Row Covers & Cucumber Beetles Pest Control; Gardening Guidebook for Cook County, Illinois ~ Master Gardeners of Cook County, University of Illinois ~ For more information, Please see websites below: ` Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children = http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ~ ` Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech = http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ~ ` Free School Gardening Art Posters = http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~ ` Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden = http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~ ` Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success = http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ~ ` City Chickens for your Organic School Garden = http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ~ ` Huerto Ecológico, Tecnologías Sostenibles, Agricultura Organica http://scribd.com/doc/239850233 ` Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide = http://scribd.com/doc/239851110

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NEWS AND INFORMATION
Helping You Put Knowledge to Work
Ask A Master Gardener Q & A
Cucumber Beetles
Q. My cucumber plants are covered with cucumber beetles this year. How can I get rid of
them without using chemicals?
A. Once you have cucumber beetles it is difficult to get rid of them without chemicals. You
could try using an insecticidal soap, but you must continually be on the lookout for
beetles and use the soap repeatedly throughout the growing season. Cucumber beetles
also attack squash, cantaloupe, pumpkins, watermelon and bean crops. If you grow those
plants, be on the lookout for beetle damage.
Cucumber beetles often attack young cucumber plants early in the season. It is helpful to
use lightweight row covers or cheesecloth over young plants in the spring. The fabric
allows light to pass through while protecting the plants from the beetles. You might try
that to reduce the beetle problem next summer.
Photo Source: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/bugreview/cucumberbeetle.html
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Spotted Cucumber Beetle Striped Cucumber Beetle
Master Gardeners at
Cook County/North Suburban Unit
(847) 818-2901 or (847) 437-6449
www.extension.uiuc.edu/cooknorth/mg
For more home, yard, garden and insect related information, visit our website at www.extension.uiuc.edu/cooknorth/mg or
call the Cook County/North Suburban Extension Master Gardeners at (847) 818-2901 or (847) 298-3502.
Office Hours are reduced during the fall and winter months.