Midges on cucumbers - chemical and traditional methods of control

Probably, many gardeners have more than once had to deal with various harmful insects at their dacha or in the garden, which cause great damage to plants, which has a detrimental effect on the harvest.

These small pests, in particular the Colorado potato beetle or aphid, annoy gardeners a lot and they are forced to find different ways to deal with them.

Their timely detection in most cases guarantees the preservation of vegetable crops. Otherwise, insect attack leads to the death of plants.

Often people do not know what kind of insects these are and what to do if they are found.

Today we will talk about other, no less harmful insects. If you notice that black midges have appeared on cucumbers and tomatoes, take urgent measures to get rid of them.

These are the so-called leafhoppers - a type of aphid that feeds on plant sap, as a result of which characteristic spotting appears on the foliage. Due to rapid reproduction, insects quickly spread throughout all plants and destroy them.

Both the seedlings you just planted and adult plants can suffer. The greenhouse will also not be able to protect them from insects. There are no guarantees that pests will not grow in closed ground.

How to deal with a pest

Gardeners spend a lot of effort fighting pests, especially when the number of insects is off the charts.
For this purpose, homemade folk remedies, chemical and biological preparations are used. Manual collection is a rather labor-intensive method of getting rid of aphids, and is suitable in case of minimal damage. After removing the insects, the bushes are watered with boiling water.

Traditional methods

Folk remedies are used when the ovary appears. It is not recommended to use chemicals during this period, since the substances are actively absorbed by the rhizome and fruits. You will have to get rid of such a harvest.

Experienced gardeners advise using the following folk remedies:

Infusion of tobacco. Take 400 g of shag and pour 10 liters of boiling water. Cover the bucket with a lid and leave for 48 hours to infuse. Before use, add fine shavings of laundry soap and mix. Use the infusion to irrigate the bushes.
Horseradish infusion. Take 8-10 roots, chop and pour 3 liters of boiling water. After 3 hours, pass through the filter. Fill the cake with 3 liters of distilled warm water, after three hours combine both concentrates. Before use, mix 200 ml of infusion with 5 liters of water and spray the plants.
Garlic. Take 250 g of garlic, chop and pour 1 liter of clean water. Cover the container with a lid and leave for five days. Irrigate the bushes with the resulting solution.
Hot pepper. Finely chop 3 peppers and add to 10 liters of water. Place the bucket in a warm room for 24 hours, then pass the liquid through cheesecloth and mix 60 ml of liquid soap, 150 g of ash, 3 drops of iodine. Pour the solution into a container with a spray bottle and treat the bushes.
Mustard. Take 10 g of mustard beans and pour 1 liter of water. After two days, add 800 ml of settled water and treat the bushes.
Celandine. Take 300 g of dry grass and pour 10 liters of water. Leave the container in a warm place for two days. Treat the bushes with a sprayer.
Dandelion. Finely chop 400 g of roots and 600 g of fresh leaves. Pour in 10 liters of water. After three hours, start irrigating the plants.
Yarrow. Take 900 g of herb and pour 2 liters of hot water. Leave for an hour to infuse. Before using the concentrated product, dilute 10 liters of water. For 1 m² you will need 1 liter of solution.
Wood ash. Take 60 g of ash and 100 g of laundry soap crumbs. Pour in 10 liters of water and stir. Add 5 drops of tea tree essential oil.
Soap solution. Dissolve 125 ml of liquid tar soap in 10 liters of warm water. Use the solution to water the bushes.
Onion peel. Take 40 g of raw material and soak it in 3 liters of warm water overnight. Add 5 ml of liquid soap and stir.
Soda. For 2 liters of settled water, take 60 g of soda and 18 drops of lavender and cedar essential oil. Irrigate the bushes three times a day until the aphids are completely gone.
Milk serum. Use the product undiluted to treat bushes.
Table vinegar. Take 1 tsp. vinegar 9% per 1 liter of water and irrigate the plants with the solution.

Chemicals

Chemicals will come to the rescue if traditional methods fail to stop the reproduction of insects. The most effective insecticides include:

“Decis” is a contact insecticide that begins to work an hour after treatment.
"Inta-Vir" is available in the form of powder and tablets for dilution in water. Quickly kills aphids and whiteflies.
"Aktara" is a long-acting drug that begins to work two hours after irrigation.
"Tanrek" is a systemic drug. Treatment is carried out once every three weeks.
"Danadim" is a slightly toxic insecticide that gets rid of pests in 48 hours.
"Confidor" - begins to act three days after irrigating the plants.

Biological drugs

These products are the result of microbiological synthesis with a more aggressive effect, despite the prefix “bio”, but are completely harmless to humans:

"Bitoxibacillin" contains special bacteria that infect insects and does not harm the environment.
"Aquarin" kills aphids in 48 hours. The product is used no more than three times per season.
"Aktofit" affects the nervous system of insects and gets rid of pests in 48 hours.
Fitoverm kills pests in three days. Cucumbers can be eaten three days after processing the bushes.
"Entobacterin" completely gets rid of insects in a week.
"Strela" is a drug with bitoxibacillin as an active ingredient. Completely gets rid of the pest in 10 days.

What types of midges are there?

First, let's figure out what kind of pests these are. And in order to make it easier for you to identify the insects that attacked your favorite flower, we suggest conditionally classifying them according to a very simple and striking feature - color. Most often, black or white midges are found on indoor plants.

White midges

These are usually whiteflies. There are quite a few types of whiteflies, but houseplants are most often attacked by b. tobacco, b. greenhouse and b. citrus. They look like snow-white or slightly yellowish tiny moths. The adults (adults) do not cause harm, but the larvae cause great damage by gnawing the lower part of the leaf.

Whiteflies on a citrus plant leaf

In addition to the cloud of insects that appears when you touch the pot or the plant itself, honeydew can be seen on the underside of the leaf blade. These are sticky, sugary white specks that are waste products of whiteflies. If you do not get rid of the pest in time, then a sooty fungus will begin to develop on the leaves - a faithful “comrade” of honeydew.

In addition to whiteflies, you may notice so-called soil midges. They do not fly, but they jump very actively. These are springtails. There are many varieties of them in nature, but most often found in indoor plants are six-legged ones of white or cream color. Otherwise, they are often called fools, but from a scientific point of view this is not entirely true, since real fools live in puddles, swamps and ponds, feeding on mosses, lichens and simple fungi. “Our” pest is the closest relative of the fool. It looks like a tiny (about 2 mm in length) caterpillar with a short mustache.

springtail

In a normal agricultural regime, a certain amount of springtails is always present in the soil of a houseplant, but they behave unnoticed and do not cause harm. With a “successful” combination of circumstances, they can simply multiply in a flurry, and then something will have to be done about it.

Black midges

Small black midges on house flowers are called sciarids, otherwise known as fungus gnats. Their length varies from 0.5 to 3 mm. Just like whiteflies, the adults of these insects do not harm plants or people, but their larvae make their way into the ground and feed on organic debris and fungi growing on them, thereby compacting the soil. When mass reproduction occurs, pests begin to use plant roots as food. As a result, infected green pets develop poorly and have a wilted appearance. The most common reason for the proliferation of black midges is fertilizing potted plants with damp, sleepy tea leaves, banana peels and similar organic waste.

Sciarida close up

The sciarid should not be confused with another midge that is very common in the summer-autumn period - the Drosophila. Otherwise, it is also called the fruit midge, since it needs the rotting pulp of fruits or vegetables to feed. If you remove all such products from free access, there will soon be no more fruit flies. By the way, these insects do not harm either plants or people, so the discomfort from their presence is only psychological.

Drosophila needs fruit

Features of the whitefly life cycle

whitefly belongs to the suborder Aleurodidea of homoptera, similar to microscopic butterflies, proboscis insects - pests of vegetable and ornamental crops, found everywhere in greenhouses, hotbeds and greenhouses. The Latin name comes from the word aleuron - “flour”, since the wings of these “moths” (close relatives of psyllids) are covered with a white coating of powdery pollen. The generally accepted nickname “whiteflies” also reflects the peculiarities of appearance: the presence of two pairs of white wings on a pale yellow body 1-1.5 mm long.

In greenhouse conditions, the lifespan of adults on tomatoes is 14 days, and on cucumbers - 19. Up to 15 generations of the pest can develop in a year, because the biological cycle is 24-40 days.

Over the course of their life (about 30 days), females manage to lay 85-130 eggs on the underside of leaves, in clutches of 10-20 pieces, randomly located or in the form of rings. After literally a few hours, the larva (creeper) emerges from the egg, attaches to the leaf and actively feeds on the plant juices for 10-14 days. Then it is fixed in a stationary state, covered with a waxy substance. After 13-15 days, an adult, voracious individual hatches from it and flies out. In greenhouse conditions they can live year-round, preferring moist and shaded places, and in the spring and summer months the number of pests increases significantly.

How to fight whitefly?

If a gardener notices a parasitic insect, he tries to select a fast-acting drug to destroy it. The simplest method is to use modern specialized insecticides. Solutions such as “Bud”, “Citkor”, “Karbofos” and “Iskra” have proven themselves to be excellent. If the infection has spread to most of the crops, use “Detis”, “Aktara” or “Fufanon”.

Gentle methods

If a person does not want to use aggressive drugs on the site, traditional medicine is used to combat midges. The simple ingredients used to make poisons can be found in many people's kitchens. These are ordinary laundry soap, tobacco, garlic and other products. Solutions are prepared from them, which are used to spray midge-infested crops.

Soap solution

This product helps a person in any situation. A solution is prepared from soap, which is diluted with water. It should be at room temperature. At the same time, the ratio is maintained at 1:6.

To make it more convenient, the soap is first crushed. This can be done using a knife or grater. After this, it is combined with water until completely dissolved. Then it is poured into a spray bottle and not only the green part of the cucumbers is treated, but also the ground. As a result of treatment, insects disappear from the plant in the shortest possible time.

Uses of garlic

Gardeners do not want to treat crops with chemicals. “We eat fruits and don’t want them to contain toxic substances” - this is how they explain their position. In this case, using garlic against midges is effective. It destroys pathogenic bacteria and butterflies will also not like it.

To prepare a garlic “poisonous” tincture, grind 2-3 medium-sized cloves. This is done using a grater, garlic peeler or knife. Then pour in 1 liter of boiled water. The resulting mixture is covered with a lid and left to infuse in a dark place.

Within 24 hours, the garlic will release all its beneficial substances, and the solution will be ready for use. Before spraying cucumbers, it is filtered and poured into a spray bottle. The area affected by midges is treated at least 3 times, with a break of a week. This number of procedures is enough for the midges to leave the culture.

Tobacco

Cigarettes are used to kill parasites on cucumbers. To prepare the solution you will need a pack of cheap cigarettes and water. A filter is removed from each piece and placed in a large container. When all the cigarettes are prepared, they are filled with boiled water. The liquid is infused for 5–6 days.

As in the previous case, the tincture is filtered through cheesecloth or in any other way. Pour into a spray bottle and treat the leaves every 2-3 days. Repeat the spraying procedure 3-4 times. This is enough to get rid of midges forever.

Traps

What to do besides spraying with poison to get rid of midges? Some gardeners prefer to take care in advance to ensure that parasites do not attack the plant. Special traps are made for this. The ideal option is to combine 2 methods together.

Bright paper is used as a trap, which is covered with a sticky substance. You can make it yourself or use fly catching tape. A light bulb placed inside the box is no less effective against midges. Both methods are equally good and help prevent whitefly infestations.

Harm caused

By attaching to leaves and feeding on their juices, the pest slows down the growth of the plant and deprives it of strength for further development. First, subtle transparent scales appear on the lower part of the leaves; traces of a sticky and shiny coating are visible in different parts of the plant - secretions of insect waste products. If you shake an infected bush of tomato or cucumber seedlings, a whole swarm of white moth flies will appear above the garden bed. Then the leaves turn yellow and curl, and dark spots appear on the fruits. As a result of insufficient nutrition, the plant dies.

The creation of the most comfortable conditions for pests is facilitated by heat (air temperature about 22 ℃) and a high level of humidity (from 65%).

What to do and how to deal with midges

There are different types of control of whitefly and its larvae. It all depends on where the crop is planted: open ground, greenhouse or greenhouse. If a farmer has planted cucumbers in the ground, then you can get rid of white midges in several ways.

Note! The whitefly always dies out in winter because it prefers high temperatures. As soon as it senses warmth nearby, be it a greenhouse or greenhouse, it can spread very quickly! Therefore, you need to take measures without hesitation, and you need to carefully monitor the degree of infestation of the vegetable crop. When this type of insect is just beginning to appear on a cucumber plant, and they have not yet had time to lay eggs on the leaves and green tops, then it is urgent to treat the bushes with a soap solution, without resorting to purchased funds at the initial stage

For this:

When this type of insect just begins to appear on a cucumber plant, and they have not yet had time to lay eggs on the leaves and green tops, it is necessary to urgently treat the bushes with a soap solution, without resorting to purchased products at the initial stage. For this:

grate laundry soap;
mix with water in a ratio of 1:6;
the solution must be thoroughly mixed until there is a homogeneous soap mass;
Apply the mixture to a sponge and use it to wipe the leaves from the inside.

The procedure must be repeated for 5-8 days. For processing, you can use a sprayer.

If the midges have not yet spread in large numbers, then it would be appropriate to collect the adults by hand. By the way, you can try using a small hand-held vacuum cleaner for these purposes. If the parasites have already spread to a large number of plants, then mass treatment should be carried out and it is worth resorting to the help of chemicals. Processing must be done carefully and carefully so that in no case do the products make the fruit toxic.

If the composition includes substances such as avermectins, then the drug is safe. In any case, before use, you must carefully study the instructions and follow them, since some products are administered at the root, while others, on the contrary, require spraying the plant. Actions should be carried out at intervals of 5-6 days until the pest completely disappears.

Attention! Insecticides must be used with great care and caution, as they accumulate in the soil. It is difficult to restore the soil after such etching. And the harvest will have a high content of pesticides.

And the harvest will have a high content of pesticides.

Agronomists do not always plant plants simply in the ground; they generally try to place them in a warm place, for example, in a greenhouse or greenhouse. But even there, the white midge can cause lasting damage to the crop.

All the methods that were outlined earlier can be used to combat harmful insects in the greenhouse.

Signs of disease development

If pests are present on cucumbers, this is indicated by the following signs:

white dots and blurry spots appear on the leaves;
during parasitism, a decrease in cucumber mass is observed;
white midge suffers chlorosis, which is characterized by curling and curling of leaves;
the buds dry out, the ovaries with fruits fall off.

Adult midges are voracious. They eat the plant, sucking the juice from it. Parasitism of this kind leads to the death of a culture. If there are few midges, dew is noticeable on the plant. In turn, the whitefly provokes the formation of sooty fungus. Places that turn black and die are covered with a white sticky coating.

In addition, whiteflies can cause even more damage to plants. While parasitizing cucumbers, midges lay transparent eggs. After a few days, tiny greenish or gray larvae hatch. After hatching, whiteflies stick to the back of the leaves and begin to feed on their juices.

Preventive measures

The fight against harmful insects in garden beds will be more effective if measures are taken to prevent their invasion. Standard preventive actions include the following:

It is recommended to dig up the area allocated for a vegetable garden in the fall to the full depth of the shovel, turning over the clod of earth; if there are clutches of insects in the ground, they will be unprotected and will quickly freeze;
immediately before planting crops, it is recommended to spill boiling water on the soil in the beds;
It is better to grow cucumbers using the seedling method; before planting seedlings in a permanent place, it is recommended to treat them with “Parathion”;
When caring for cucumbers, weed control is mandatory; these plants attract most pests to the garden;
loosening the soil allows you to destroy the nests of insects in the ground;
Along the perimeter of the beds you can plant a “living cordon” that repels pests - marigolds, marigolds, Persian chamomile, chicory, nasturtium. Essential oils exuded by spicy crops (basil, dill, parsley, coriander, parsnip, celery) have an insecticidal effect;
these same plants, as well as tops of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, are used as mulch, solving 3 problems at once - they fertilize the soil, prevent moisture from evaporating and repel insects;
Covering the beds with agrofibre will be a good way to protect the beds - the greenhouse effect created under the film is detrimental to many insects;
if there is a mole cricket in the garden, it is lured by manure pits, where insects from all over the area will gather for the winter; closer to cold weather, fertilizer is scattered in a thin layer over the harvested beds; which will lead to the freezing of pests.

If you use the principles of crop rotation in growing garden crops, this will reduce the number of pests on the site. It is not recommended to plant linden, viburnum, and petunia next to vegetable beds.

Root nematode: what harm does it cause to cucumbers, description and methods of control

This is a worm 1.5 mm long. His favorite habitats are: greenhouses, greenhouses. Having penetrated the roots of the plant, the nematode settles there.

How to find out that cucumbers are infected with this pest

1. An infected cucumber bush lags behind similar ones in growth. 2. The harvest was obtained in a reduced volume. 3. You can observe that unsightly “bumps” have appeared on the roots - these are the places where nematode larvae mature.

What to do to destroy the worm on cucumbers:

It is difficult to eliminate a nematode if it has already appeared in the greenhouse. It is worth taking preventive actions: In the garden bed, in open ground, where cucumbers grow, you need to plant cabbage and garlic. Weeds, every single one, must be destroyed so that the nematodes have nothing to eat.

The soil is watered with boiling water. Then cover it with film for 2 or 3 hours. As soon as pests that destroy cucumbers are discovered, the top layer of soil must be removed. As an option, the soil is frozen, but the worms may not die.

When individual roundworms become visible, it is imperative to dig up the infected cucumber bush, as well as the bushes on the right and left. The roots and soil should be treated with a 5% formaldehyde solution or 2% carbation. The soil is covered with polyethylene.

Unpleasant consequences of pest infestation

The consequences of whitefly infestation of cucumbers are not the most pleasant.

Find out also how to water cucumbers in a greenhouse correctly and how often.
Among the damage that a pest can cause to a plant are the following:

slowing down the growth of the bush;
decrease in yield;
drying out of foliage and its gradual fall;
disruption of the photosynthesis process;
attracting other diseases, such as fungal and viral infections, or insects such as ants (due to the deposition of honeydew on leaf blades).

Methods for controlling aphids on cucumbers

Black aphids slow down the development of cucumbers and reduce the number of crops. As soon as the first signs of a problem are discovered, you need to select suitable control methods. There are many ways to get rid of aphids on cucumbers:

Chemicals will quickly and permanently help get rid of pests, but they should be used with caution, especially during the period of active fruiting. Biological products are used when only individual bushes are affected by aphids. They are based on living bacteria, which not only destroy pests, but also promote better plant growth. The safest are those prepared according to traditional recipes.

But it is advisable to use them at the initial stages of the problem or in combination with other means.

Drugs of different groups differ in effectiveness and duration of action. Therefore, we need to realistically assess the situation that has developed in vegetable beds.

Biological agents

Biological products are of plant origin. They are environmentally friendly. The composition will not harm birds or animals. After processing, the fruits are allowed to be eaten a few days later.

The most famous biological products that help protect plants from aphids are “Fitoverm”, “Biotlin”, “Aktofit”, “Bitoxibacillin” or “Golden Garden”. Together with the juice of the plant, the active components of the drugs enter the gastrointestinal tract of insects, causing paralysis. Immobilized pests cannot feed and die within a day.

Chemicals

Chemicals begin to work quickly. In just a couple of hours, not a single pest will remain. But there are also disadvantages:

cannot be used during flowering of cucumbers, as the compositions are dangerous for bees;
After treatment with certain drugs, fruits cannot be eaten for up to one month.

Aphid

If you look closely, you can see the first signs of aphid infestation.

The rapid spread of insects throughout the garden plot is carried out due to winged individuals, as well as ants that feed on the product of honeydew secreted by aphids.
Maximum parasite activity is observed in mid-summer.
During this period, under the inner surface of the leaves of plants, including cucumbers, you can notice hordes of green or black pests. They feed on plant juices and damage leaves, stems and ovaries.
Without timely control, the plant may die, so it is necessary to destroy aphids at the first symptoms of their appearance on the site.

Protection measures

One of the methods of protecting crops from the parasite is the use of natural enemies of aphids - ladybugs. These predatory insects can destroy from 50 to 100 pieces per day.

The ladybug is a natural enemy of all types of aphids.

Good results are achieved by artificially strengthening plant immunity. This can be achieved by spraying crops with foliar fertilizers (potassium chloride is diluted in 10 liters of water - 10 grams and 20 grams of superphosphate); spraying leaves stimulates the growth of crops, their leaves become rough. Feeding is applied at intervals of 5–7 days until the parasites completely disappear.

When using biological products, for example, Fitoverm, Actofit or Bitoxibazzilin, spraying is carried out on the outside of the leaves. In this case, the fruits are suitable for eating 2 days after applying the solution. In case of severe damage, crops are sprayed with chemicals according to the instructions on the package.

Biological preparations only act in direct contact with insects, which is why it is necessary to treat the underside of cucumber leaves.

Good means for killing aphids on cucumbers are:

Decis;
Arrivo;
Inta Vir;
Kinmiks;
Karbofos.

For treating crops in open ground or greenhouses, it is recommended to use only freshly prepared solution. Carry out such work in the evening in dry, windless weather; be sure to use personal protective equipment.

Methods to combat black midges

In open ground, whitefly infection most often occurs through seedlings. Before planting, carefully inspect the seedlings for insects or signs of their presence.

If you find whiteflies on cucumbers in open ground, first wash them off with water and loosen the top 2 cm of soil. Then treat the plant several times with a soap solution and insecticide. Iskra is well suited for these purposes.

Spraying should be carried out in dry, windless weather, in the morning (before 10:00) or evening (after 18:00), when the plants are not at risk of sunburn.

You should be prepared for the fact that black midge control can be difficult.

The thing is that often a large number of midges accumulate on the leaves, which cannot be destroyed manually. Although they do not have the ability to fly, in case of danger they will be able to move to another plant.

In addition, in the fight against black midges, you can use the services of other insects that are not averse to eating them: lacewings, wasps, ladybugs, hoverflies.

To attract natural predators of aphids, fragrant herbs can be planted in your summer cottage. But this method will also have an effect if there is not a large concentration of midges.

In the event that small pest flies appear in large numbers on vegetable crops, more radical methods are resorted to. As a rule, these are chemicals that need to be sprayed on plants.

The most common: “Fufanon”, “Aktofit”, “Aktara”. At least three plant treatment procedures are carried out with a break of 5-7 days.

It is necessary to take into account that during the ripening of fruits, as well as in greenhouses, the treatment of vegetable crops with chemicals is undesirable. Many are beginning to wonder what is the best way to treat plants in these cases.

To prevent re-infection of crops with midges, it is recommended to carry out preventive measures:

Whiteflies that eat cucumbers can hide larvae anywhere, including on the greenhouse frame. To disinfect the room, all surfaces are treated with a bleach solution.
After harvesting, remove all plants.
White midges parasitize not only cucumbers, but also other plants. Often it is the weeds that act as carriers of the larvae.
Before planting seeds in the soil, it is treated with copper or iron sulfate.

Signs of pests on plants

If you notice that the seedlings have wilted, the leaves of cucumbers and tomatoes have curled and become deformed - this is an attack by insects. Many people mistakenly think that the plants have withered due to lack of moisture and begin to water them abundantly. However, after watering the condition of the seedlings does not improve.

If insects attacked for a long time, the stems and leaves become covered with dark spots and dry out over time. Therefore, it is imperative to inspect the plants.

In most cases, small pests can be found on the lower surface of the leaves and at their base.

An inexperienced gardener may not immediately see them, therefore the inspection must be carried out during the day, in sunlight.

Even if you do not find pests on one wilting plant, be sure to inspect all the seedlings and treat them for prevention. This will ensure that individuals that you may not have noticed will be destroyed.

In addition, pay attention to ant trails near the garden bed - this is also a sign of the appearance of harmful insects. After all, ants love to feast on the sweet liquid that aphids secrete.

Therefore, if a large number of goosebumps scurry along the stems of a plant, this is a 100% indicator that this particular bush has been attacked the most.

Folk remedies for insect control

In small plots, summer residents try to fight cucumber pests with folk remedies. Infusions of many plants are used: wormwood, marigolds, celandine, horse sorrel, dandelions, tobacco, onions, garlic, hot peppers, etc. Decoctions and infusions can be used once a week, repeated spraying can be done 3-4 times during the season.

Before sowing, cucumber seeds are disinfected with aloe. To do this, the planting material is kept in an aqueous solution of aloe juice (1:1) for 6 hours, washed in water and dried.

To combat aphids and whiteflies, you can use the following recipes:

Onion infusion. Chop 200 g of onion and pour in 10 liters of warm water. After a day, the infusion is filtered.
Garlic infusion. 100 g of chopped garlic is poured into 10 liters of water. Leave for 12 hours.
Orange infusion. 1 kg of dried orange peels is poured into 10 liters of water and placed in a dark, warm place for three days.
Pepper infusion. Leave 30 g of crushed hot pepper pods, 200 g of tobacco dust in 10 liters of hot water for 10 hours and strain, add an alkaline solution to the product (2 tablespoons of liquid soap and 2 tablespoons of wood ash).

Recipes for flea infusions:

Infusion of tomato tops and garlic. Take one glass of chopped garlic and tomato tops, dilute in 10 liters of warm water. Use immediately.
0.5 kg of dandelion leaves and roots (1:1) are crushed, pour 10 liters of hot water. Use a strained solution.
4 kg of potato tops are poured into 10 liters of water and boiled for 15 minutes. The cooled and strained broth is half diluted with water (1:1).

Before using chemicals, it is worth trying several folk remedies. Firstly, folk remedies are much safer, which means they will not have a negative impact on our health. Secondly, it is much more economical and is often very effective. Here are some recipes that are considered the most effective.

Red pepper will help against black midges. To do this, you need to prepare the tincture as follows: take 200 grams of tobacco dust, dissolve it in 10 liters of water. Add 25-30 grams of capsicum to the resulting solution. Before use, let it sit for about a day, and then dissolve a tablespoon of laundry soap and about 3 tablespoons of tree resin in the tincture. Spray the cucumbers, wait a week and repeat the procedure.
If there are still very few pests, try building a trap and catching them. Take a piece of yellow cardboard and apply non-drying glue or castor oil to it. Hang these traps among the cucumbers. It’s better to shake the bushes a little, then the midges will fly up and stick to such cardboards. In this case, it is necessary to destroy the laid eggs that are located on the back of the leaves. Windows and doors should be covered with gauze, this reduces the risk of new individuals appearing in your greenhouse.
Garlic solution will help against whiteflies. To do this, take 2 medium-sized cloves of garlic, chop them and mix with one liter of water. Leave in a dark place for a day, then strain and spray the cucumbers. It is enough to treat the plants 2-3 times, taking a break a week.

Effective folk remedies for fighting flies will come to the rescue:

Spraying the plants and the soil around them with a solution prepared from ground red hot pepper (1 sachet), dry mustard (3 tbsp.) and crushed garlic (3-4 cloves). Everything must be mixed, poured with water (5 liters) and allowed to brew for about three days. Carry out the treatment twice a day - morning and evening.
Pour onion peel (200-300 g) with water (3-4 l). Boil and let it brew for a day. Spray the entire plant.
Dilute laundry soap (20 g) in water (10 l). Add ash (1 tbsp) to the soap solution. Treat leaves and stems of plants.
Pour crushed tomato leaves (2 tbsp) with water (2 tbsp) and leave for a day.
Chop the garlic (3-4 cloves), mix it with sunflower oil (2 tsp). Let it brew for a day. Next, strain and add water (0.5 l) and liquid detergent (1 tsp). Before processing 2 tbsp. l. dilute the product with water (1 tbsp.).
Pour dandelions (1 kg) with water (1 bucket). Add washing powder (1 tbsp) and ground red pepper (1 bag). Leave for a day and strain. Spray the plants and the ground around them.

You will learn how to get rid of midges in an apartment from this article.

Slugs

How dangerous are slugs for cucumbers?

Slugs are gastropods with very well-developed jaws. They are so strong that they can bite the stems of plants and bite through the fruits themselves.

Pests on cucumbers - Slugs

In addition, these parasites are very voracious. And they eat everything: fruits, leaves, stems, and even roots of plants. They also have a good sense of smell, which allows them to accurately find food.

How to get rid of slugs

At the beginning, it is worth saying that you need to use means of combating them in the evening, when slugs crawl out of their hiding places.

If there are few of them on your site, then use folk remedies. They are easy to use and effective. Place a couple of tablespoons of cornmeal in the jar and turn it on its side. Slugs love flour, but do not digest it. That's why they die after eating this kind of food.

They also love the smell of beer. Pour some into a glass and place among the cucumbers overnight. In the morning, remove the glass with the pests that have entered it and place a new one.

You can sprinkle the ground under the cucumbers with coffee grounds, since slugs cannot stand the smell of coffee and will not come close to this bed.

They also cannot stand the smell of ammonia. Dissolve a tablespoon of alcohol in a liter of water and spray the plants with this solution.

You can sprinkle the ground with something sharp, such as crushed shells. Slugs cannot crawl on thorns - this will hurt their body. To combat them, you can sprinkle the beds with pine needles, fine gravel or even coarse sand. If a toad or hedgehog accidentally gets into your garden, do not drive them away; these are excellent slug hunters and their first enemies.

If there are too many of them in your garden, then use the chemicals Thunderstorm and Meta.

You can find out about other ways to combat slugs here.

Spider mite

Spider mites mainly grow in greenhouses and greenhouses, but are also found on cucumbers in open ground

If cobwebs appear on your plants, pay close attention; most likely it is a mite.

The insect lives under a leaf, in the shade, although it loves the heat. The tick has a red color with a green tint. One female spider mite lays about 150 eggs per season, and if you do not fight this insect, the plant will die, because. these pests will suck all the juices from the leaves and flowers, drying out the sprouts.

To prevent spider mites, plant dill, parsley or carrots in the same bed with cucumbers. Ladybugs love to live on the plants listed above and they feed on mites. Also, the mite does not like moisture, and abundant watering for cucumbers only brings benefits.

If spider mites have already infested your cucumber beds, the plants can be treated with compounds that are harmless to humans and lethal to pests:

for 10 l. water, add a tablespoon of ground pepper, the same amount of liquid soap, chopped onion and a handful of wood ash. Let the solution sit for about a day and filter. Two sprayings with an interval of 5 days will be enough;
the same ingredients as in the previous recipe, only we replace the ground pepper with dried red capsicum.

Treatment of cucumbers with chemical compounds is possible only in the early stages of plant growth; the rest of the time, such spraying is simply dangerous because the poisons will not have time to get out of the fruits.

Parasite recognition

If midges appear on the stems, this is the very first sign of the development of the disease. The small butterfly is called a whitefly. It is characterized by one feature - gathering in small groups under the leaves. Midge larvae concentrate in the same place. Every day there are more and more parasites on cucumbers.

In parallel with the disease, chlorosis develops. It is a mosaic lesion of yellow leaves. Sooty fungus is often observed. Black spots indicate its presence. The leaves of cucumbers, which are parasitized by the midge pest, gradually turn yellow and wither, and the ovaries fall off.

In order to timely identify the whitefly and begin to fight it, you need to carefully monitor the seedlings. Butterflies tend to reproduce quickly. Thus, midges move to other plants. A farmer could lose his entire crop because of a small insect.

Whitefly traps

Some gardeners find it easier to spend time constructing traps once than to treat the plants with something foreign. However, these two methods work ideally in combination.

The easiest option is to place pieces of bright cardboard near the affected plants, smeared with something sticky and not drying too quickly (such as special entomological glue, Vaseline or castor oil). Sticky fly traps are useful, but less effective. By the way, if whiteflies are infested in greenhouses, the entrance must be covered with several layers of gauze when ventilating.

Another effective trap is a small box with a light bulb. It is advisable to paint it yellow-orange or place a piece of colored glass of the same shade in front of it. The light bulb must be secured inside the box by drilling holes in it at the same level. Place a container of water or oil at the bottom of the box. The scheme is simple: butterflies strive for a light bulb, get burned and drown.

Remember, to effectively exterminate pests, it is recommended to use the products in combination. Then the midges will leave your garden forever!

Prevention

To destroy white midges on tomatoes, you will need to spend a fairly long period of time, and when using insecticides, you can harm both yourself and the plantings. It is much easier and better to carry out proper prevention.

Since the whitefly dies at +15°C, greenhouses should be ventilated more often in early spring - this measure will significantly reduce the risk of the parasite appearing.
In addition, it is necessary to regularly weed the plantings, removing weeds and tomato tops.
Dig up the beds, treat the metal elements of greenhouses with soapy water from time to time, and do not store compost in the garden.

These simple measures will be quite enough to make tomato plantings unattractive to white midges. Have a good harvest!

What are midges

The phrase “midges in cucumbers” often refers to small pests with wings that settle in plantings and destroy them. Midges do not always represent one type of insect; sometimes there are several pests at once.

These insects appear not only in adult plants, but also in seedlings. For them, the time of year or the type of plant has practically no meaning. The colony is growing rapidly. The most common species is the white midge or whitefly. The larvae of this pest are especially dangerous for the plant; they penetrate the soil and spoil the roots of the cucumber.

There are also black midges. It is difficult to fight it; strong remedies are needed. Typically, midges appear when the ground is waterlogged, especially in cold weather. In hot weather, the soil dries quickly. The plant requires a lot of water.

When it gets colder, you don’t need to water the cucumbers so much. If the soil is waterlogged, it will become favorable for the spread of larvae. Often, cucumber pests are found in purchased soil, however, it is almost impossible to detect them right away.

There is no universal method of protection against midges, but it is possible to choose a product for each type. Now many manufacturers offer special broad-spectrum drugs for treatment and prevention.

It is easier to avoid pests than to deal with them later.

If you are going to plant cucumbers on your site using seedlings, prevention must be carried out at the stage of nurturing the sprouts.

Timely loosened soil, suitable fertilizers and proper watering are half the success.

If midges do appear in your seedlings, there are several popular ways to combat them:

Watering plants with a solution of manganese, which will delay infection of plants and soil;
A solution of lemon juice with liquid soap;
Also, to combat midges, tobacco or garlic is placed in the soil.

These are safe products for both humans and plants, which are excellent at repelling midges. Sometimes it is possible to cope with insects only with the help of purchased products.

It is important to choose a composition that will not harm cucumbers. Read the instructions carefully and act strictly in accordance with them!

If the larvae reproduce too actively, the diseased plant must be isolated from healthy ones. The soil should also not be left in place or reused, because the pest can spread to other plants.

What should you be wary of?

Yellow aphid

The nature of plant diseases can be viral, bacterial or fungal.

Also, plantings often become a habitat for various pests: midges, ticks, worms.

The reason most often lies in non-compliance with the correct growing conditions and lack of crop rotation.

Everyone knows that temperature plays a key role in the development of cucumbers. If it often changes sharply, while the humidity is higher than normal, and air circulation is impaired, cucumbers may get sick or become victims of pests.

This usually immediately affects the condition of the leaves and stems, and only then the ovaries are affected. If measures are not taken in time, you may be left without a harvest.

Prevention also plays a significant role. If you carefully monitor the condition of the plantings and provide them with proper care, troubles can be avoided.

Before sowing cucumbers for seedlings, it is best to expose the soil to high temperature, for example, warm the soil in a microwave oven. This way you will get rid of pests and their larvae that may be in it.

Cucumbers affected by midges (aphids)

Also, for prevention, you can add special antiparasitic drugs to the soil.

In addition, it is necessary to remove fallen leaves in a timely manner, because they make it difficult to see pests that have already appeared.

Plant damage can also be associated with poor soil in which the crop grows.

It is important to feed cucumbers regularly, as well as change the soil on which the vegetables grow every year.

If diseased cucumbers grew in a certain area of the soil, it is important to clear it of the remains of infected plants, wash and disinfect the greenhouse well.

As soon as you notice the first signs of pests or diseases, you must immediately begin treatment.

White midges on cucumber crops

White flies are commonly called white flies (Aleurodids). The pest feeds on plant sap and lays eggs. If no measures are taken to destroy it, it can completely destroy the culture.

Characteristic features of the insect

The appearance fully justifies the name. The insect has 2 pairs of wings, covered with a white or slightly yellowish coating. Upon closer examination, one gets the impression that they are dusted with flour. On cucumbers, small white midges are found on the inner sides of the leaves. If you touch the leaf, the insects instantly fly away. They affect both greenhouse plants and those growing in open ground.

The size of white midges does not exceed 3 mm

The most optimal conditions for whiteflies are a closed ecosystem with constant high humidity and no temperature changes. Therefore, greenhouses represent the most favorable option for white midge habitat.

Voracious adults feed on plant sap, which often leads to the death of the crop. In addition, they produce a kind of dew, which provokes the formation of sooty fungus. The consequences are manifested in the formation of an adhesive sticky coating on the affected areas, blackening and death.

During its short life cycle of 2 weeks, a female whitefly can lay up to 180 eggs. During a season, 9 generations of new offspring are possible, and in greenhouses there are 15 generations.

Signs of white midge infestation of cucumbers

The presence of a pest on cucumbers is indicated by the following signs:

the appearance of white dots and spots on the leaves;
blackening of green mass caused by sooty fungus;
yellow mosaic, curling, curling of leaves are symptoms of the viral disease chlorosis, which is carried by white midges;
drying of buds, fruit ovaries, falling leaves.

If even one symptom appears, it is necessary to begin pest control.

How to get rid of white midges in open ground

The whitefly does not tolerate low temperatures and dies in the open ground during the winter. However, it appears very quickly; it is enough to have a greenhouse nearby, and the pest, when the opportunity arises, will begin to settle in new territories. Methods for dealing with white midges on cucumbers are determined by the degree of infestation of the plants:

It is necessary to avoid the use of insecticidal solutions that tend to accumulate in the soil. It will be extremely difficult to restore the soil after such procedures, and the harvest will have a high content of pesticides.

Traditional methods for exterminating pests

Purchasing ingredients for preparing the solution does not require material costs, since the components can be found in your own garden. Let's see how to fight midges on cucumbers using traditional methods:

On a note! To avoid herbal infusions from dripping from the foliage, it is recommended to add laundry soap to them.

How to get rid of white midges in a greenhouse

All the above recipes are also applicable in greenhouses. But in order to prevent re-infection in greenhouses, preventive measures are taken:

If possible, the covering from the greenhouse is removed for the winter period; otherwise, the frame must be disinfected with a bleach solution.
Deep digging of the soil.
After harvesting the entire crop, clean the greenhouse of plant debris.
Before planting seeds, the soil is treated with iron and copper sulfate.
During the growing season, traps for whiteflies are hung in the greenhouse, and weeds that may be carriers of larvae are regularly removed.

To effectively combat white midges on cucumbers, different methods are combined. This allows you to avoid the insect adapting to one type of product and get rid of the pest in a short time.

Mining flies

Leaf miners are also often called midges. The insects got their name from their feeding habits. The length of adult individuals does not exceed 2 mm. The color is variable and depends on the species. The female pierces the foliage with her ovipositor and lays eggs. After a few days, larvae emerge from them and gnaw through white passages called mines. After the food resource is exhausted, the young individual moves to the next leaf.

The female lives about 7 days. During this time, she manages to lay up to 400 eggs.

Insect activity begins in May and June. In case of serious infestations, plant growth deteriorates and leaves die off. How to deal with leafminer on cucumbers:

colorful sticky traps are used to prevent the invasion of dangerous parasites;
damaged leaves must be removed;
surviving plants are treated twice with insecticides; Before flowering, you can apply Aktar, during the fruiting period - Vertimek.

Only regular inspection of seedlings, timely care and identification of pests will help preserve the cucumber crop.