, got mixed up--still new at this.

[sheeshshe]

I had cucumber beetles last week and I sprayed the plants that were being affected with Surround Kaolin clay. IDK if its because it was the Surround or if it is because of the sudden drop in temps or rain, but I haven't seen any in the past few days.

[rainbowgardener]

I've never used the kaolin clay. I've read that it is effective against cucumber beetles (and squash vine borers! might inspire me to try zucchinis again next year) but that it wears off and you have to reapply every week or so or whenever you get a hard rain.