Cucumber beetles

busygirl 6/7/2011, 6:56 am

Good morning! I went outside this morning and interrupted a cucumber beetle love fest. affraid

I left their stripey little carcasses all over the place (as a warning to future tresspassers Cool

) , but was wondering if there was anything else that would help get rid of the ones I may have missed. Thanks!

FarmerValerie 6/7/2011, 8:18 am

What did you use to kill them? I usually use a home made spray made of 1 1/2 C water, 1/2 C rubbing alcohol, and 1-2 Tbsp of dish soap. It does not kill them quickly, but does make it so they cannot fly away so I can smash them. I am thinking of going to Murphy's Oil soap instead of dish soap. I do have an organic spray I use when bugs are bad, but it also kills bees so I have to be VERY careful how and when I spray, and make sure I don't spray it on the blossoms.

busygirl 6/7/2011, 3:01 pm

Thanks for the recipe!! I just smashed them this morning, which is why I started the new thread asking what else I could do. I stopped on my way home and got murphy's oil soap. I already have lots of distilled water and rubbing alcohol at home. I assume it dries the beetles out? There is a thunderstorm moving through right now, but I will mix it up and spray them down when it blows over or in the morning.

FarmerValerie 6/7/2011, 10:33 pm

I'm not sure how long it takes to work on them, the squash bugs it only takes a minute. I sprayed one, put it in a jar, and it was still alive after 5 minutes, too long for me so I squashed the cucumber beetle right then and there.

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