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Old 18-07-2007, 06:15 PM posted to rec.gardens
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Default cucumber beetle infestation - what to do?

On Jul 15, 12:13 am, "Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at
zootal dot com delete the Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote:
This year we have a moderate stripped and spotted cucumber beetle
infestation. They are voracious, and devestate small plants, especially
beans. I've used insecticidal soap, but it only kills the ones it comes in
contact with. I tried some canola based spray, but it likewise only kills
the ones it comes in contact with. I pinch them when I see them, but they
are everywhere. I used Bug-B-Gone, which coats the leaves with poison, and
that worked good but you have to wonder where the poison residues are going.
Also, with the warm weather we have been having, my garden has exploded into
a jungle, and it's just not feasible to use any kind of toxic spray on all
of the things I have that they like to eat. They eat sunflowers, beans,
squash, okra, cucumbers, they especially love young pumpkin plants, and
tomatillos, and I have a lot of all of those. How else can these be safely
controlled on such a large scale?


Check into "neem". It's been getting popular in the organic gardening
world for a few years now. Comes from an Indian tree. Apparently,
people in India just take it as a tonic, also. Anyway, there are a lot
of neem preparations around these days. i even saw some in Home Depot.