- Once your melon seedlings are in the ground, inspect them regularly for cucumber beetles. Check the undersides of leaves and look for oblong, 1/4-inch long beetles that are yellow-green with black spots or stripes.
- Preventing beetles from ever entering your garden is preferable to removing them later, in part because bacterial wilt cannot be stopped once your plants are infected. Cover your melons with fabric row covers but remove them periodically during flowering to allow pollination. Controlling weeds helps discourage cucumber beetles.
- Cucumber beetles are easy to spot and can be removed by hand. This method is time-consuming but effective. Chemical control is an option. According to Virginia Tech, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and bifenthrin are effective at treating melons for cucumber beetles.
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