A novel idea helps capture the hated cucumber beetles
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The yellow milk jugs in the Kitchen Garden portion of the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden at the Springfield Botanical Gardens in Springfield are a successful idea for capturing striped and spotted cucumber beetles.
Cucumber beetles are one-quarter-inch-long beetles with either 12 spots (spotted cucumber beetle) or three black stripes (striped cucumber beetle) on their abdomens. Both species can overwinter in the Ozarks and become active in April when daytime temperatures exceed 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
Without proper management, adult beetles can transmit bacterial wilt, viruses, gummy stem blight, defoliate plants and cause cosmetic damage to fruits. Larvae of the striped beetle also cause damage by feeding on cucurbit roots and stems. These beetles can kill or stunt seedlings and can damage stems and fruits of older plants.
“They also love to eat on garden favorite plants like cucumbers, watermelon, squash and pumpkins,” said Kelly McGowan, horticulture educator, University of Missouri Extension. “Managing these two pests in gardens and small farms can be challenging.”
Insecticides can be an effective control option but harvest interruption due to pre-harvest intervals, and the potential impact on pol- linators must be considered. Many of these insecticides will also be “restricted-use,” requiring private pesticide applicator training and licensing.
Researchers at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., have developed a simple, mass trapping system. This system has proven to be an effective component of an integrated pest management strategy in commercial cucurbit production systems and can be replicated on a smaller scale for home vegetable gardens. “When deployed in the cucurbit field, the cucumber beetles are drawn to the traps and away from the cash crop. Upon entering the trap, beetles are killed by their consumption of a carbaryl-laced bait,” said McGowan.
The three components of the trap are a juice or milk jug (which will be painted yellow), a commercial floral-based lure, and a stun pill composed of carbaryl (Sevin), paraffin wax, and powdered buffalo gourd.
Details on the trap and how to construct one can be found at bit.ly/2a561qh.
Examples of the trap in action can be seen at the Springfield Botanical Gardens, 2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, Mo.
"They also love to eat on garden favorite plants like cucumbers, watermelon, squash and pumpkins."
Kelly McGowan horticulture educator