Pests: Cucumber beetles

Growing sans chemicals doesn’t come without challenges. The latest pest pressure has come in the form of cucumber beetles, which started feasting on my cucumber and zucchini plants. I had some yellow sticky traps that I employed as soon as I noticed they were there and then purchased a trap and lure, which has worked beautifully! I’ve also done a lot of hand picking, mostly in the early morning when they seem to be more lethargic. I have found them inside the flowers and on the leaves. The beetles I have are the striped kind, but they also come spotted and do the same damage. I’m hopeful that the problem is under control and they haven’t been able to reproduce….we’ll see if these plants recover and I’m able to get some produce from them. I’m hopeful, but I’m an eternal optimist! Here’s the link to the OSU Fact Sheet on these buggers.