Cucumber beetles , both pick out and divest , are a bane to gardener all across the country , and as so many of us have had to learn the concentrated elbow room - they do n’t just eat cucumber vine . They also enjoy chowing down on Indian corn , squash , pumpkins , melons , and bean plant leave . But while their munching is frustrating for the nurseryman , and definitely not the best matter for the works , it ’s also not the enceinte endangerment these pests pose to a harvest .
Some experts estimate that cucumber beetles could eat up to 25 per centum of foliage without tighten the plant ’s fruit production . In reality , the worst job with cucumber beetles is the fact that they stock and convey bacterial wilt disease , a real orca for susceptible young plants .
For this reason , many of the following strategy focus on delaying the almost inevitable contact between plant and beetle . If your flora can grow a while without being exposed to the disease , they stand a much salutary chance at stay healthy and productive . Of naturally , we also include some peak for managing the mallet once they do bed down on your lovelycucurbits .
13 Ways to Prevent Cucumber Beetles
1. Till in Late Fall
Do n’t hold back for spring to do all of your tilling . When it lead off to get cold , but before the ground freezes , till up your garden . This strategy will reduce next year ’s cucumber beetle universe by exposing the mallet that have burrowed underground for winter to the harsh coldness they were trying to avoid .
2. Rotate Crops
This is in particular applicable for people with larger garden or multiple garden locations . Switching the emplacement of your cucurbit from year to twelvemonth will pressure the cuke mallet from the previous time of year to make a trek if they require their favored food . It ’s especially in force if there are obstacles in between the former placement and young location , such as bush or plants they wo n’t eat . ( Here is a helpfullist of shrubs . ) This proficiency can bribe your seedlings some time before you expose them to disease and chomping , protecting them during their most vulnerable , untried stage .
3. Use Transplants
you may take that logic even further and usetransplants instead of sow seeds now in the ground . Again , seedling are very vulnerable to the bacterial wilting disease that cucumber beetles can stock . Once they sign up the disease , not much can be done to save them . That ’s why it might be good to avoid vulnerability altogether and seed your seeds in a nursery or on an elevated open . Transfer them to the background when they ’re a little bigger and more capable of hold some damage .
4. Plant Late
Consider give the beetles the ol’ phony out and waitress a little longer to plant your cucurbits . With any luck , the beetle from the old season will take on they need to move on from your garden if they want to find any food . This work well in tandem with the transplant method acting .
5. Choose Resistant Varieties
Try choose for plant change that cucumber beetles do n’t like as much or multifariousness that are less prostrate to contracting wilt disease . you could find suggestions here at .
6. Use Row Covers
If you do pick out to institute semen directly in the ground , look at using row covers until your plants begin to blossom . Be sure the soil comes a little past the sealskin so no grown beetle can get in . Once you see the first bloom , remove the covers or they will inhibit right pollination .
7. Plant Trap Crops
Because cucumber beetles incline to congregate around the perimeter of gardens ( as opposed to congregating in the midriff ) , it might be deserving your while to plant some diversion crops around the edges of your flora operation . You ’ll still desire to moderate the population , but they should be easier for you to access and manage before they move inwards toward the plants you ’ve grown for your own purpose and ingestion .
8. Lay Down Straw or Organic Mulch
Straw mulch ( without any weed seeds ! ) can help with your cucumber beetle problem by providing protection to their natural predators - woman chaser spiders . It will also put up other nonpest nutrient for the spider , such as springtails . Organic mulch work similarly , but at the microscopic layer - it encourages a more diverse population of microorganisms in the soil , which can help plants fight louse of course .
9. Shake or Knock Them Off
One super unproblematic method acting to deal with adult cucumber vine beetle is to gently stimulate or knock them straight into a solution of water and detergent , or salt water . And they need not die in vain - you may compost the captured critters !
10. Use Yellow Sticky Traps
Another simple room to concentrate the universe of cucumber beetles in your garden is to expend yellow sticky traps . Like so many other worm , Cucumis sativus beetle can barely fend the bright coloration - once they ’re stuck , it ’s easy to remove them without the economic consumption of chemical pesticide . While there are plenty of commercial options available , it ’s also loose and economical tomake your own pest sticky trap . But fair warning : These traps are also effective at get good dirt ball , so they may not outfit into your overall strategy .
11. Remove Them Manually
Cucumber beetles can be difficult to overtake with your hands alone , but slap on a yoke of yellow glove , rub them with Vaseline , and you ’re in business . This method acting and a few others that call for physically removing the beetles from your the plant are best implemented in the early morning because the worm tend to move more lento in cooler temperatures .
12. Introduce Natural Predators and Pathogens
Call in some reinforcement , and lease them do your filthy study for you . Wolf spiders and ground beetles both run on the pestis in question . What ’s more is that even if the wolf spiders do n’t feel like eating the cuke beetle for some reason , their simple bearing will have the cucumber beetle forefend the arena and feeding less . Additionally , fungous pathogens and nematode are widely available biopesticides that can reduce rootworm ( cucumber beetle larvae ) activity .
13. Suck Them Up With a Vacuum
That ’s right , your handheld vacuum is n’t just for couch shock absorber and car seats - you may also utilize it to remove plague from your plant before they do too much price . Just be sure to empty the bag by from the garden so live beetles do n’t head back in for round two .
With spring rapidly approach , we go for you ’ll make role of some of these safeguard and Spanish pointer . Cucumber beetles are a nuisance , but with a small sentiment and effort , you may slim down their impact and enjoy a productive originate season .
Ruth Gulley is a native Texan who now resides in Virginia where she bask homeschooling her stepson , nestle with her clumsy kat named Bird , and watch seasons one through four of The Office on repeat .
Want to learn more about how to prevent and control cucumber beetles?
The Old Farmer ’s Almanac covers Cucumber BeetlesExtension cover Managing Cucumber Beetles in Organic Farming SystemsVegetable Gardener encompass Controlling Cucumber Beetles
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