Midges on cucumbers - chemical and traditional methods of control

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.

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.

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

Signs of whitefly on cucumbers

Despite the fact that these insects are very small, signs of plant damage can be determined by appearance without additional research.

Symptoms include the following:

spots of whitish plaque on leaf blades;
a cluster of light midges on the inside of the leaf, which can be set in motion by moving the stem;
translucent yellow-white scales stuck to the back of the foliage, which are whitefly larvae;
yellowing and blackening on the leaves, which appears when the pest is present for a long time.

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.

How to rid garden beds of pests

It is necessary to take urgent action to save bushes from a harmful insect at the first symptoms of damage. The further the process goes, the more difficult it will be to do this. Parasites can be quickly destroyed only with modern insecticides. Such drugs as “Karbofos”, “Bud”, “Verticillin”, “Iskra” are suitable for this purpose, and in advanced cases it is worth using “Aktara” or “Detis”. But the use of poison on vegetables is fraught with negative consequences in the form of deterioration of health. Some toxic elements accumulate in the soil.

Harvesting from such an area is unsafe. Veterinary products based on fipronil – “Bars”, etc. – are considered less toxic. If you don’t want to use chemical solutions in your garden beds, you can trust traditional methods. Laundry soap, garlic, tobacco, etc. give a good effect. They are diluted in the required proportions and sprayed on the plantings. You can apply the emulsion with a sponge. The soap is first crushed and then dissolved in warm water. This technique is especially good in cases where the whiteflies have not yet had time to lay eggs. To prepare garlic tincture, take a couple of cloves of garlic per 1 liter of boiled water. The resulting mixture is kept for a day in a dark place, filtered and applied to the leaves. This method requires at least three treatments.

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.

Description and breeding cycle of the midge

Externally, the whitefly resembles white night moths. It has a proboscis, with which it sucks juices from fruit crops. It is found in greenhouses, greenhouses or conservatories, in any premises where there is high humidity (from 65%) and heat (from 22 C).

Two pairs of white wings of the flea beetle are covered with a white, powdery-waxy coating. The body is small, 1-1.5 mm, pale yellow. The lifespan of one generation on tomatoes is up to 2 weeks, on cucumbers – up to 20 days.

The fight against whiteflies in a greenhouse is long and complex. During a season, one sexually mature individual can produce up to 15 generations of its own kind. The development cycle is only 24-40 days, females lay from 85 to 130 eggs on the lower surface of the leaf, in clutches of 10-20 pieces.

The larvae hatch a few hours after laying, attach to the leaf and actively suck the plant juices. Pupation of the creeper (larva) occurs after 10-14 days, it becomes covered with a waxy coating, is tightly fixed, and after 2 weeks the adult appears.

In winter greenhouses, where the temperature and humidity are maintained the same year-round, treatment of greenhouses against whiteflies should be carried out systematically. In such conditions, insects reproduce constantly, there is no seasonality.

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.

Midge on tomatoes. Prevention of leafhoppers

If black midges appear on tomatoes every year, take preventive measures. For this purpose, plant plants with an unpleasant odor for the pest around the tomato beds. Onions, garlic or calendula will do. Plant onions and garlic not only around the perimeter of the plantings, but also every 2-3 rows of tomatoes.

Do not weed out dill that is accidentally sown in a tomato bed - its umbels are inhabited by predatory insects that eat leafhoppers and aphids.

Destroy weeds quickly. Adult leafhoppers sit on the weeds, ready to fly to the tomato bushes and lay eggs.

By following the recommendations, you will quickly get rid of small black midges that have settled on tomatoes.

Signs of damage by small pests on tomatoes and cucumbers:

leaves, ovaries and young shoots first turn yellow and curl, and then dry out and crumble;
on the fruits and tops you can see a sticky coating secreted by insects, called sweet honeydew; ants are very fond of it;
the bushes stop developing and begin to hurt.

Aphids usually do not touch fruits that have already set on adult plants, but young shoots or seedlings can become sick and die, since such insects are also carriers of various infections and viruses. Therefore, the optimal time to get rid of aphids on tomatoes is the period before flowering.

To prevent an aphid attack from becoming an unexpected surprise, you should take preventive measures in advance to prevent its appearance and reproduction:

The first stage occurs in the autumn season, when the harvest is carried out. To reduce the number of aphid eggs laid for the winter, it is necessary to collect and destroy all plant remains, and dig up the soil to a depth of 10-15 cm.
In the spring, in the area allocated for vegetable gardens and tomato plantings, it is recommended to treat with Karbofos to destroy the eggs and larvae of aphids.
When planting tomatoes, plants with a pungent odor are planted between the rows to repel them: dill, marigolds, celery, etc.
Throughout the season, regularly inspect the lower parts of the leaves and stems of plants in order to detect in time when white, black or green aphids appear on them, especially in greenhouse plantings.
In the area near tomato plantings, it is recommended to remove all anthills, the inhabitants of which like to breed aphids for their food.

A successful result in pest control depends on how quickly measures are taken to destroy them after aphids appear on tomatoes, because this insect is capable of multiplying at a rapid pace and destroying garden plants in a matter of days.

There are black small midges with and without wings. Its life cycle depends on the presence of ants in the garden. Ant nests serve as a home for them at night, and they can also lay eggs there. They do not have good flight ability, but in case of danger they quickly move to neighboring bushes and form mass clusters. Like whiteflies, they feed on nutritious juices and often infect the inside of leaves.

The reasons for both are similar:

warmth, high humidity, lack of wind;
planting density, both in greenhouses and in open ground;
application of untested fertilizers, incl. contaminated manure;
planting seedlings infected with pest larvae.

Under the listed climatic factors, white and black insects can spread to all crops over the summer. Pests live up to 25 days, i.e. During the warm season, several generations are replaced.

One of the signs that tomatoes have been attacked by aphids (small black midges) is wilting of the leaves. Many people decide that the plant does not have enough moisture and water it abundantly. If the pests appeared a long time ago, then dark spots appear on the stem, which over time turn into a dry brown crust.

This signals that the plant needs to be carefully inspected. Most often, a small pest with wings can be found in the lower part or axils of leaves. With an inexperienced eye, aphids may not be immediately visible, so it is better to inspect during the day when the sun is shining brightly.

If aphids are not found on one of the wilting tomatoes, inspect all the plants. Even without seeing pests, it is better to carry out preventive treatment, this will ensure that undetected individuals will disappear.

Another sign of black midges appearing on tomatoes is a large number of ant trails near the garden bed. Ants protect aphids, because the sweet liquid secreted by pests is the best food for them.

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.

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.

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.

How are midges dangerous for cucumbers?

Pests multiply quickly, feeding on plant sap. Their number increases every day and soon becomes critical for planting. The vital activity of whiteflies leads to the death of infected bushes and causes the spread of sooty fungus. Midges secrete a substance that stimulates the growth of fungus. Because of this disease, the affected parts of the plant become covered with a sticky white coating, turn black and die.

The white midge is also a carrier of chlorosis. This disease causes the foliage of garden crops to curl and dry out. Due to the gluttony of the parasite, the cucumber mass is noticeably reduced. The ovaries cease to bear fruit in the same volume, many of them die and fall off.

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.

Description of pests and control methods

Cucumbers are often attacked by leaf-eating pests and insects, the larvae of which live in the ground and gnaw at the roots of the crop. Regular inspection of plants allows you to identify colonies of harmful insects at the initial stage of damage.

Aphid

Black and green aphids are the most harmful crop pests. Massive invasions of small insects are observed in hot, dry weather. Pests attack young leaves, flowers, ovaries, feeding on their juice. The leaves curl and dry out, and plant growth slows down. Aphids are carriers of bacterial and viral diseases of cucumber.

What to process. For minor damage, folk remedies are used: a decoction of hot pepper, infusions of garlic, dandelion, and onion peels. In severe cases, insecticides are used: “Sherpa”, “Iskra-M”, “Aktara”, “Alatar”.

Biological products - “Fitoverm”, “Bitoxibacillin”, “Lepidocid” can be used during fruiting, acting strictly according to the instructions and observing the dosage.

Spider mite

A small pest measuring 0.3-1 mm poses the greatest danger when growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, where several generations of parasites can hatch over the course of a season. The mite lives on the inside of leaves; its presence is easy to notice by the white web.

The pest feeds on plant sap and causes yellowing and drying of leaves. Affected cucumber bushes grow slowly, produce few fruits, and the cucumbers have a deformed shape.

What to process. Spraying bushes with acaricidal and organophosphorus agents - "Aktellik", "Apollo", "Fufanon-Nova", and the biological preparation "Fitoverm" - is effective against ticks. If the affected area is small, the plants are treated with a soap solution, infusions of garlic or onion peels, a solution of ammonia, and hydrogen peroxide.

Whitefly

A small butterfly 7-10 mm in size with whitish wings, it can cause enormous damage to cucumbers grown in a greenhouse. Bushes grown in open ground suffer less.

The butterfly lays eggs on the inside of the lower leaves, from which voracious larvae hatch, feeding on plant sap and tissue. Holes and a sticky coating appear on the affected leaves.

It is easy to detect whiteflies: upon entering the greenhouse, many insects fly up from the tops of the plants.

Affected plants slow down and dry out. The pest multiplies quickly and, without taking action, can significantly reduce yields and cause the death of most bushes. Additional harm from whiteflies is that they carry black sooty fungus.

Control measures:

when a small number of pests are detected, use “Verticillin”, “Bitoxibacillin”;
the bushes are sprayed with the following preparations: “Decis Profi”, “Fufanon-Nova”, “Arravo”;
systemic pesticides - "Aktara", "Commander" kill insects at all phases of development.

Folk remedies are effective against whiteflies: soap solution, infusion of garlic, celandine, tobacco dust, vinegar solution.

Root nematode

A pest up to 2.5 mm in size, belonging to the family of roundworms, lives in the soil. In warm weather, the female lays eggs, from which larvae hatch with developed mouthparts that can immediately penetrate the roots of cucumber bushes.

Penetrating into the root system, the pest secretes enzymes that disrupt the cellular metabolism of the plant. In places of damage, thickenings form on the roots - galls, which are clearly visible when digging up the bush. The affected plant loses its ability to absorb water and nutrients, grows slowly, and dries out.

What to process. Medicines are used against the pest: pesticides “Rogar” and “Nemafos” are diluted according to the instructions, and the mixture is watered on the soil. Spilling the soil with infusions of garlic, marigolds, and a decoction of hot pepper helps to restrain the development of the disease.

Tobacco thrips

Small (1-3 mm) insects, difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. Pests feed on the sap of cucumber plants and damage leaves, buds, and flowers. The greatest harm is caused when growing cucumbers in a greenhouse.

Light dots and streaks appear on young cucumber leaves - puncture sites of insects. Affected bushes are stunted, cucumber leaves dry out and die. Plants produce little fruit.

What to process. Pesticides are used against thrips: “Aktara”, “Iskra-M”, “Alatar”. During the fruiting period, spraying is carried out with folk remedies: a solution of tar soap, ammonia, infusions of celandine, tobacco dust, marigolds.

Sprout fly

An adult insect, 5-6 mm in size, is gray or brown in color and has transparent wings. In spring it lays eggs (up to 60 pieces) in moist soil or compost.

Fly larvae are fleshy, dirty-white in color, voracious, and cause great harm to young plantings. They gnaw holes in the sown seeds, damaging the cotyledons, and feed on the roots of the seedlings. The larvae can infect the bottom of the cucumber stem, located next to the soil.

What to process. Chemical insect control agents: “Iskra-M”, “Fufanon-Nova”, “Detox”. Folk remedies with a pungent odor have a deterrent effect: a decoction of hot pepper, an infusion of wormwood, and tansy. It helps to dust the plant with a mixture of ash and mustard or tobacco dust and slaked lime.

Black flea beetle

A small (1.8-3 mm) leaf beetle with an oblong body, overwintering in the upper layers of the soil. In a warm spring, a new generation of pests can completely destroy young cucumber seedlings.

Insects feed on the sap and tissues of plant leaves, gnaw holes in them, leaving only veins. Fleas are able to move quickly, jumping from one bush to another.

What to process. In May-June, spraying with chemicals is effective: Aktara, Fury, Arrivo. During the fruiting period, the flea beetle causes less damage to adult plants, so folk remedies are used:

9% vinegar solution;
infusion of tomato and potato tops;
dusting plants with ash and tobacco dust.

In warm weather, they are treated with biological products - “Fitoverm”, “Lepidotsid”.

Cucumber mosquito

Adults do not exceed 4.5 mm in size, have a gray-brown body, and translucent wings. In the spring, the female lays eggs (up to 250 eggs) in the soil. The larvae that hatch after a week have a transparent body with a black head.

They live in the upper layers of the soil, gnawing the roots and lower part of the cucumber stem, making long passages in the tissues of the plant. The pest is especially dangerous for young seedlings and seedlings. Plants wither, roots begin to rot, and fungal infections penetrate into cracks in the stem.

What to process. In case of mass damage, insecticides are effective: “Aktellik”, “Iskra-M”. Plants are sprayed twice with an interval of 2-3 weeks. In case of minor damage, cucumber seedlings are treated with a decoction of hot pepper, an infusion of ash or tobacco dust. The soil around the bushes is spilled with a urea solution.

Slugs

Pests belong to the order of gastropods. They become active in damp, cool weather and actively spread in dense plantings and in beds with weeds.

The strong horny jaws of slugs are capable of making through holes in leaves, stems and fruits. The mucus of mollusks contains fungal spores and pathogenic bacteria. Affected cucumbers often develop powdery mildew and gray rot.

What to process. Insecticides are used against pests: “Metaldehyde”, “Thunderstorm”, “Meta”. Plantings are sprayed with a solution of ammonia. The row spaces are sprinkled with crushed eggshells, pine needles, and fine gravel.

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.

Control measures

Chemicals

Many summer residents do not like chemicals because they are harmful and toxic. However, they are the ones that show the best results, allowing you to completely get rid of harmful midges. Despite its high efficiency, it is not worth using chemical methods often - it is recommended to resort to them only when the number of insects is too large, and it is simply impossible to fight them in other ways. Thus, the main activities include the following:

adding granular insecticides to the soil before planting cucumbers, which are dangerous for harmful midges;

treatment of plantings at the seedling stage with solutions that contain effective components - malathion, permethrin, cypermethrin.

During oviposition of parasites, you can treat the plant with solutions of products such as Fufanon or Kemifos. The first product must be used at a rate of 20 milliliters of the drug per 10 liters of water, and the second - 10 milliliters of the drug per 10 liters of liquid. In addition, many summer residents also recommend using products such as Iskra and Novaktion.

Biological methods

If poisoning midges with chemicals is not an option for you, then you can use biological methods. They are somewhat more complicated, but if used correctly they will also give results.

Some of them eat midge larvae, others parasitize adults. They are harmless to plants.

Folk remedies

If you managed to notice the appearance of pests in the early stages, when they had not yet had time to reproduce, then the plants can be treated with solutions prepared with your own hands at home.

For example, you can make a mixture based on tar. You will need a tablespoon of this component and a bucket of water. All components of the solution must be mixed well, after which you need to water or spray the cucumber shoots.

In order to make an infusion for pest control, you can also use wormwood, hot pepper pods and tansy. Using these components, you can prepare an infused mixture, which must be used to treat cucumber plants during their growing season.

It will also be effective to dust the plantings with such means as a mixture of dry mustard powder and ash or lime mixed with tobacco dust.

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.

Prevention measures

Preventive measures to control cucumber pests begin at the end of the season. It is better to prevent the appearance of harmful insects than to spend a lot of time and effort fighting them.

In autumn, it is recommended to perform the following work in the open ground:

destroy and burn plant remains;
spray the soil with 7% copper sulfate;
dig up the soil (plow) to a depth of at least 30 cm.

After harvesting and removing plants from greenhouses or beds, you need to prepare the soil for the next season. Sulfur blocks Vist, Hephaestus, Climate, Fas (1 block per 15 m3 of room) destroy mold and fungi spores in greenhouses. The soil is treated with Farmayod-3 (200 ml per 10 liters of water).

In the spring, 10 days before sowing, the prepared soil is disinfected. If manure is applied during spring cultivation, it must be well incorporated into the soil so as not to provoke active breeding of flies. When weeds are widespread, pesticides are used.

Before sowing, the seeds are pickled in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide. Both in open and protected ground, regular inspection of plants is one of the important preventive measures. If necessary, weeds are removed, the soil is loosened, the soil is not allowed to dry out, and watering is carried out regularly.

Video: how to water cucumbers correctly

Compliance with the regime for growing cucumbers also includes thinning densely planted plants. In greenhouses and greenhouses, it is worthwhile to provide for air heating when the temperature drops below +18°C at night, and regularly ventilate the premises, avoiding drafts. Under the shelter it is necessary to maintain high air humidity (75%).

When planning plantings, you should adhere to the rules of crop rotation. Under no circumstances should a cucumber be planted in the place where pumpkins grew. The best predecessor of cucumber is the legume family (except beans) or potatoes.

Next to the cucumber beds, it is a good idea to sow plants that have insecticidal properties that attract bees - these are spicy crops (basil, celery, fennel), chamomile, calendula, marigolds, cosmos, etc. In the greenhouse, dill will be a good friend of the cucumber.

Video: carrying out preventive measures against cucumber pests in a greenhouse

Pest control of cucumbers must be carried out constantly. Obtaining a bountiful harvest that is not spoiled by pests depends on knowledge about pests, timely prevention of infection and proper care of plants.

Author: Oksana Mazur
Print

A teacher by training. My hobby is growing flowers. I try to experiment in the selection of garden and indoor plants (irises, Saintpaulias). I share my experience with the viewers of my channel on You Tube. Rate this article:

(12 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)
Share with your friends!

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!

How to get rid of whiteflies on cucumber seedlings

If seedlings are infected, you can destroy whiteflies on cucumbers using folk remedies:

hang several adhesive tapes near the boxes with seedlings and change them from time to time;
grease yellow or blue cardboard with Vaseline, rosin or special entomological glue and place it next to the seedlings;
hang several light bulbs over the cucumber seedlings;
set the tobacco on fire and fumigate the seedlings properly.

A light pink solution of potassium permanganate, prepared from 10 liters of water and 5 g of potassium permanganate, has a good effect. The product is used both for spraying seedlings and for watering at the root.

Whitefly on cucumber seedlings usually appears when the substrate is waterlogged

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 is a whitefly?

Whitefly is an insect pest that often attacks garden crops. These are small insects - no more than 1 mm in length. The body of whiteflies is yellowish, while the wings are whitish, which is why the pests received this name. The insect has 2 pairs of wings.

These pests practically do not fly, but settle under the leaves on their underside. They stick to the leaf blades and literally drink the plant juice from them. Female whiteflies lay white-yellow larvae. They are difficult to distinguish on the leaf blade, since the diameter of one larva is no more than a third of a millimeter.

More often they are found on the green parts of cucumbers that grow in a greenhouse. This fact is due to the fact that the pest is attracted to high humidity. However, this does not mean that the whitefly only affects greenhouse plants - it can be found on cucumbers growing in open ground.

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.

Causes of white midges and harm to cucumbers

Favorable conditions for the development of insects are high humidity and warmth. In addition, the insect overwinters on the site, waiting out the cold in the remains of garden and weed plants. The cause of infection of cucumbers is neglect of cleaning the site at the end of the gardening season and cloudy weather without sudden temperature changes. And in the greenhouse - non-compliance with sanitary and hygienic measures, lack of ventilation and excessive watering.

Signs of cucumber infection:

white dots appear on the front side of the leaves;
instead of green, the plant first becomes pale and then becomes covered with yellow spots - a yellow mosaic;
leaf plates are curled;
the whiskers on the lashes do not extend, but curl into a spiral;
Flowering and fruiting are disrupted - the developing buds dry out before they have time to open, and the ovaries, if they appear, fall off.

It’s easy to notice white midges on cucumbers - just turn the leaf plate over. Between the veins, as if “glued”, there are many white midges, reminiscent of a moth with 2 pairs of wings. The eggs laid by pests are much more difficult to notice, since their color blends with the surface of the leaf.

As the colony grows, the leaves become covered with a sweet (for insects) coating, which is parasitized by sooty fungus, a dangerous disease for plants. Black spots resembling soot appear on the lashes, and then the plaque covers the entire bush and it dies. What a gardener should do when he notices signs of a pest spreading depends on the degree of damage and the size of the colony.

How to exterminate a pest

Dry air and heat encourage the spread of pests, making them a common problem in greenhouses during the winter. The fight against this insidious insect cannot be delayed. Immediately after detecting a pest, its destruction should begin. There are enough methods of struggle and methods of protection.

Greenhouse treatment

It is important to choose the right way to treat the greenhouse against whiteflies. Delay is fraught with great negative consequences, since the greenhouse provides good conditions for feeding and reproduction for insects.

The pest can be destroyed by spraying the plantings with a purchased insecticide. To completely eradicate whiteflies on tomatoes and cucumbers in a greenhouse, you will need to carry out 2-3 treatments.

Autumn treatment of a greenhouse against whitefly includes the following list of preventive measures:

Preparation for disinfection . After harvesting the previous crop, you need to remove plant remains, machinery, and equipment from the greenhouse. Then the soil of the greenhouse is covered with plastic film and disinfection of the internal structures begins. This action point concerns glass, film and polycarbonate greenhouses.
Disinfection of structures. When carrying out disinfection, they strive to ensure that the disinfectant penetrates into hard-to-reach places in the greenhouse where the whitefly overwinters. The drug uses a chemical that dissolves the cuticle of the pest egg. The following means of control have found widespread use:
creolin solution.
Repeated disinfection . After waiting 3 days after the first treatment, duplicate disinfection of greenhouse structures is carried out. The drug Aktara is used. They should re-treat the greenhouse structures to kill any midges and nymphs that survive the first treatment.

Attention! Chemical disinfection must be carried out by adult workers wearing personal protective equipment. Work is carried out in the evening.

Soil disinfection . This butterfly is not able to live in an alkaline environment. Therefore, the soil in the greenhouse should be dug deeply for the winter, with ash or lime first added to it. Lime is added at 150 g per m², ash is added at 3 cups per 1 m². This measure to combat whiteflies in greenhouses is effective and does not require large expenses.

Fumigation . Smoke bombs equipped with insecticide are used. If you can’t buy checkers, you can use ordinary sulfur. Checkers or baking sheets with sulfur powder are evenly distributed throughout the greenhouse and set on fire. When a bomb is burned, a gaseous insecticide is released, and sulfur, when burned, releases a very toxic gas - sulfuric anhydride. These are very effective means of removing the pest from the greenhouse.

Important! Before starting fumigation, you need to plug the cracks in the greenhouse to prevent gas from escaping outside. After 2 days, the greenhouse should be well ventilated. The products are toxic to humans - safety precautions must be observed.

Freezing the greenhouse . The whitefly dies in winter from frost. Therefore, freezing can be used as a very effective method to get rid of harmful insects. In winter, when frosty weather sets in, the thermometer will show -15 degrees, the heat supply in the greenhouse or greenhouse is turned off, the doors and vents are opened. Frost will kill butterflies and larvae.

Before planting, seedlings should be inspected for the presence of whiteflies by carefully examining the lower surfaces of the leaves.

Mechanical removal

Before starting chemical insect control, it is worth first finding less invasive methods. The mechanical method is the most simplified, often used in the spring against whiteflies in cucumber plantations, when several insects are found. The following techniques are used:

manual collection and destruction of butterflies;
knocking insects off leaves with water;
wiping the bushes with a water solution of soap.

This method gives temporary results and is of little benefit. It will not be possible to destroy the entire population of midges; insects knocked down by water will again strive to return to their original place.

A simple and quite effective way is to catch adult insects using a vacuum cleaner. This is an effective solution at the beginning of the appearance of insects, when they have not yet laid eggs. Care must be taken to ensure that the suction force of the device does not damage leaves or other plant organs. This procedure is best done early in the morning because the insects are not mobile due to the lower temperature. Before catching whiteflies, the plant should be shaken to encourage it to fly. Adults collected using a vacuum cleaner are destroyed.

Advice. When growing plants, when the number of whiteflies decreases, it is important to remove older leaves on which the larvae sit and lay eggs.

Traps

As a means of combating whiteflies in a greenhouse, purchased and homemade traps are widely used. Yellow traps can be used successfully to monitor the presence of whiteflies and limit their numbers, especially when they first appear. They can be purchased in the form of yellow and orange pieces of thick paper or tape with an adhesive substance applied to the surface. Insects perceive the orange color as a source of light. Butterflies fly towards him, land and stick. Unfortunately, traps are ineffective against larvae and eggs.

Below is how to make a whitefly trap yourself:

take equal amounts of rosin, castor oil and petroleum jelly melted in a water bath, combine and mix these ingredients;
add a spoonful of honey;
cool the mixture;
apply the composition to pieces of whatman paper;
We place ready-made devices for catching butterflies among greenhouse plants.

Research has shown that the best traps for greenhouse whiteflies are yellow traps that are additionally illuminated.

Catching whiteflies with yellow traps or using a vacuum cleaner is effective until the adults lay eggs.

Biological method

In its natural habitat, the whitefly has many enemies. The biological method of controlling whiteflies in a greenhouse is based on this. The following methods exist:

Encarsia formosa and Eretmocerus eremicus . These are predatory insects that parasitize whitefly eggs. In the greenhouse, predator pupae are evenly distributed in groups of 5. per 1 m². Adult encarsias emerge from the pupae and begin to destroy whiteflies. One female parasite can lay about 200 eggs in eggs and larvae of the third and fourth stages of whitefly development. The effectiveness of E. formosa may be limited by high temperature. In such conditions, the entomophage Eretmocerus eremicus . (Eretmocerus eremicus or E. californicus). The advantages of E. eremicus are that it controls both whitefly species even at high temperatures and exhibits higher insecticide resistance than E. formosa. In turn, E. formosa is characterized by a more rapid increase in population size. In this situation, it is recommended to introduce both parasites at the same time, this way the various stages of whitefly development are destroyed. Weekly introduction of natural enemies will effectively reduce whitefly numbers. The frequency of introduction into the crop and their quantity depends on climatic conditions (temperature), plant species and whitefly species. The number of E. eremicus introduced into the greenhouse should be much higher than the number of E. formosa, since half the parasite population is male.
Mushrooms. In addition to parasites, entomopathogenic fungi are used: Beauveria bassiana, Verticillium lecanii and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus. Fungi have been successfully used to reduce populations. When using P. fumosoroseus, do not use fungicides as they can significantly reduce the effectiveness of the fungus in controlling whiteflies.
Application of lacewings, ladybugs . These predatory insects eat butterflies and their eggs. By releasing these predators into a greenhouse, you can be sure that within a couple of weeks they will greatly reduce the population of white butterflies.
Sowing calendula, marigolds . If you place one of these plants among cucumbers or tomatoes in a greenhouse, this will also help destroy the whitefly. Whiteflies cannot tolerate the specific odor emitted by these plants.
Treatment with Verticillin. This bioinsecticide is sold in garden centers. The active ingredient of the drug is a strain of fungus that kills whiteflies.

Attention! If the greenhouse is using a biological method, chemical treatments should be suspended for a while. Chemicals can also destroy beneficial microflora.

Biological control methods are an alternative to chemical ones, especially when growing greenhouse vegetables intended for immediate consumption (cucumbers, tomatoes), and in the situation of the phenomenon of the acquisition of immunity in whiteflies against the active substances of insecticides approved for use in greenhouses.

Chemical method of destruction

When plants are severely damaged, they try to poison the pest with chemicals called insecticides. Chemical pest control on vegetables grown for immediate consumption (tomatoes, cucumbers) always causes great concern and controversy among consumers, so it should only be carried out in exceptional situations. It is important to use only recommended insecticides as directed. These should be preparations with the shortest possible waiting period, and fruit harvesting after treatment should be suspended until the end of this period.

The following insecticides are often used:

Akarin;
Aktara;
Fufanon;
Admiral;
Aktelik;
Decis.

Chemicals are dissolved in water in doses and used within the periods specified by the manufacturer on the label - instructions for use included in the package. To stick them to the leaves, add 45-50 g of any soap per 10 liters of solution.

Important! When processing, you need to spray the upper and lower sides of the leaves especially carefully.

In case of widespread pests, it is worth spraying with a systemic insecticide, for example, Mospilan. The drug will also fight larvae in the soil.

It is worth using the drug Rimon to combat larvae. Spraying should be carried out 2-3 times at intervals of several days.

Aphids are also a good way to get rid of these insects. Both of these plant pests have the same mouth tube that sucks up plant sap.

It is optimal to alternate the use of drugs (containing different active substances - you should ask the seller). The insect may become resistant to certain agents in future generations. Controlling whiteflies is quite cumbersome because they create pesticide-resistant forms of the pest. The effectiveness of chemical control largely depends on the phenomenon of whitefly immunization with insecticides, which is associated with improper use of drugs. That is why it is worth using various methods to combat this pest.

The individuals remaining after treatment can give rise to a population resistant to the active substance of the drug used.

The effectiveness of chemical control is influenced by the susceptibility of individual stages of whitefly development to insecticides. Eggs and pupae are less sensitive to insecticides than adult and young larval stages. Therefore, 4-5 insecticide applications should be applied against whiteflies every 5 days. The last treatment should be carried out 3-4 weeks before the appearance of natural enemies.

Use of fumigators

Some advanced amateur vegetable growers use fumigators to destroy whiteflies, which are widely used in the fight against mosquitoes and flies. The device is filled with a special liquid – repellent. During the operation of the mechanism, the drug passes from a liquid state to a gaseous state and fills the space of the greenhouse.

Before plugging in the device, you need to close all doors and windows. The device is turned on at night, in the morning all whiteflies and their larvae die.

Attention! When using a fumigator in a closed greenhouse space, every vegetable grower must understand that representatives of beneficial microflora will die along with harmful insects.

Traditional methods

Gardeners are often afraid to use chemicals in greenhouses because of the possible high residual amount of pesticides in fruits. Then folk remedies against the parasite come to the fore. The most common folk recipes are listed and described below.

Soap

By using ordinary laundry soap, you can expel white butterflies from the greenhouse. The recipe is as follows:

grind 100 g of product;
add half a bucket of heated water;
After stirring, spray the bushes of greenhouse plants.

Yarrow

This plant grows in large quantities in steppes and meadows. One hundred grams of green leaves are crushed and poured into 1 liter of water. After 2 days of infusion and straining, the infusion is ready for spraying.

Garlic

This plant has a pungent odor that can repel white midges and kill nymphs. The recipe is as follows:

100 g of garlic heads, crushed;
pour in 500 ml of raw water;
leave in the dark for 3 days;
filter the infusion;
Before use for spraying, you need to dilute the mother solution with water in a ratio of 5 ml of infusion per 1 liter of water.

Dandelion

An infusion of dandelion rhizomes and inflorescences is prepared as follows:

the harvested plants are washed with water;
grind with a meat grinder;
pour 1 liter of raw water;
insist for 3 days;
filter and use as directed.

Celandine

To prepare the infusion, take 300-500 g of celandine leaves and pour 3 liters of water over them. The infusion is suitable for spraying after 2 days of infusion. Treatments can be duplicated every 7 days.

Tobacco

Remove all cigarettes from the Prima pack and fill them with 1 liter of hot water. Leave the composition to infuse for 5 days. Then strain the infusion and use as directed. Tobacco infusion is considered a fairly effective way to combat this butterfly.

Vinegar

Vinegar has a pungent odor that whiteflies do not like. To prepare the working solution, you need 1 tbsp. l. dissolve the product in 1 liter of raw water.

Getting rid of midges

Under the influence of aphids, the leaves first curl, then turn yellow and fall off.

In greenhouse tomatoes attacked by aphids, the leaves curl and turn yellow, and growth stops.
The plant gradually withers, losing vitality.
Many ants may appear around the bush.

Many gardeners plant marigolds in the greenhouse to repel pests.

Folk remedies

Soap and herbal infusions. A strong herbal infusion (wormwood, garlic, celandine) about 2-3 tablespoons is added to the soap solution (50 grams of soap per bucket of water) and sprayed on the bush.
Soap-ash solution.
Add a glass of wood ash to the soap solution (1/6 piece of laundry soap per bucket of water). An ash-soap solution helps against whiteflies, as well as aphids and mites.
Soda solution. Dissolve 3 whole tablespoons of soda in a bucket of water.

Chemicals

Chemicals are many times more effective, but more harmful to humans.

All chemicals can be used before bud formation; some drugs can accumulate in fruits and, if not used in a timely manner, can be harmful to human health.

Various insecticides and preparations are used against aphids: Karbofos, Aktara, Inta-vir, Iskra Zolotaya, Agravertin, Rovikurt, Confidor, Biotlin, etc.