Defeating Cucumber Beetles Organically

0:00Hi guys. Last week we talked about squash bugs. This week we're going to be talking about cucumber beetles and

0:06what's your advice for managing cucumber beetles on a small scale market farm?

0:13And we'll also preface this with organic way, you know, of of dealing with it

0:20where we're not using chemicals. Well, I would start by saying that cucumbers,

0:25cucumber beetles are our I I would say biggest challenge on the

0:31farm. Um and and squash bugs definitely are also challenging, but um they're,

0:40you know, they're all in the same family, the cucurbit family. So, we we use some similar things. you know

0:48covering them after planting is really critical I think. So either row cover or

0:56insect netting and then um succession planting is also something we do with with cucumbers.

1:06Uh,

1:07one thing that is, I believe, effective for cucumber beetles over time, you know, we're still kind of uh, you know,

1:18we we don't have a long track record with it, but that is the the predatory nematodes cuz cucumber beetles do spend part of their life cycle in the soil.

1:31So by spraying predatory nematodes on your your soil you uh I think are

1:39going to be really um cutting down the population.

1:46So those are are things that I think are effective. Again I I know pyanic does

1:54work quite effectively on cucumber beetles. Um, and I I believe last I knew

2:00Pyanic was a a restricted but approved option for organic growers. But again, I

2:09would encourage that it's a last ditch option because of its broad spectrum. Um, it kills a lot of things.

2:21So, the I think probably the ultimate solution that we're working towards in our in our hoop houses, at least the

2:30ones we grow cucumbers in, would be screening the houses. Mhm. And just trying to to keep them out.

2:39Yeah.

2:40And I we're not quite there. We've got the side screen, but we've got to screen the the vents still. Mhm.

2:48Um,

2:49but I think that that, you know, that's what the big guys do. They grow their cucumbers in screened houses.

2:58And then do you have to release pollinators inside of the greenhouse or do cucumbers not need pollination?

3:05The most greenhouse um kind of cucumbers don't need pollination. So, that's not an issue.

3:14But yeah, it's certainly something to look at cuz other varieties do need pollination. So, um, yeah, you need to

3:23check into that and make sure you've got the right variety in the right place. Okay. Yeah.

3:31Anything else? Does that cover it for cucumber beetles?

3:34Uh, I I I'd be happy to hear other solutions from any of your growers or

3:42Yeah, for sure. That's a good a good point. If anybody watching has techniques that they've come across or developed or different products that

3:50they've used successfully for cucumber beetles or squash bugs, you know, reply to this email and um we would love to hear them.

3:58Yeah. I guess one other thing that I'm thinking of is uh if you have hoop houses,

4:06early crops of cucumbers, um we always have our best success early in the season.

4:13Uh before the cucumber beetles really come on. So yeah, just just knowing

4:21when cucumber beetles kind of start getting active in your area and trying to beat them. Yeah.

4:29Um on the front end has been effective for us.

4:33Yeah. Of course being first to market with a crop never hurts either. So start them early.

4:38And I guess one other thing I would say is the the thin skinned European style cucumbers from our experience are much

4:47more susceptible to cucumber beetle damage. So if if you've got real issues with it, you know, for your main season,

4:56just the standard American slicing cucumber like the market more or something um

5:04seems to handle cucumber beetles much better. Yeah.

5:09Than the fancy ones. You know, everybody loves the fancy thin skinned ones, but they're not as hardy.

5:17Yeah. All righty. Well, thanks for sharing the tips and tricks for how to handle cucumber beetles. We hope this has been helpful to you. Again, if you

5:26have pointers, reply to this email and we'll love to hear from you. Also, if you have questions you would like for us to consider discussing in a future

5:34video, also you can reply to this email with those questions and we may discuss in a future video. We hope this has been

5:41helpful and until next time, happy growing.

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