alpine flowers at Grey Rock

Friday, July 16, 2010

Pest of the Month:Spotted Cucumber Beetle


Spotted Cucumber Beetle These guys are voracious. If you see one, take care of it. If you see more than three, you best plan your attack. You can hand pick them at first or drop them into a narrow mouthed bottle with some water in it. If you can't get them all that way, you had better use Neem and spray the area where they were seen and any surrounding delights they might head to next. They are notorious for eating the insides of cucumber, squash, or melon flowers. They will eat foliage, but tender flowers are their favorites. This limits your production greatly, as no flower, no fruit. If there is an infestation and you see them flying around, use Pyganic daily, not in the heat of the day, until you don't see any. No Kidding! These guys and their pals, the Striped Cucumber Beetle are not a bug you can garden with!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Sara... you were reading my mind! I actually logged into your blog to ask about the hundreds of Squash bugs that invaded my garden while I was in Oregon. My hubby did a great job with watering and wedding, but I forgot to tell him to hand-pick these guys if he saw them. Now they are completely out of control. I'm thinking of just pulling all my squash and cucumber plants and getting rid of them. I heard these bugs will live in the soil and will be a continuing problem in my garden for years. Is this true and if so... any suggestions?
    Thanks,
    ~Roxi

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