Yes, one hard lesson this year is that prevention is a must. When I had my last garden I used to wait to see signs of pest damage before attacking. Now, that first sign of pest damage is often a total wipe-out of my plants. I also thought that maybe if I let the aphids "have" my sunflowers and ornamental sweet peas, they'd leave the rest alone. That was a huge mistake. Now, I'm having to come out full guns the moment I plant, and I intend to stay away from ornamentals that attract the aphids. But I don't remember having to do that in my last house. It could be that in my new neighborhood, I'm surrounded by agriculture, which wasn't the case when I lived in Petaluma. I had snail problems before, but one of these teeny weeny slugs that are impossible to control without bait. Barb, I don't have lizards, but I do have lots of birds. (They looove my pea seedlings, the little turds, but I encourage them to come around anyway). I have been very pleased that there aren't any hornworms in the new house, and I don't know if that's the birds or the BT. I had those in my last garden and they give me the heebie geebies big time!

It could be this. Your picture doesn't look like what I call cucumber beetles. Sometimes my cucumber plants have had spider mites. They leave tiny black specks on the backs of leaves. Here is a link that might be useful: 12 spotted lady beetle

Kristin, If you want to put a row cover on your plants, you can but I am not sure it will help since they (or their eggs) are likely to be all over the plants, and even underneath the plants. Check the backs of leaves for eggs and remove them and destroy them and that will go a long way to cut down on the population, especially with regards to squash bugs. I don't worry about cucumber beetles although, technically, they can carry and spread disease, although in my garden they generally don't. It could be that I have a healthy population of beneficial insects that keep their numbers low for me. I'd be more concerned about squash bugs, and especially about stink bugs if they show up too. One way to get the squash bugs is to go outside with a small hand-held vaccum and vacuum them up off the plants. It works like a charm, especially when they are young and small and don't have the sense to run away when they see you coming. Another way is to lay a board or shingle down on the ground right beside the squash plants. The squash bugs will seek shelter under that board during the heat of the day and then all you have to do is lift the board and step on them and squish them. Simple as pie If you put a small container of water in your garden (something like the saucer to a flower pot or an aluminum pie tin), it will help attract toads, frogs, lizards and other beneficial creatures that like to eat bugs. I have a bird feeder and bird bath in my garden too, and the birds that come to visit them often sit on the garden fence or on the scarecrow (who apparently does not scare them) or on the tomato cages and eat bugs throughout the day. Some people sprinkle garlic (chopped and minced by their own hand, or purchased garlic powder) on the ground around their squash and cucumber plants, and feel it helps repel the squash vine borers, squash bugs and cucumber beetles. You might give that a try. Don't worry about monoplizing the board. You are using it exactly as it is meant to be used and it gives us more to talk about on hot days when we may choose to spend less time out in the garden and more time inside in the air conditioning! Dawn

I think I figured out what I have. Bean Leaf Beetles: Bean Leaf Beetle (Cerotoma trifurcata): Adult beetles are reddish to yellowish in color, 1/4 inch long, have three or four black spots in a row along the inner edge of wing covers, and a black band occurs near the outer margins of wing covers. Larvae are whitish, dark brown at both ends, segmented, and have six small legs near the head. Adults chew holes in leaves, feeding on them from the under surface; larvae feed on roots, nodules, and on stems just below the soil surface, which can girdle the plant. more pics of them here (they do appear in yellow as well, which might have added to my confusion): http://www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegal/coleoptera/beanlb/blb_yellow_red.html http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1185.html http://www.oznet.k-state.edu/dp_hfrr/extensn/problems/beanleaf.htm They don't seem to kill the plants, for me they've just been a pain in the ass. Luckily, this year (so far) I've seen far fewer than last year. (Though last year was horrible for a lot of things. We had Japanese Beetles everywhere.) It's a very strange thing. I've combed through my gardening books (the main ones being E. Smith's Vegetable Gardener's Bible and Rodale's Encyc. of Organic Gardening) and none of them mention Bean Leaf Beetles. Perhaps I just missed it somehow.