Dreaded Cuke Beetles - July 25th, 2006 at 04:02 AM
I am wondering, when do you know you have a cucumber beetle problem that needs pesticide treatment? I have a lot of cuke plants and have recently noticed a few cucumber beetles. I've been squishing every single one I find--around 3-5 a day for a week or so. I'm just wondering how many do I need to find before I use pesticide? I don't have a lot of bees/pollinators as it is and I'd hate to kill even one of the good bugs. I've already lost my entire pumpkin, yellow squash, and zucchini crops to SVB and wouldn't hate to lose my cukes too!! Also, I found several cuke leaves with lots of eggs on the underside. I clipped each leaf and tossed it in the garbage. I've noticed quite a few wasps/hornets have started patrolling my garden along with a few dozen ladybugs are living in my corn. Will these bugs eat the evil cuke beetle or is this just a sign that I have an aphid problem too??