Yellow bugs in my raised beds

Question: I have recently found yellow, spotted bugs in my new raised bed, where I grow tomatos, sunflowers, melons, pumpkins, zucchini and marigolds. I worry they are cucumber beetles. Do these look like that species? Are they are big problem? Is there a way to get rid of them without pesticides?

responder: Deb K  Replied July 13, 2023, 8:59 PM EDT
response: HI Whitney,    You have correctly identified the bug in the picture as a cucumber beetle. The good news is that mature plants nearly always survive even severe injury. The more critical concern is with young seedlings. They can be completely devoured before leaves ever unfurl.  Young plants should be protected.     Row crop covers provide good protection from cucumber beetles, and in addition provide late frost protection and help in moisture retention.  -- Sometimes, the timing of a crop planting can be delayed until after beetles have dispersed and deposited most of their eggs. Delaying planting until warmer weather also gives crops a greater chance of outgrowing beetle injury.  --If you have room, trap crops sometimes can be used to draw beetles away from the main crop. (Trap cropping is an unproven control method in Oregon.)  Here's more info on their life cycle:  Cucumber beetles overwinter as fertilized adults and are active beginning in early spring. Adults lay eggs at the base of plants. Eggs hatch in 7 to 10 days, and larvae feed in roots for about 3 weeks before pupating in the soil. Adults emerge in 2 weeks and begin feeding on pollen. As soon as they hatch, larvae begin to feed on plant roots. They complete their development in the soil. It takes 30 to 60 days to complete a life cycle. There are two generations a year.  Hope this helps, Happy Gardening!

responder: Deb K  Replied July 15, 2023, 11:28 AM EDT
response: Hi again,     I have a Master Gardener trainee that I asked to work on a response to your question.  Her response adds some more options for you.    happy gardening!  Deb --------------------------------------------------------- Hello Whitney, Thank you for the image- yes, that is a cucumber beetle! Established plants can handle a fair amount of damage from these beetles. However, they can carry and transmit disease to cucumber plants when they feed on them. There are a few non-pesticidal control options to try. Do you encourage predatory insects in your yard? Beneficial predatory insects can help with many problematic herbivore insects. I've linked to two resources below that explain this and give guidance on how to do it. This is a longer-tern fix to the issue, but may be worth pursuing depending on how much space you have and your interest in insects as allies. https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/pnw550.pdf  https://xerces.org/publications/guidelines/habitat-planning-for-beneficial-insects  You can also use floating row covers to keep the beetles off your plants.  Floating row covershttps://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/ENVIRON/protectivecov.html  You can consider introducing entomopathogenic nematodes into your garden, as the larvae of cucumber beetles live in the soil and eat the vegetables' roots before pupating and becoming adult beetles. You can learn more about those below. Basically, they are a type of roundworm that prey on the cucumber beetle larvae. Entomopathogenic nematodeshttps://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/ipm/entomopathogenic-nematodes  Unfortunately, there do not seem to be many cultural controls available for this beetle. You may find that picking them off your plants and dropping them into a container of soapy water to drown them may help reduce their populations as well. Good luck!

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 15, 2023, 11:56 AM EDT
response: Thanks so much-- this was so helpful!On Sat, Jul 15, 2023 at 8:28 AM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Deb K  Replied July 15, 2023, 4:11 PM EDT
response: Your welcome!