What's eating my hales best cantaloupe?

Hales Best Cantaloupe is threatened most by cucumber beetles, which feed directly and spread bacterial wilt. Aphids colonize vines and stunt growth. Squash vine borers occasionally attack melon stems. Deer and groundhogs target ripening fruit, and in wetter climates slugs damage seedlings. Scout weekly from transplant to harvest.

Chewed cotyledons and vine leaves; bacterial wilt spread causes sudden vine collapse; adults target flowers and young fruit Row covers until pollination; kaolin clay on leaves; yellow sticky traps; pyrethrin or spinosad for heavy infestations; remove wilted plants fast

Dense colonies on leaf undersides; honeydew and sooty mold; virus transmission (cucumber mosaic virus) stunts and distorts vines Strong water spray; insecticidal soap; reflective silver mulch repels aphids; conserve parasitic wasps by avoiding broad-spectrum sprays

Wilting of individual vines from stem tunneling; frass at entry holes near soil level Row covers; wrap stems; inject Bt into borer holes; secondary rooting by burying vine nodes

Developing or ripe fruit chewed or removed; vine tips browsed down to stem Fence garden with 8 ft deer fence; live trap or hardware cloth for groundhogs; harvest fruit promptly at slip stage