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skiingjeff
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Cucumber Beetle

We had an outbreak of the squash bug and we were able to catch them and scrape off most of the eggs from the squash leaves. But I have been battling with the striped cucumber beetle. I've definitely ID'd it. I'm not sure exactly how to combat it though. It seems to suck the life right out of the leaves :shock:

They are hard to catch and in looking on the Web, I haven't found anything organic mentioned to get rid of them. They appear to like not only my cucumbers but I find them in the flowers on the squash plants as well :evil:

Anyone have suggestions on how to get rid of these guys?

Thanks!

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rainbowgardener
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Here's a nice article on cucumber beetle organic control: https://www.ghorganics.com/CucumberBeetles.htm

It has a whole bunch of suggestions. Last on the list is Neem oil. Neem does work against any leaf eaters. Spray it on the leaves and they ingest it while eating the leaves. It is not a poison, so does not kill instantly. It will take a few day to a week to know that it is working, but it does work.

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parker34
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I am also interested in this.
I also have a ton of these guys on my cukes, as well as my other vines. I just hand pick them and squish them. I have probably picked 75 of these off the past 3 weeks..

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applestar
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Not positive this is working, but I've had them since early summer. Especially inside flowers as mentioned. I have been squishing and leaving the remains on leaves and inside blossoms.

I still have them but I don't think they are sucking the plants dry.

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skiingjeff
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Thanks RBG and Applestar for the info and responses. They are definitely persistent pests for sure.

Parker, I can pick the squash bugs but have trouble getting the cucumber beetles before they fly off unless they are in the squash flowers. :( So while I've got the squash bugs under control, the beetles are having a blast on my veggies! :evil:

Overall, I can't complain too much as most of the rest of my garden is doing fine with only the normal slug/snail issues. :)

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rainbowgardener
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One of the suggestions in the article is just vacuuming them off. If you come out in the coolest parts of the day, early AM or late evening, they are less mobile and easier to vacuum, hand pick, or shake into bowl of soapy water.

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skiingjeff
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Thanks RBG I guess and early dawn patrol is on the schedule :)



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