Controlling Striped Cucumber Beetles ~ Natural Remedies

The striped cucumber beetle may seem harmless, but this mighty little bug chews holes in the leaves of cucumbers and squash leaving a buckshot appearance - but that's not their biggest risk. Striped cucumber beetles carry the bacteria  Erwinia tracheiphila  which is responsible for bacterial wilt. Once infected, your plants wilt and may die quickly.

Controlling cucumber beetles protects your foliage from being eaten, but also protects your garden from bacterial wilt and other diseases that result from a cucumber beetle infestation.



                                                        Traditional Remedies

Chemical controls ~ Both carbaryl - sold as the brand name Sevin, and permethrin  - sold as Ambush, are effective in controlling the striped cucumber beetle. However, these products do carry with them the added risk of injury to beneficial insects and pose a threat to pets and small children.

                                               Natural Remedies 

• Handpicking - Picking the cucumber beetles from the plants and dropping them into a bucket or jar of soapy water is an effective method for small gardens. Be sure to check on the undersides of leaves for cucumber beetles.
  
• Traps - Sticky traps designed to lure and trap adult cucumber beetles also provide effective control without the need to hunt these critters down by hand. 
• You can make your own with a plastic cup and bait. Soak a cotton ball in eugenol  oil - clove or allspice oil will do - and suspend it inside a yellow plastic cup. Coat the cup with Stickum or Tangle-Trap (sold in the pest control section of garden supply stores) and place it near your cucumber and squash plants. If you'd rather avoid the fuss and mess of making your own traps, Gardens Alive sells traps ready for installing in your garden.

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Find cucumber beetles traps at Gardens Alive!

Until Next Time . . . HAPPY GARDENING!