QA

Quick Answer: How To Get Rid Of Cucumber Beetles Organically

What home remedy kills cucumber beetles?

Place yellow sticky traps around the plants to help catch the adult cucumber beetles when they first start showing up in your garden. Then dust the plants well with diatomaceous earth to kill the remainder.

How do you control cucumber beetles organically?

Organic controls for cucumber beetles include handpicking, excluding them with row cover barriers, or using kaolin clay to disguise plants. You also can make cucumber beetle traps and use companion planting to deter these cucumber pests.

Will soapy water kill cucumber beetles?

A soapy (or oily) leaf bath won’t beat those dirty cucumber beetles. Washing down plant leaves with horticultural soaps or oils won’t prevent anything. Insecticidal soaps and oils simply smother any insects you hit directly with the spray.

What keeps cucumber beetles away?

Interplant your cucurbits with plants that repel cucumber beetles. Heavy companion planting of fragrant herbs and flowers like marigolds, tansy, sage, and catnip can help confuse and repel the beetles. Try a trap crop. Plant a cucumber plant at the perimeter of your garden two weeks before your other cucurbits.

Do radishes repel cucumber beetles?

Radishes are widely hailed as a companion plant to repel cucumber beetles and other squash family pests, but they work best when combined with a second companion plant such as buckwheat. Used together, the radishes repel cucumber beetles while the buckwheat attracts beneficials, which serve as further deterrents.

Does clove oil attract cucumber beetles?

As cucumber beetles eat on foliage, they can transmit the bacterial virus to the plants. The clove oil mimics the beetles pheromones and will attract the females.

Will garlic spray deter cucumber beetles?

Apply Garlic and Pepper Spray The smell and taste of garlic and hot peppers can serve as a deterrent to the cucumber beetle.

What can I spray on cucumber beetles?

B. bassiana sprays infect and kill cucumber beetles once they have hatched. They are most effective when targeting non-adult stages. If immediate action and control is necessary, apply a pyrethrin or azadirachtin insecticide to the affected areas.

How do you trap cucumber beetles?

For the live beetle traps, cut out two sides of a plastic container and hot glue mesh in its place to provide ventilation (Figure 3). Drill two holes near the top to attach a rope for hanging and use hot glue to seal any gaps. Each trap should contain ten striped cucumber beetles collected from a field.

Do marigolds repel cucumber beetles?

Grow repellent plants. Flowers like nasturtium and marigolds, an herb such as catnip, and veggies like radishes and corn help keep cucumber beetles away.

Does neem oil kill cucumber beetles?

Adult cucumber beetles lay their eggs in the soil around the base of plants, where the emerging larvae feed on the roots. Neem oil can be applied as a soil drench around the base of plants to kill eggs and larvae, but is not very effective against adults.

Does neem oil kill striped cucumber beetles?

Method 2- Neem Oil The second way to help improve your cucumber beetle problem is to use an insecticide such as neem oil extract. It’s extracted and diluted into a foliar spray and used as a natural insecticide/ fungicide in organic gardening.

How do I get rid of cucumber beetles without harming bees?

Natural predators include beneficial insects like braconid wasps, some nematodes, and soldier beetles. Companion planting your vegetables with flowers can help to keep pests away from the plants you don’t want the beetles to attack. Once bacterial disease has entered the plant, there’s very little that you can do.

What can I spray on my cucumber plants?

Spray them with water or insecticidal soap or rotenone. Encourage beneficial predators, such as ladybugs and lacewings. Whiteflies can also be found congregating on the underside of the cucumber leaves. Again, beneficial insects should be encouraged.

How do you get rid of beetles naturally?

Mint oil and the plants that contain it are excellent natural pest repellants. To keep beetles out of your living space, mix 10-15 drops of pure peppermint oil into 8 ounces of water. Shake the mixture up and spray it around your doorways, vents, and windows.

Do nasturtiums repel cucumber beetles?

Growing nasturtiums as companion plants: When planted with cucumbers and tomatoes, nasturtiums may repel cucumber beetles, whiteflies, aphids, and squash bugs. Planting nasturtiums alongside eggplant or squash plants can also help repel cucumber beetles.

Does wood ash repel cucumber beetles?

Plant white varieties of radishes or rattail radishes with your cucumber plants to repel the beetles. Rattail radish roots are not edible but the seed pods are! Mix a spray of 1 ounce wood ashes, 1 ounce hydrated lime and 1 gallon water. They prevent insect attack by forming a barrier between insects and plants.

Do yellow sticky traps catch cucumber beetles?

Yellow sticky traps attract whiteflies, aphids, and other insects by color. Hang a Cucumber Beetle Lure (required for use, sold separately) inside to monitor and trap these pests. Trap remains sticky all season, even in rain, or until completely coated with insects or dust.