This process leads to eventual death of the plant. To confirm bacterial wilt you can cut the plant on a wilted stem area. If you cut near the base of the plant, and then squeeze that section a white sap that is milky looking will appear, oozing out in a thin thread-like stream. Erwinia trachephila primarily is present in areas where the weather is cool and the climate has a moderate amount of rainfall. Bacterial wilt bacterium can thrive in these conditions.
Bacterial wilt is spread by the striped or spotted cucumber beetle.
Erwinia trachephila overwinters on the bodies of these beetles, and when they emerge to feed on curcurbit family plants like cucumbers and muskmelons, they spread the bacterium onto new plants which were previously healthy. Once the cucumber beetles begin feeding they can infect an entire plant over a fifteen day period causing a quick death to the plant. In order to be effective, insecticides must be applied prior to the plant being infected with bacterial wilt. Once erwinia trachephila is present there is no chemical control that will stop the damage to the plant from resulting in death. To control cucumber beetles, and prevent spread of bacterial wilt that has overwintered on their bodies, spray them with carbaryl or diazinon containing insecticides as soon as they are spotted.