Anney, you said you've tried the exchange forum, but have you posted on the Pumpkins, Squash, & Gourds forum? People there might be more likely to have the seeds or know where you can get them.

Very interesting concept. A question for you... if you save the seeds from this year's crop, will they have crossed with your main crop to the point they are not as attractive to the beetles next year? Just something to ponder.

Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: Pumpkins, Squash & Gourds

GS

Thanks! I have not been to the PSG forum and will take a look there and check out their exchange forum. Good idea.

I plan to plant the Caserta trap crop at least 30 feet away from my Crenshaw melons (the primary crop I want to protect), while my other zucchinis and bush cukes will be grown in containers on the deck much farther away from both, about 100 feet, so maybe there won't be a cross-pollination problem.

If the beetles are attracted to the Casertas more than my other crops, they can be tackled there. I've worked for three years devising ways to kill cucumber beetles but no other insects, and this is an experiment with another lure and method of presenting it.

The others included using tayuya powder mentioned above as an attractant and clove oil, which attracts only female cucumber beetles, and both were pretty successful. The lures were mixed with liquid Sevin in cups and hung or otherwise placed around the crops cuke beetles were on. Several people on GardenWeb participated in the experiment and it seemed to work pretty well for most of them. I do recall one poster who said she put undiluted clove oil in a plastic cup and it melted the bottom out!

My only complaint was using plastic or styrofoam cups to hold the lure and having to find the cups on the trellises, weeds and debris at the end of the season. If I can use zucchini boats that attract the beetles and a teaspoon or so of Sevin in them, the beetles that eat the zucchini will die; the zucchini boats will eventually deteriorate and the Sevin will evaporate and lose its toxicity.

ATTRA at one time had a cuke beetle control, Adios. It also used an organic lure and Sevin, but they discontinued it several years ago. So I was attempting to reproduce it.