Natural remedies for squash bugs & cucumber beetles?

[Lisoula]

I have squash bugs all over my cucumbers, and cucumber beetles on my beans and watermelon. I've tried spraying them with a soap spray (Dr. Bronner's and water) and it worked briefly, but they're back and don't seem to be responding this time to the soap spray. Any ideas?

[serenetabbie]

Pick them off and either squish them or drop them into a jar with some water & dish soap (shake it a little so there is foam on the top). Leave them in the jar for a few hours, then go dump the whole thing out away from your garden. Make sure you are getting the egg masses too (look under the leaves for yellowish orange blobs).

[Lisoula]

There are too many for me to do that. (And the squash bugs kinda freak me out and I don't want to touch them!)

Anyone else?

[jocelyndale]

Picking them off one by one is really the only reliable non-toxic way to get rid of them. They gross me out, too, but I've lost entire crops to the things. And they get away if I just chuck 'em in the bird feeder.

[serenetabbie]

Ok, can you get a bucket and shake them into it? If they are busy... ahem... making baby bugs, they won't fly away and will just drop into the soapy water. Or, will your kids do it?

[christinar]

The only time I've had cucumber beetles was the one time I didn't interplant nasturtiums... I don't know if it was coincidence or not, but I've been gardening in this spot six years. I tried handpicking/squishing (I was mad), but there were an awful lot of them and they did a lot of damage... I don't know if it would be worth seeing if a local garden store had some nasturtium you could interplant, but that's my suggestion.

[koalove]

get a index card, color it yellow, spread tanglefoot on it, and a few drops of clove oil. they will stick to it when they are attracted to the color and clove oil. you can buy these ready made~ the clove oil will be called eugenol but its the same. it works!

[Lisoula]

Originally Posted by koalove

get a index card, color it yellow, spread tanglefoot on it, and a few drops of clove oil. they will stick to it when they are attracted to the color and clove oil. you can buy these ready made~ the clove oil will be called eugenol but its the same. it works!

OK - I'll try this, but I need to ask first....what is tanglefoot???

btw....there seems to be very few of them the last couple days....I just went out any only saw one squash bug and one cucumber beetle...and the beetle was on the picnic table, not in the garden.