If you’ve ever had a cucumber beetle infestation, you know how frustrating it can be. Cucumber beetles are one of the common garden pests, and they can decimate your plants in short order.
But before you learn how to get rid of cucumber beetle, ensure you know what they look like and how to spot them on your plants.
Before you get rid of cucumber beetle, get to know them!
A cucumber beetle is a type of beetle that is typically green and yellow. They can also be red, brown, black, or any combination of these colors. The beetles are most commonly found on cucumbers, but they can also be found on other plants such as:
- beans
- tomatoes
- cilantro
- radishes
They eat leaves and stems of plants and can cause damage by chewing holes through them. They can also transmit diseases to plants by transferring spores from one plant to another through their saliva.
The larvae are similar to the adults in appearance but smaller and have fewer spots on their bodies. They will eat any dead plant matter available to them until they reach adulthood, when they begin feeding on live plants again.
Why it’s important to know how to get rid of cucumber beetle quickly?
Cucumber beetles are a garden pest that can damage your plants, especially when they’re young. They’re also a nuisance all over your garden, as they burrow into your soil and leave it infested with their larvae.
Here are some reasons why you must know how to get rid of cucumber beetles.
- The larvae will eat your plants’ roots, which means you won’t have any healthy growth this year or next year.
- They can cause serious damage to home gardens because they’re so small and hard to see.
- They eat not only your plants’ leaves but also destroy the flowers and fruit.
- Their presence can attract other pests like tomato hornworms or stinkbugs. If you don’t get rid of these beetles right away, you’ll soon have to deal with more than just cucumber beetles!
- They multiply quickly. Cucumber beetles can lay up to 300 eggs at a time, and those eggs hatch in about ten days. If you don’t get rid of the beetle population quickly, it can soon become overwhelming!
- They spread disease! Cucumber beetles have been known to spread diseases like bacterial wilt and mosaic virus through their saliva and feces.
How to get rid of cucumber beetles?
Luckily, you can do a few things to keep these cucumber beetles away from your garden.
1. Cultural control
Option 1: Plant marigolds around your garden.
Marigolds are said to repel cucumber beetles and other insects that might harm your plants. If you don’t have time to plant marigolds all around your garden, you can try planting a few along the perimeter of your yard instead.
Option 2: Use floating row covers over smaller areas of your garden.
Floating row covers protect plants from cucumber beetles while letting sunlight through for healthy growth.
Option 3: Clean your garden.
Remove any dead plant matter or leaves from around your garden as soon as possible so that you can keep the area free of food sources for beetles while they’re young and vulnerable. This includes pet waste too!
2. Natural way
Option 1: Handpick the beetles from your plants and drop them into soapy water. Make sure it’s hot enough, so they don’t escape.
Option 2: Use insecticidal soap on your plants. Apply every two weeks.
Option 3: Use diatomaceous earth around the perimeter of your garden to keep them out.
Option 4: Apply neem oil directly to the leaves or spray it on the ground around them.
Option 5: Place sticky traps throughout your garden so that they can be caught before they start eating any more leaves or vines. This helps prevent further damage while still allowing you time to think about what else you need to do next.
Option 5: Surround the ground of your plant with wood ashes since cucumber beetles don’t like this.
Is there a chemical way on how to get rid of cucumber beetle?
There aren’t many available pesticides that can help on how to get rid of cucumber beetle. However, you can try pyrethrum, which is also safe for people and pets but only works for about four days after application.
Besides, the use of chemicals can affect your garden long-term and can even be harmful to you and other beneficial pests in your garden.
Is there a way you can prevent cucumber beetle?
The answer is yes! You can take measures to prevent cucumber beetle from living in your garden. If you do this, you don’t have to worry about how to get rid of cucumber beetle in the first place. Take a look at these tips!
- Keep your plants healthy. Cucumber beetles are like unhealthy plants, so keeping yours well-nourished is an excellent way to keep them away.
- Don’t plant your cucumbers in the same place every year. The more you plant them in the same spot, the more attractive that spot becomes to cucumber beetles, so rotating where you plant them can help keep them at bay.
- Mulch well and early! Cucumber beetles spend most of their time looking for places where they can lay their eggs. Mulching gives them fewer places to lay eggs, which means fewer baby cucumber beetles next spring!
- Avoid planting cucumbers near eggplant, pea plants, and peppers. These are their favorite foods.
- Plant radish and mustard seeds around your garden. These will help attract beneficial bugs that will eat the cucumber beetles’ eggs before they hatch into adults that feast on your plants!
Conclusion
If you’re a gardener, you know what it’s like to deal with pests. And if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve got cucumber beetles in your garden. They can be pesky and destructive, but there are ways to eliminate them.
We hope this guide serves its purpose of giving you informational tips and ways on how to get rid of cucumber beetles and as well as some prevention methods. Remember that it’s always a must to visit your garden and keep an eye on your plants every now and then.
If you think you need to combine one or two approaches, then go ahead. Sometimes, all you need is the perfect combination to eliminate cucumber beetles!