my neighbor has cucumber problem

She'd like to know what's wrong with her cucumbers. Here is a picture.

Caterpillars! Probably either armyworms or cabbage loopers. Spray(or dust) with BT worm killer. It'll take a few applications every few days to start to work but it does a great job.

Just curious because I have one that has this. Will Ortho-Bug-B-Gon or Sevin cover this? I sprayed with one of them last week...

Also, can the dust burn plants in high heat and/or humidity? We've had close to 100 degree temps and 60% humidity this week YUCK!

Maybe it will literally COOK the bugs!

Cucumbers are affected by several fungal diseases that show up as spots on the leaves. The resulting dead areas dry up fall out and produce the “shot hole” effect like the picture of your neighbor’s cukes.

Insect pest are usually the Striped Cucumber Beetle, Spotted Cucumber Beetle and Squash Bugs. Their larvae feed on roots and stems, adults feed on more of the plant; they “chew” producing holes and can inject bacterial diseases, wilts usually. Look for (early morning or late afternoon, check under leaves and around the base) and identify insect pest – the shotgun approach of applying insecticides/fungicides may not be helpful and surely waste money!!!

Carefully read the label of any control agent looking for suggested application rates and temperature ranges and the insects/crops approved for use. Oils and soaps WILL burn plants if applied too heavily or in high heat.

Spider Mites love HOT WEATHER; they produce a stippled effect on leaves, check for these tiny pest by thumping the leaves over a bright white sheet of paper; look for tiny moving dots - spray the underside of the leaves with a strong blast of water to dislodge these pest.

Ms. Tommie

Ms Tommie,

I didn't say but I had mixed it with fungicide. I wasn't really spraying without understanding. I was spraying my tomatoes with preventative program because I have found that spraying after I find disease is a miserable failure. This year I have done prevention program suggested by agricultural extension. The cucumbers got the excess in the tank after the tomatoes. I did check that the products and strength were appropriate for cukes. As a whole everything looks MUCH better than previous years, even with goofy rain and then 100+ temps.

I appreciate the mite check suggestion. I'll have to take a magnifying glass and a young gardener with me to look for the things though...after 45 my eyes have gone to pits LOL Even with the magnifying glass AND glasses I can't see the little buggers LOL If I'm not sure.... I'll get obsessed and napalm the whole garden REALLY LOL!

Holly

Becareful mixing pesticides and fungicides or any two products together it messes up the dilution rate and may not be as effective as they would be sprayed separately. Just a thought. Also most spider mites produce a webbing which is a dead give away for spider mites. There is no way I could see them, so I look for webbing.

Got a bad case of powdery mildew. Too late to spray. I just removed them all. How long should I wait to replant?

Easy way to check for mites: Hold a sheet of white paper under the leaf, flick the leaf, check paper for bugs crawling around. They will look like specks of dust, but will move around. Beneficial mites may be present and are killed by most pesticides.
Don't mix an oil, or follow an oil spray with copper or sulphur compounds, especially on squash and cucumbers. It will kill them.
Powdery mildew: spray plants from the time they germinate with 10% solution of milk and water (1 part milk:9 parts water) at least every 10 days or more often if it rains or you use overhead watering. Any milk will work except condensed milk.