Adult western-spotted cucumber beetles are shiny, ¼-inch long, with long antennae and black heads. Their greenish-yellow coloring and 12 black spots on their back make them easy to identify.

Cucumber beetles are the prime suspect for crop failure in the vegetable garden. Q: Last summer I had cucumbers and zucchini wilting and dying even though I’m pretty certain I didn’t ha… ...

Spotted cucumber beetle are one-fourth inch long with yellowish or yellow-green bodies and 12 conspicuous black dots on the wings. Adults of both feed on emergent seedlings and can retard ...

Unfortunately, all the possible homeowner chemicals listed for managing cucumber beetles, including the organic products neem and spinosad, are toxic to bees. – Jean Natter, OSU Extension Master ...

Cucumber beetles and vine borers are the worst watermelon pests. Treat adult beetles with rotenone or a pyrethrum-based insecticide; apply at dusk to avoid harming honey bees.

Candina Jordan Tue, July 8, 2025 at 5:40 PM UTC 2 min read striped cucumber beetle - Orest Lyzhechka/Getty Images ...

It is transmitted by an insect (cucumber beetles) and is incurable once the disease symptoms appear. Both striped and spotted cucumber beetles chew on their namesake plants, though the former is ...

A: It sounds like you have spotted cucumber beetles in your garden. Both spotted and striped cucumber beetles in the Midwest can be pests of plants related to cucumbers and many flowering ornamentals.

Cucumber beetles are tough pests. Both the striped and spotted cuke beetle transmit plant diseases as they feed on your pickles-to-be, so it’s important to take action as soon as you see them.

This pickling cucumber produces mostly female flowers that don’t require pollination to set fruit. Our Cucumber Beetles page has more information about these insects and their management.