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cucumber leaf beetles

Started by SwampDonkey, August 01, 2004, 10:05:18 AM

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SwampDonkey

Yup!!  I dunno who imported them but they have been present in gardens here for the past 4 or 5 years. They have yellow striped outter wings (the shell-like wing covering the flight wings). They chew the leaves on your cukes.



cheers
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Tam-i-am

They got our pumpkins last year.  I saw one this year and we sprayed.  No longer a problem.
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SwampDonkey

A little squirt of bug-b-gone or potato dust will probably do the trick eh?
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Patty

We've got them bad in Iowa. They totally take over the garden this time of year, devouring the winter squash, melons, pumpkins, and green beans. There isn't enough spray manufactured to rid us of all them. Only thing we've found is to fertilize the garden really well through June & July, so the plants have some chance to survive the onslaught of the beetles in August.
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

MrMoo

Try using the shotgun loaded with bug shot to git em  :)

jtmccallum

We get them in our pumpkins when they have 2 or 4 leaves.  I spray as soon as I see any bugs.  Usually get another outbreak later on.  I just spray 'em again.  .....John
John M.        '97 WM LT40Super Manual 40HP Lombardini,  XP372,   CASE 1210 W/ Loader

Skeeter

Hey Everybody.....

I had a coupla ideas that might help y'all battle them rascals
and maybe even save your plants.

First....cheesecloth is an excellent barrier to keep the bugs off the actual plant and leaves, but will still allow moisture and sunlight thru.  Just *tent* it over the plants and leaves.

Second....to kill the beetles w/o using insecticides try this.
Take your sun tea container, or one like it.....fill it with hot water.  The, grab a large pinch of your chewin tobacco and place the pinch in a used fabric softener sheet or something similiar ...(pantyhose....if available  :o )..then take some wire to suspend this tobacco tea bag in the water.  Let it sit for a few hrs, then put the tobacco tea in a sprayer and spray the leaves of the plants your trying to save.  

Tobacco juice is a natural insecticide that upsets the bugs digestion process and will likely kill the bugs as well.

I add a bit of soap to the mix just in case it hits some of the bugs right out of the sprayer.......this will suffocate them.

Try it....it works !

Skeeter
Skeeter

Tam-i-am

I went out to the garden today and what did I find

-deer had eaten the tops off all my pepper plants

-a stranger and larger beetle than the cucumber beetle eating my string beans.  (I took a picture but having trouble with the camera- I'll send pic later)

What's the chance the tobacco thing will work on deer?
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Paschale

You might want to be careful with the tobacco tea on certain plants, since it can spread the tobacco mosaic virus, which is nasty, and once it's in your soil, the only way to really get rid of it, apparently,  is to "solarize" the soil be covering the garden with plastic druing the hottest part of summer.  I thought that's what had gotten my tomato plants this summer, so did a bunch of research on it.  

The virus will get the following plants:  Tomato, pepper, eggplant, tobacco, spinach, petunia, marigold.  Here's a couple of links to some info about it.

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/dp_hfrr/extensn/problems/tomtotmv.htm

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG1168.html

Since you're worried about your cukes, it should be OK to take care of the cridders (and I bet it works!).  Just avoid spraying the other types of plants with the tobacco tea and you should be OK.  On my tomatoes, I figure I have both blight and septeria leaf spot, which you can see here:

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/factSheets/Tomato/Early%20Blight%20and%20Septoria%20Leaf%20Spot%20of%20Tomato.asp

They're not so bad, since they can be taken care of with a fungicide.

You gotta hate seeing all the hard work put into a garden go up in smoke!!!

Skeeter--have you used the tobacco tea on any of those plants I listed up there?  Just wondering if you've had any trouble with using it on tomatoe plants at all.  It's one thing to read about it on a website, and another to see if all the concerns are warranted.  Everything I read though, said to avoid getting tobacco anywhere near those particular plants, so I'm just curious if you've found any problems yourself.

Thanks for the home remedy!  I love hearing about new techniques to take care of the cridders in the garden.   

Dan M.


Y'all can pronounce it "puh-SKOLLY"

SwampDonkey

Tamiam,

Take a pair of panty hose and stuff a cake of Irish spring soap in there. Then steak a couple in the bean patch. They do this on apple trees to keep the deer from browing them. Worth a try. :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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