How to get rid of cucumber beetle, without killing beneficial insects?
Question:I have many cucumber beetles in my garden (vegetable and flower). How can I get rid of them? Introducing lacewings and lady bugs did not work.
Answers:
Spreading wood ash around & then soaking the area with water can control maggots, cutworms, cucumber beetles, squash bugs & slugs.It dehydrates soft-bodied insects. It's a good akaline fertilizer containing potassium, calcium & phosphorus. Do NOT allow ash to touch the stems of plants, especially young ones.
Dust fine, powdery flour or lime to suffocate the pests.
Try this to make the bugs retreat: Organic vegetable spray: In a blender mix 4 cloves of garlic with 1 chopped onion. Place this mixture in a large glass jar and add 2 cups of water. Add 2 teasp. of bottled hot pepper sauce (or grind up a hot pepper) stir ingredients together and steep for 2 days. Strain the mixture and add one Tablesp. Ivory liquid soap(or pure soap liquid).Then DILUTE with 5 cups of water. Don't forget the last part or it'll be too strong. Apply only in the cooler part of the day.
Lacewings and ladybugs will take care of the eggs, but not the beetles. I found this website that has a lot of information about controlling cucumber beetles. Scroll down the page a bit for different things you can plant in and around your garden...
http://www.ghorganics.com/cucumberbeetle...
Good luck!
As simple as it can get, although practical only in a small garden: Squish them, and leave them on the leaves! I have seen, by experience, that when I squash my pests and leave them on leaves, other bugs don't come around, until a rain washes them off. I think they don't like the smell of death among their own.. Seriously
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