

Cucumber Beetles: You gotta go. They initially looked like lady bugs to me. Now, it doesn't matter. I am not in an investigative place anymore. I have decided to kill them. This has me feel like I am loaded for bear. Actually, I started out my war deciding to pick the beetles off every morning and sometimes in the evening. AND, I seemed to be winning. I would pick about 2 to maybe three off each day. Today, there were at least six, maybe eight. Before, my reasoning was: "Let's be reasonable; I am much bigger than this little beetle. I don't need to go in armed to kill. I will pick them off and place them out of the garden -- in fact into another separate spot in the garden." Each day, I still found at least one -- usually two-- beetles, though. I sprayed an organic spray that seemed to matter early on too. Seeing the six of them, my attitude changed. "I am losing this war terribly, and my cucumbers are suffering." "Until I find a way to better co-exist with you -- that is get some beneficial insects in here that will may check you all, I am checking you myself." "It is down to whether I have cucumbers or not." "SQUUSH."