A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Devastated . . . .

lol just when things were going so good!

I've been out EVERY SINGLE day poking around in my garden, keeping an eye on for bugs and havent seen NOTHING!

To my astonishment, today when i got home from work my zucchini plant was wilted and completely dead Just yesterday it was fine, so i wondered wtf would have done this? After sadly cutting the main vein of the plant, and dumping it in the pale, i looked promptly over my cucumbers and my squash plant. To my astonishment the MINUTE i poked around in my cuke plants a FLOCK of cucumber beetles went flying off! And i do mean a flock!

In a desperate measures attempt (and guys ban me from this forums site for this one :p ) I layed down some Seven on the plants. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASP!!!!

This was NOT what i wanted to do

I've read the other posts on cucumber beetles, and notice alot of people talking of insecticidal soap. I swear on my mothers grave i didnt see a single bug on my plants when i'd go nosing around in them . . . Should i be using this soap as a preventative means even if i DONT notice a insect problem?

Info/feedback please guys. . i'm devestated!

I wont ban you. I use sevin dust...it works...so I use it!!

Danno, what a total bummer...
If it's any comfort, I recently saw a doctor on the news saying that pesticides used in food crops are not as dangerous as people think.
In fact, it's more dangerous to inhale pesticides during spraying than to eat something non-organically grown.
He went on to say that the one real danger is people refusing to eat anything but organic, and not getting enough antioxidant fruits and vegetables.
Not sure I agree, and I love organic anything, but am passing this along.

Danno I agree with Christina. I use Sevin sparingly when I need results. What I've found with Neem oil, soap, and other means it usually take more than one spraying. When I have time I use those methods. I mix up a quart of Sevin every spring and it will last the whole summer usually. Last week I came home and in one day some bug had moved in on one cabbage plant and had about killed it. It was dark and I was going to be leaving early in the morning so gave it the Sevin treatment and the next night they were all dead. So no I don't think you did anything that terrible. Worse to just let them die because you refuse to use what works in my opinion. Hope it killed them all and you have a big harvest. JD

Sorry to hear that Danno, but I would be very suprised if cuke beetles took down a squash plant overnight. I would be more inclined to believe that it was a squash vine borer. I have lots of cuke beetles on my curcurbits and rarely see any damage. They usually hang around in the flowers and while they CAN feed on foliage and flowers, they usually eat very little. They can however be a vector for bacterial wilt which will take down a plant, but not normally overnight. And BW is most often found in cucumber plants more than squash. If you suspect BW, look for white, stringy ooze when you break a stem. If you find it, remove the plant and discard it. Cuke beetles are easy to catch and kill by hand too. Look for SVB entrance holes in the stems of your squash plants at the soil level. In my experience, SVBs are difficult to find and control in the stems of the plant, but if you do be sure to kill them. Affected plants can sometimes be saved by mounding soil over the entrance holes where they'll grow new roots. The plants will usually continue to produce fruit, so there is a possibilty that I'm wrong, but that's what I'd look for first.

BTW, it may still be early enough to sow some more squash for a late harvest.

Guess I am part of the few that continues to use what works. I have lots of insects that love whatever is growing around the place and I use seven spray a couple of times each year. I have a small veg garden and have to try and stay one step ahead of the critters or they will take over.

The Japanese beatles love some of the bushes and trees I have and have litterally defoliated a Japanese maple in the past, the seven takes care of them. I did see a post about planting a garlic clove to control the beetles and I will try that.

Mark

I do not like to use pesticide but it's the only way to keep those nasty cucumber beatles and vine boreres at bay. They show up every summer and will always be a problem unless kept in check.

I have a system that I have found quite successful in beating them. I sparingly spray leaves of cukes, zukes and melons once a week from the time they have their second leaves out with sevin. You must hit the underneath of the leaves, I have found using a stick to move them aside so I can hit the bottom of the leaves works nicely. I stop spraying when the first fruit buds bloom.

Those are the only vegetables I spray with pesticide. I will occasionally use a safe insecticidal soap on any other crop.

A couple years ago I tried to not use sevin and handpick the little buggers to keep them in check. Every evening I would go out and handpick them and drop them in a container of soapy water. I found that every night I could easily pick off fifty or more and the numbers never dropped off! I ended up with prematurely bacterial wilted cukes and zukes as a result.

Think i found my culprit! Amongst cuke beetles too. . . . Squash bugs!!! I seen these guys on my plants, and only a few of them. I would TRY to kill em off, but theyre fast!

Oh no, Danno! I just saw one of those fellas by my cukes today!! I don't have any more squash, zukes, or pumpkins thanks to thier evil larvae. Now I'm worried about my other cucurbits--cantalope, watermelon, cukes. Unfortunately I also have spider mites on my cukes so a simple solution of pesticide will make the mites thrive. Thanks for the pic, so now I know what I'm fighting.

Sarah, what? Pesticide makes mites thrive?
Danno, I've seen that same bug here, so now when I see one I'll squish it. Only one now and then.
My biggest problem is powdery mildew on peas.
What in the world will get rid of it once and for all?

hey guys be careful of their eggs too! They look kinda like aphids! Very small, size of a drop of ink it looks like. And mine were red in color (the eggs that is. . ). Make sure to remove these. . . mostly found on the underside of leaves but i found some on the top of leaves. Mostly always at where the leaf meets the stem is where theyre laid.

From what I read, if you spray pesticides it will kill off the natural predators of mites. The pesticide doesn't bother the mites. This way the mites can live and be merry without having to worry about being eaten.

Isn't it just a hard spray of soapy water that will take care of the mites?

Sarah, sounds kind of like one of those "darned if you do and darned if you don't" things!

I don't have a clue what to do about the mites. I've been spraying them off with a strong jet of water from the hose--but with this heat I don't want to risk causing damage the plant/leaves.