Every vegetable grower who grows cucumbers wants to harvest the maximum amount of harvest. Quite often, this is hampered by pests of cucumbers in a greenhouse or garden. Therefore, before growing, it is necessary to study in advance the pests of cucumbers in the greenhouse and their treatment.
Spider mite
This insect most often appears on seedlings that are grown in greenhouse conditions and greenhouses.However, sometimes spider mites can also be seen on cucumber bushes in open ground.
When this pest appears, a web begins to appear on the surface of the cucumber leaves. To make sure that the seedlings have been attacked by spider mites, it is recommended to carefully examine the lower part of the leaves, since insects most often hide there.
Such ticks reproduce very quickly, since their female can lay about two hundred eggs in one season. Literally a few weeks after their appearance, pests of cucumber seedlings suck out all the juice from the leaves, which leads to the slow death of cucumbers.
How to protect cucumbers from spider mites
Pests must be controlled immediately after their appearance in order to protect the seedlings from death. Greenhouse plants are protected from this insect by two main methods:
- Regular watering. The mite does not like highly moist soil and therefore does not reproduce in conditions of high humidity.
- Planting plants. It is recommended to plant carrots, parsley or dill near the cucumbers. They attract ladybugs, which feed on spider mites.
Mites are not covered with a protective covering and therefore it is recommended to treat cucumber seedlings with special caustic compounds that will clear the cucumber seedlings of them. It is recommended to create treatment products from components that are harmless to humans. You can spray the seedlings with the following solutions:
- Liquid made from soap and ground pepper. To prepare the drug, add the same amount of soap and ground pepper to 10 liters of water. Then 40 grams of ash and chopped onions are added to the mixture. Before watering the plants, it is necessary to strain the resulting liquid through cheesecloth.
- Capsicum remedy.Add 80 grams of ground hot pepper to 5-7 liters of water. The mixture should be infused for at least a day, after which it will be necessary to water the cucumber bushes twice a week.
Some gardeners do not use folk remedies and use chemicals instead. It is recommended to use such products only in the first 2-3 weeks after planting in the soil, before fruit formation begins.
Snails and slugs
Slugs and snails are quite common in the gardens of summer residents. During the day, you may not notice them on cucumbers, since these pests prefer to crawl out at night or in cloudy weather. If a slug or snail appears on a plant, it eats cucumber leaves and even their fruits. At first they start with the lower leaves, but over time they move to the rest. If you do not protect the seedlings from slugs and snails in time, they will completely destroy the cucumber bushes.
How to protect cucumbers from slugs and snails
Some vegetable growers do not know what to do to get rid of such pests. There are several fairly effective ways to protect seedlings in a greenhouse and outdoors:
- Copper tapes. To prevent snails from eating the leaves of cucumber seedlings, it is necessary to spread copper strips near the plants. During contact with such material, mollusks receive a small electrical charge, from which they can die.
- Chemicals Thunderstorm or Meta. If the use of copper tapes does not help, then you will have to spray the cucumbers with special chemicals. Treating cucumbers against pests should be done very carefully. It is not recommended to use very concentrated mixtures and therefore chemicals must be diluted with water before use.Manufacturers claim that the use of these drugs is absolutely harmless for people.
Trips
Quite often, leaves on cucumbers are eaten by tobacco thrips. These white insects begin to multiply in the soil and eventually move to cucumber seedlings. Cucumbers with thrips on their leaves will not survive long. This pest gnaws leaves and feeds on the juice of cucumbers, which over time leads to serious deformations of the fruits and stems. Also, during cultivation, large light spots may appear on the leaves.
How to deal with thrips
Thrips are very resistant insects and therefore the fight against them can take a long time. Cucumber pest control technology can be carried out using the following means:
- Adhesive tape. You can protect cucumbers from pests in a greenhouse using adhesive tape. Adults often fly and therefore there is a chance that they will fall into such a trap.
- Watering. Regular watering works great against thrips. Such pests of cucumber seedlings do not like high humidity and therefore it is recommended to periodically water the plant leaves with a hose.
- Fitoverm. When the above control methods do not help, treat the cucumber bushes with Fitoverm. This product should be used only in the evening at temperatures above 20 degrees.
Worms
Another common problem when growing cucumbers is worms. They affect the performance of the root system, as they can start gnawing on the root of the cucumbers. If you do not get rid of the worms on the roots in time, the plant will die.
How to protect cucumbers from worms
To protect roots from worms, several of the most effective means to combat them are used:
- Baosia seeds butyration.Using flour made from the seeds of this Malayan plant, you can quickly get rid of pests in the soil. These seeds contain a substance called maurin. When feeding, it is this that affects the worms after entering their body. When feeding plants with flour, you should use no more than 200 grams of flour per square meter of land.
- Copper sulfate. To protect cucumbers from worms, spray the area with copper sulfate. It is not recommended to be used dry, so you should mix it with water.
- Derris. A very effective drug, often used to control pests. Before using it, you need to prepare a working solution. To do this, 20 grams of the product are mixed with 5 liters of water and infused for about 40 minutes. The area should be treated with Derris twice a month.
Whitefly
Many gardeners complain that their cucumbers suffer from whitefly. This small insect is very reminiscent of butterflies. Whitefly caterpillars and adults are quite small - 2-3 mm in length and therefore it is quite difficult to notice them on cucumber bushes.
Whiteflies spend most of their lives eating leaves, which eventually begin to dry out.
The main sign of the presence of pests on seedlings is a weak coating located on the lower half of the leaves. A fungus begins to develop in the affected areas of the leaves, due to which the seedlings can become infected with one or another disease. After a few days, signs appear on top. A huge number of small holes appear on the top leaf plate.
The insect is often found in greenhouses, as it breeds only in warm conditions with high humidity. Whiteflies are also found in open ground, but much less frequently.
How to treat cucumbers to remove whiteflies
It is very difficult to save cucumber bushes from this insect. If it has attacked only a few bushes, then it is easier to simply get rid of the infected plants so that the insect does not have time to spread to neighboring seedlings. However, for larger scale distribution this option is not suitable. In this case, you can use:
- Sticky tapes. Fly catching tapes are great for this. They are hung throughout the greenhouse above each row of cucumbers.
- Planting plants. For example, some gardeners plant Boveria mushrooms near cucumbers to protect them from whiteflies.
- Spraying. You can regularly spray cucumber bushes with water from a hose. In this case, the pressure must be powerful enough to wash away all insects from the leaves.
Root nematode
The root-knot nematode is the most dangerous pest that can be encountered while growing cucumbers. Many people are interested in what damage this pest causes to the plant. The nematode quickly invades cucumber root system and violates its integrity. The absorption capacity of the roots may also deteriorate by 2-3 times. Over time, the cucumber bushes stop growing and gradually die.
Pest control methods
Many experts advise that when a nematode appears, immediately get rid of infected cucumbers before the pest begins to spread to other crops on the site. However, not everyone wants to lose their cucumber harvest and therefore try to cure the bushes. In this case, we fight the nematode using the following methods:
- Heat treatment. Bushes treated thermally can be saved from nematodes.It is recommended to carry out this procedure during transplantation of seedlings or when the cucumber bushes are at rest. To do this, the roots of the seedlings must be soaked in warm water for 20-40 minutes. After the procedure, the cucumbers should be immediately placed in a container with cold water so that it cools quickly.
- Chemicals. Chemicals are used if heat treatment does not help cure the seedlings. Many people do not know which chemicals are best to use in treatment. To do this, it is better to use Actofit or Fitoverm, produced in powder form. During use, these products are scattered on the ground and mixed with the soil. Some people dilute them with water and spray the resulting liquid onto the plants. Chemicals must be used very carefully in greenhouses. After using them, it is recommended to ventilate the room for several hours.
Conclusion
Almost everyone who grows cucumbers encounters pests. To get rid of them, you need to understand who is eating the plant and how to save cucumber bushes from pests.
