Row cover are the way to go. You can even use inexpensive tulle fabric. I grow Parthenocarpic varieties which don't need pollination so I don't have to lift the row covers off. Little Leaf and Diva cucumbers and Partenon zucchini are parthenocarpic.

I never had much luck with cucumbers until I started growing Diva cucumbers. I chose Divas because the seed catalog said the foliage was nonbitter and therefore not as attractive to cucumber beetles. They also are parthenogenetic, meaning they don't need to be pollinated. So I start them under row covers. My main problem with cucumber beetles was the diseases they cause. Last summer I saw cucumber beetles in my garden, but never saw them on the cucumbers. I did spray with spinosad once I removed the row covers, but I don't know if that helped.

This post was edited by Ohiofem on Wed, Jan 23, 13 at 13:01

Only place I ever saw cucumber beetles were inside to flowers, packed 2,3, and 4 at times.
I believe this is where they emit the bacteria wilt virus.
Same with zucchini's
Potterhead !!thanks I'll try these this year

I don't know where they emit the bacterium. They like to feast on the flowers, but they land on the leaves too. If you have ever put any spray on top of some of the leaves, the number of dead beetles may surprise you. Don't use any poison before twilight and never near the blossoms if you use any.

I never saw a cucumber beetle but I had problems with my cucumber and I was told it is the cucumber beetles.
problem: my cucumber plants are healthy and flowering and suddenly the whole plant dies. When I examined the dead plants I found that some body injured the stem at the soil level. I was told it is the Cucumber beetle larva. I never saw any of those insects. The way I grow Cucumbers I dig a circle hole in the ground of 1 1/2 foot diameter and fill it with amended soil with a mud wall around the circle to hold the water. By pure luck I laced the water with Spectrazicide insect spray. This thing kills insects on contact. I repeated that three times during the Larva attack. Which is when the plant is flowering and a little cucumber is forming. I am so happy it worked and I will do it again.

Shop vac! Seriously, it is the only thing that worked for me. They do not die from any sprays and I had thousands! So I got several extension cords and I suck them right up!

little minnie great tip
A small battery operated mini vac should work even tho I have an outlet in my garden

It would work if powerful enough, mine wasn't.

Little Minnie
Strazicide can kill snakes not a little beetle. Its action is to penetrate the nervous system and the Imune syatem and destroy them. They don't need to eat it it kills on contact. If enough sprayed on human being it will kill him. It seems that the ound of your vaccuum is a music to your ears. My shop Vac motor is so strong 7.5 HP it will swallow the whole plant. May the Beetles leave your plants alone.
Abe

OK so I've seen a lot of tips on getting rid of these forsaken beetles but only a few about using Ortho bug be gone max. I wondered if anyone had any success with it, also if they tried the garden version of it. I looked at their website and read up on them but I'm still hesitant to use them being that I want to stay organic. Thanx for the input.

The active ingredient in BBGM is Bifenthrin, a pyrethroid. It kills on contact and ingestion. It is highly toxic to bees and is not to be applied to any blooming plants, which attract bees. Most of the plants that attract cucumber beetles have flowers that attract bees and won't set fruit without bees.

Thus it shouldn't be used.