Attacked! Cucumber Beetles! How To Deal With Them!

[@muddeprived]

Let me share my experience. I have these cucumber beetles every year, and it gets worse as time goes on. There is NOTHING you can do to eliminate them. I got to the point where I can't even get a cucumber plant to produce a full mature cucumber. I have tried all the tricks, all the sprays, all the traps, and all the bait plants and NOTHING works. Once you have them, you are stuck with them. This year, for example, they wiped out every cucumber plant within two weeks. I waited till the first day of August to plant another set of cucumber plants hoping that the beetles have run their life cycle, but nope! Baby cucumber beetles emerged out of no where and were on the plants. I miss my first two years of gardening where I could grow an abundance of cukes. Not anymore. I have told the wife that it may be time to take a few years away from any type of gardening to let these pests run off somewhere else cuz we have too many of all of them: cucumber beetles, aphids, squash bugs, japanese beetles, etc. Once you establish a garden for a number of years these bugs come and do not leave. Just beware and be ready to battle.

[@creationsbydx]

Oh boy! So sorry to hear this. That is super frustrating. I can only hope it doesn't permanently stifle your passion for gardening. Wish you luck!

[@blueplasma5589]

Grow an overabundance and there,ll be enough for everyone!

[@creationsbydx]

Positive outlook i like it

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

@@creationsbydx same here well at least garlic, green onion and rosemary are bulletproof as nothing attacks them but the nightshade (peppers/tomatoes) and cucumbers get assaulted by nasty beetles and bugs! May just grow the bulletproof stuff and buy cucumbers and peppers at farmer markets and save myself the frustration.

[@creationsbydx]

@GuitarsAndSynths that is very frustrating indeed I'm sorry to hear that

[@lnsk]

Neem oil barely puts a dent in my cucumber beetle problem. They are very problematic for organic growers. I squish hundreds a night with my headlight lamp finding them. All over the squash, watermelons, etc. Makes you wonder what has been sprayed on your grocery store "organics"!

[@creationsbydx]

It sure does, crazy when you think about it

[@tinkeringinthailand8147]

I suffer the same issue. Always squashing them when I can. I am thinking of buying an electric mosquito bat to zap them.

[@creationsbydx]

When they come its tough to get rid of them for sure

[@sherbjorkgren2769]

I am going to try diamatous earth In my garden they are all inside the flowers knawing

[@creationsbydx]

Hope it works out for you!

[@chrisbojrab1620]

I use row covers when the plants are new. If you get parthenocarpic cucumbers they don’t need pollination and you can keep the row covers on all year. I may try them next year. Also, try county fair cucumber plants that are resistant to wilt. Also, plant radishes at the base of your cucumber plants. The beetles don’t like them. Also make sure to mulch the base of your plant. And try the yellow sticky traps to trap them.

[@creationsbydx]

Great tips thanks

[@thecyclingcouple4438]

1 month into my planting season and these bugs started to show and destroying my cucurbit plants. i will try the yellow sticky trap and this spray as you suggested. Thanks for sharing from Toronto, 🍻

[@creationsbydx]

Sorry to hear that, they are brutal. Hope you got to them in time! Keep us posted

[@therealnguyen6928]

I tried it here in Thailand and I ended up killing little geckos. Still looking for a better solution.

[@creationsbydx]

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that

[@akpnarrator]

Did the cucumber beetles attacked other crops? I have young plants and the cucumber beetles have been munching on my tomatillos too

[@creationsbydx]

Yes unfortunately they have been know to go to other crops as well

[@amyburrblotner]

Does the neem oil kill the cucumber beetles or just repel them?

[@creationsbydx]

Mostly repels or deters them uts still a good idea to do a morning and evening check. I do and squish the ones I find. But they hide in my pumpkin flowers too, so I walk the whole garden looking

[@kurkhulcomb8994]

A handheld vaccuum cleaner has worked great for me. I've sucked up 5-10 per day the last few days from cherry tomatoes. Will give neem oil a try in combination, thanks

[@creationsbydx]

Great tip! I'll have to try that as well

[@Sushii555]

Neem oil, yellow bait traps, diatomaceous earth has been working effectively. With that being said ive ordered 1500 lady bugs, 1500 green lacewings, and nematodes to help fight them off. Hopefully thatll me along with manually squishing/neem oil applications

[@creationsbydx]

That's awesome! Where did u order from?

[@raksha1940]

Last year, ( my first garden) was perfect..this year.. everything's changed..all the problems.. especially on my cucumbers, & squash..those yellow & black striped Beatles created havoc..they destroyed almost everything..I am trying the neem oil tomorrow..Thanks a lot..God Bless 👍❤️😊

[@creationsbydx]

So sorry to hear that, every season is different for sure try to remember what you did that worked every year keep a journal. Good luck with those pests they are rough

[@happyautumn3938]

​@@creationsbydx will neem oil work for squash bugs too? Thanks!

[@creationsbydx]

Yes it does.

[@happyautumn3938]

@@creationsbydx thank you so much for the info....I despise squash bugs too! I'm going to see if I can find some neem oil. Does it wash off your produce? Is there a washout time to wait before picking? Thank you!

[@creationsbydx]

Its safe, but of course I recommend washing before eating

[@angelacoleman4034]

Hello my cucumbers are curling up and turning white part of them green and part of my white

[@raksha1940]

Hi! It's the first time watching your show.. I was looking for a solution for the cucumber beetle.. I found the remedy on your show..Thanks so very much.. I will try it on my cucumbers & squash.. I've almost lost them all.. will let you know what happens..Thanks so much..👍❤️😊 God Bless!

[@creationsbydx]

Please let us know

[@bobstrauss9413]

I wear a bright yellow shirt and they seek me out and when they sit on me ,,,SPLAT !!!

[@creationsbydx]

Lol... neat idea

[@haroldnicholos7436]

Wouldn't bug netting stop them.??

[@creationsbydx]

Doubtful they are very small...more over that's a lot of netting to put over this type of crop

[@BigWillie-zy7po]

I like to use a paint sprayer (never used for paint). a lot faster than a standard spray bottle. I have used the neem oil and it helped but two years in a row i have had terrible results for my cucumbers. Hopefully this year will be a better one.

[@creationsbydx]

Smart idea i might have to steal it lol

[@jacobbrizammito7187]

Sevin dust or liquid kills the pollinators that land of the flowers to allow fruit set. Ground application is less chance of getting on bees.

[@creationsbydx]

Thank you

[@joycee5493]

Great video. Thank you!

[@creationsbydx]

Your welcome thank you for watching

[@brendaphillis1724]

My concern is the neem oil you are using has insecticide in it. Not something I would use in my vegetable garden.

[@creationsbydx]

No neem oil is meant to be a safe alternative to insecticide

[@RiversideHomesteadLife]

Nice vid- glad we don’t have those Beatles !!!!

[@creationsbydx]

Hope you never have to deal with them

[@MySoCalledMomLife]

They seem to be a problem this year!

[@a.pfarmthanjavur2700]

Mosquito bat tried well😊

[@lesliea.m.5392]

I can’t get rid of them 😱😱😱 I have bees so I have to be careful what I use 😢

[@creationsbydx]

Neemoil is said to be safe for bees yes. You can also pick off by hand and drop in snappy water. Don't squish just attracts more.

[@naomitaylor929]

My neighbour and I were talking about the cucumber beetles I have in the people behind us don't seem to have them I'm going to have to ask her what she uses but as soon as I planted my baby cucumber plants they destroyed one in less than 24 hours so I sprayed with neem oil peppermint solution yesterday and none were on the second cucumber plant this morning so so far so good but she told me to look at her massive hydrangea in the front yard and she has almost florescent GREEN striped cucumber beetle I wonder if they change colour depending on what they eat🤔🤔🤔 I know when you squish them they're guts are yellow from eating yellow flowers probably😂I noticed they tend to prefer and eat the flower first. & because my one baby cucumber plant didn't have any flowers yet they decided to eat all four leaves instead. They were also mating at the time😅 & could have flown 20in to the flowered baby cucumber next to it, not sure why they didn't until the next morning I found two more on the second one because I obviously squish the first two😅 I mean they left nothing but the tiny little stems that each leaf has😮 it was like a skeleton of a leaf😅

[@creationsbydx]

So sorry to hear your getting attacked lol. Once it starts so hard to keep under control. And they are fast eaters that's for sure. I hope u are able to get it tamed

[@joycee5493]

Please don’t use Sevin.

[@creationsbydx]

I agree...but I'm curious why you say that

[@robertkeller5930]

Insecticide

[@creationsbydx]

Neem oil?

[@joshualloyd4275]

Natural pyrethrin - Neem is not very effective to be honest. Also need to make sure you use cold press 100% Neem oil - the rtu stuff or hydrophobic extract of Neem does not have the active ingredient azadirachtin that you need. Always spray in the evening to avoid hitting pollinators

[@joshualloyd4275]

I tried the traps - caught tons of leaf hoppers flea beetles and mostly flies... cucumber beetles caught 2 and they were actually strong enough to walk off the glue board 😮.

[@creationsbydx]

@joshualloyd4275 thanks for the feedback good advice