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vaherbmom

cucumber beetles- how do you deal with them?

vaherbmom
12 years ago

Last year I had cucumber and cantalope/melon vines continually wilt just as they were getting really productive. This happened over and over. Someone on one of the forums here recommended I try spraying with permethrin starting when the plants are set out, then stopping once they bloom. I have tried this although it did take me a couple weeks to find permethrin so the first several weeks my plants did not get sprayed.

I'm still losing one cucumber after another to wilt. I even tried covering some younger starts with insect cover and when I pulled it back there were the cucumber beetles under it!

I have now also lost two of my muskmelon vines before they ever set fruit. I was spraying the permethrin once/week.

Do I just need to give up on growing muskmelons? how do other people deal with this?

I do scout my garden daily and squash every cucumber beetle I can find. They are fast unless I get them early in the morning.

Thanks for any advice.

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