# Over Run With Cucumber Beetles!!!



## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Okay, I have done EVERYTHING that has worked in the past with these horrible blighters, but I just went out to the garden after getting home from the office, and there is an absolute SWARM of them in my cucs AND my sweet corn!!

Okay, short of making them glow in the dark, what can I use to kill them that won't cause damage to my children's reproductive system?

I don't mind sharing, but you would not believe how many of them are out there. I am absolutely SICK about this.

HELP!!!!!

Pony!


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## shadowwalker (Mar 5, 2004)

Some people will think this is bad but I got soo tired of the bugs. I went to one of the old farmers here. He said use only and only. SEVIN Dust 10%. I did one application on entire garden( every plant on 1 1/2 acres) killed off the tomato worms, cucumber beatles, squash bugs, japanese beatles, cabbage worms, potato bugs, and some more I'm sure weren't doing it good. Wait two days water it all off. This will allow the hurtful bugs eating time, and it will wash it off the flowers so the bees and polinateing bugs can do their job. Yes it did kill the good polinators but it got more of the bad ones. I now have a great looking garden with lots of veggies.


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

It seems to be a really bad year for them! I go out with two blocks of wood, one under the leaf, one above and WHAM! Of course this only kills the ones on the leaves, not the stems, but it is very satisfying and your fingers don't get icky.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Okay, just got back from Home Depot. I'm gonna Sevin the snot out of those you-know-whats.

I'll follow your suggestion, Shadowwalker, and spray off after a couple days.

Reading the label, it says you can use it up to 3 days before harvest. I wonder if that's the half-life or if it's completely gone by then...

Either way, it's them bugs or my food. :flame: 

Mistletoad, I kill 'em with my bare hands. And I really enjoy it when I can get two for one when they're mating. YEE-HAW!

Pony!


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## Jillis (Sep 11, 2005)

Sevin is Carbaryl. Carbaryl has a low toxicity. Most of the chemicals they are allowed to use degrade very quickly once applied. 

If it says three days to harvest, that means that after three days the residues are not toxic to ingest. Supposedly. 

I have been enjoying going out and nabbing Japanese Beetles and chunking them into a can of water. After circling the garden several times, and also putting in Colorado potato bugs, I then empty the Japanese Beetle traps into the can of water. The water keeps them from flying away. 

Then, I pour the can into the chicken's water dish. 

They say, Thanks!

At first, I was dismayed by the amount of bugs. After a week or so, I sawthat a lot of predatory bugs had come to join the feast. See more of the good bugs every day!

All the sunflowers distract the Jap Beetles from the eggplant, too!


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Jillis said:


> At first, I was dismayed by the amount of bugs. After a week or so, I sawthat a lot of predatory bugs had come to join the feast. See more of the good bugs every day!
> 
> All the sunflowers distract the Jap Beetles from the eggplant, too!



Okay, at this point, I have no trap crop to speak of (despite Ardie's great suggestion to plant radishes). I did, however, notice something interesting when I was out in the midst of the cloud of beetles, trying to snag and kill what I could grab.

I almost grabbed a yellow jacket (or similar insect). Fortunately, I stopped before I got nailed! Thing is, the wasp-thing deposited a CB (cuc beetle) on a leaf. I went to smash the beetle, and realized it was already dead. Did not know that they had natural predators, nor how wasps dealt with the "shells" from their feed.

So now if I go out and spray the Sevin, how many cool bugs do I kill? 

BUt how many pickles and how much corn will I lose?
*
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!*

Pony!


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## dcross (Aug 12, 2005)

Overrun here too, I've been picking the male flowers off all the squash about noon and stomping them.

I love seeing the yellowjackets at work!


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