Trapping Garden Pests With Yellow

Yellow can attract (and therefore trap) two of the worst gardening pests, the destructive cucumber beetle and the dreaded squash vine borer.

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One of the things I want to focus on this year was find out , and improving my skills in controlling them . Sun Tzu inThe Art of Warsaid , “ To sleep together your enemy , you must become your enemy ” . I had a good knowledge of which pest bear on to show up every year and menace my flora , now all I had to do was focus on those pest and get the 411 on them . One of the things that started to bond out ( pun later in the post ) , was that two of the worst gardening pest , the destructivecucumber beetleand the dreadedsquash vine borerwere both attracted to the color chicken .

Yellow Trap Pest # 1 : The Cucumber Beetle

stripy and spotted Cucumis sativus mallet can cause serious damage in cucumber and melons , primarily due to their ability to spread bacterial wilt . My trap ? Something lily-livered that would draw in them , and something pasty to trap them . I ’ve used yellow “ sticky trap ” before , but primarily in my greenhouse against gnats andaphids . I want something better that would have more coverage . Walking down the theme and charge plate products aisle in the grocery store provided the solution : yellowish credit card cup . They were long-lasting and already colored yellow , so I did n’t have to paint them .

But that was n’t enough . I had toattractthem to the cups . Research reveal that all important oil , such as Pimenta dioica , bay laurel , clove and peppermint mimicked the pheromones of the beetles , thereby attracting them . Since putting the petroleum on the loving cup directly wo n’t work , coating or soaking the oil in a cotton chunk is more in force . Finally , I had to entrap them once they got to the yellow cup . Enter the illustriousness that is tanglefoot . Yep , the same stuff that ’s used as an insect barrier on trees . It’sverysticky , and will stay sticky for a foresightful time , even through lacrimation and rain . My mallet trap was lay .

The list of things you ’ll need :

• Tanglefoot paste• scandalmongering plastic cups• Cotton balls• Essential oil(s ) , such as allspice , bay laurel , Eugenia aromaticum or peppermint• Knife ( or other flat object ) to spread the tanglefoot on the cup• Metal staple gun and staples• Wood stake ( or other physical object to hold up the cup )

subroutine :

1 . Attach the icteric cups to whatever you plan to utilize to hold the cup trammel up ( I used even wooden stakes )

2 . Staple the cotton balls to the cupful

3 . Spread the tanglefoot thinly , using a knife or other bland extensive objective

4 . Apply several drops of essential oil to the cotton balls

5 . Place the sand trap near to ( but not touching ) the plants affected by the cucumber mallet

Yellow Trap Pest # 2 : The Squash Vine Borer

There are n’t many veggie garden pests as feared ( and hat ) as thesquash vine borer . The grownup squash vine stone drill is a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant - like moth . The actual damage , however , is done by the larvae that bores into the stem . In this suit , the quarry for the yellow trap is the adult moth . The moths are appeal to the large yellowish flowers that member of the squash rackets family all share . And this , my gardening friends , is the exploit .

I call for something chicken that would snare the moth once it get near it . The grocery or drug store again provided the answer : a yellow frisbee . I already experience that oleaginous water could be used to drown plague , so it was simply a topic of combining them . My borer trap was laid .

• Yellow frisbee , roll , or other shallow container• Water• Soap ( I expend Castilla soap , but dishwashing liquid should also work)• Structure to hold the frisbee up

1 . Place the frisbee where you want the trap to be . Unlike the cucumber beetle sand trap , it can be placed a few pes off from the plants you ’re trying to protect .

2 . sate with water and add the soap

3 . Check the trap occasionally to keep the water grade

Both of these lying in wait seemed to make for well , although it took at least a brace of days to start seeing result . Hopefully the yellowness will work for you .

yellow plastic cup with cucumber beetles on it

Photo/Illustration: Greg Holdsworth (All photos)

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Materials for the cucumber trap include yellow cups, tanglefoot paste, essential oils, cotton balls, wood stakes, and metal staple gun and staples (not pictured).

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