Cucumber Beetles

This article focuses on cucumber beetles and how to get rid of them in your garden. Pictures of two types and how to prevent them from coming back.

Cucumber Beetles How to Get Rid of Them

There are several varieties of what most people call the cucumber beetle. We will look at the greenish-yellow ladybug types.

Western – Diabrotica virgifera virgifera has stripes.
Southern – Diabrotica undecimpunctata has spots.

The cucumber beetle’s name comes from its appetite for eating its way through your cucumber, melon, squash-type plants, and ornamental plants. See below for the greater listing. The beetles tend to be found on the leaves and flowers on the plants.

Adult Beetles Love These Plants

Keep Your Plant Beetle Safe In The Garden

1.) Keep the adult beetles off plants with cheesecloth or floating row covers.  Cheese cloth and row covers allow the sunlight to get in, but keep plants safe during the spring by not allowing the beetle access to the plants.

2.) If you see the adult beetles, pick them off and squish them.

3.) If you have infected plants remove them immediately and burn or place them in the trash. Do not place them in your compost pile. If compost is used around flowers and plants later, it will just introduce bacterial wilt throughout your yard.

4.) Treat with the chemicals below.

What Products Get Rid of Them

1.) After the season ends or after pulling the plants treat the soil direct with one of the two products above.

This will help because there is a strong likelihood you have an established population in your soil. Remember they can over winter.

2.) Check all the areas in your yard and treat anything that has damage. Treating just the vegetable garden will not help solve the problem if you are having the same problem in your flower gardens.

The problem will just return next year. They can overwinter in your soil, so why let the cycle continue?

3.) Retreat the soil again early in the spring well before planting.

4.) Plant later. Place guards around plants when the plants are in the young stage watch like a hawk for signs and take action immediately.

With just a little time and additional effort, you will be back on the road to enjoying your garden.

Additional Reading :
Disease & Pests of Beans
Safe Solutions To Get Rid Of Aphids
How To Rid Of Fungus Gnats On Houseplants

Adult Beetle Lay Eggs

Adult beetles lay eggs at the base of plants just below the surface of the soil. Eggs will hatch in 4-30 days depending on the air and soil temperature. The larva eats the roots of the host plant, causing weak stems. See the listing of host plants below.

The instar stage or larva to beetle lifecycle can take from 4-30 days to complete. The warmer the temperatures the quicker they eat and grow.

Worms can over-winter in the soil. Adult beetles can also overwinter.

Larva Love These Plants

Keep Larva Out Of Garden Soil

Plant Later

The best way to prevent your garden from being infected is to plant later in the season. Don’t plant right away in the spring when the female beetles are looking to feed and lay their eggs.

Install Screens

Install screens or cones around your plants and stick them a few inches in the soil to prevent the beetle from laying eggs in the soil near your plants. A cheap way to make guards is to cut the bottom off of the plastic nursery containers place them around the plant and direct them into the soil around your plants.

Apply Neem Oil

If you had an issue this year or are currently having an issue with the grubs, treat your soil with organic Neem oil. Here is the Low Down On Neem Oil

Good luck to you and happy gardening!