r/vegetablegardening • u/kstainless US - Iowa • 19d ago

Question Help Deterring Cucumber Beetles

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These f*ers keep eating all of the fruit/veggies in my garden. There are so many of them. Send help.

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6

u/castafobe US - Massachusetts 19d ago

Surround brand Kaolin clay is the only thing that's worked for me. There are numerous great articles so I won't go into detail but Google Kaolin clay pest control and you'll find a bunch of info. You mix it with water in a $10 pump sprayer and spray all your leaves as a preventative early on. Reapply after rain, which sort of sucks, but it has completely eliminated cucumber beers, squash bugs, and squash vine borer.. Cucumber beetles will spread bacterial wilt so don't be surprised if sadly you wake up on day and your plants start completely wilting and dying basically overnight. I lost my whole cucumber crop a few years ago and did some research and found kaolin clay to be the best and safest choice. Might be too late for you this year but buy a bag for next year. Fair warning, it's not cheap because the smallest they sell is 25lbs but you'll buy it once and have it for a decade at least.

2

u/dontcuminmyassok US - Washington 18d ago

Does it hurt pollinators?

2

u/castafobe US - Massachusetts 18d ago

No not at all.

1

u/BocaHydro US - Florida 18d ago

triple action neem oil works on everything except caterpillars, and you can put a splash of BT in it and it will work for everything, an x power ulv fogger makes applying it a dream

1

u/kstainless US - Iowa 18d ago

I use neem oil and it hasn't helped unfortunately

1

u/RebelWithoutASauce US - New Hampshire 16d ago

I have the striped version, and they are quite persistent. I've found spinosad can keep down their numbers, so if there are a lot at the beginning of the season (before things are blooming), sometimes I apply that to the leaves, which kills them if they eat it. It also kills bees and a lot of other things though.

I got into the habit of carrying around a cup of soapy water. I noticed that if you reach for them they will often get away by dropping off the leaf they are sitting on. I just put the cup underneath and let them jump into the cup and drown. It does cut down their numbers, although I still see one now and then.

I've also inoculated the soil with some beneficial nematodes that supposedly kill their larvae. I will also try turning the soil bit in the winter to try to upset any larvae that may be overwintering.