Can you recommend a home remedy for pests on cucumber plants?

Jackie Mantel
by Jackie Mantel
My cucumber plants have little holes bitten out of the leaves, what natural remedy can I use to keep the pests away?

  1 answer
  • Mogie Mogie on May 27, 2018

    1. Select resistant varieties whenever possible.
    2. Inspect plants frequently for beetles and handpick any that are discovered.
    3. Floating row covers are extremely effective when placed on seedlings and left in place until plants are old enough to tolerate beetle damage.
    4. Commercially available beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, green lacewing and the spined soldier bug, will feed on pest eggs.
    5. Beneficial nematodes work well to curtail immature stages developing in the soil.
    6. When applied to plants, Surround WP (kaolin clay) leaves a fine powdery film that insects find unattractive for feeding and egg-laying.
    7. Spinosad, the active ingredient in Monterey Garden Insect Spray is approved for organic use and works on a long list of insects found on vegetable crops.
    8. BotaniGard ES is a highly effective biological insecticide containing Beauveria bassiana, an entomopathogenic fungus that attacks a long-list of troublesome crop pests – even resistant strains! Weekly applications can prevent insect population explosions and provide protection equal to or better than conventional chemical pesticides.
    9. If pest levels become intolerable, spot treat with a fast-acting organic insecticide. For best results, apply to the undersides of leaves and deep into the plant canopy where insects hide.
    10. Remove garden trash and other debris shortly after harvest to reduce overwintering sites.