cucumber pollination?

Nursing along my very last, single cucumber of the year here in Mid Atlantic, zone 5. Had a terrible time this summer with cucumber beetles viciously attacking both my squash and cucumbers. Covered small plants with bug netting until blossoms had to be propagated, and then removed netting. Cucumbers suffered the most and I got to enjoy only a few cukes from many bug stressed plants. Used every powder, spray, etc. (all organic of course) written about in every blog but these little monsters weren't fazed.

Kaolin clay mixed with water and sprayed on worked best as it apparently removes the cucumber scent that draws the bugs in. Of course, the leaves then are weirdly white and I wonder about the amount of clorophyll the plant is getting as the plants seemed to suffer a little from it as well. Also, the clay is pretty expensive and gets washed off by watering and our frequent summer/fall rains so it wasn't wildly efficient. And, by the time I'd stumbled onto this trick, my plants were in pretty bad shape and barely had any leaves left that weren't shriveled by bug bites.

So, here's my question as I scheme for next year. Has anyone tried using bug netting but allowing in a few bees in during the day to propagate and turning them out an hour or so later? Bee farming I guess...Used the netting on my green beans this year (cuke beetles LOVE green bean leaves) and didn't have a single damaged leaf in the entire row. Of course, beans self-pollinate so didn't have to worry about that. Thoughts? Or other solutions? Just didn't get my cuke fix this year and I refuse to buy even the organic, but tasteless, ones in the stores. Guess I could go in with a brush and pollinate myself...just not sure about that process and how to do it efficiently. Has anyone out there done it? So much of my very large garden is wildly successful...but this one has me stumped.

I don't believe that open up the netting briefly is going to help much but I could be wrong. Also opening the netting might let in unwanted bugs.

I think the best way to control pests is to make their predators feel at home in your garden. This means having some hiding places for them and planting a variety of flowers so that there will be nectar and pollen available for as much of the year as possible. Buckwheat is a good start.

If you google cucumber beetle predators we had an army force of 4 out of the 5 predators. Cheered them on when they slowly started to arrive after the cucumber beetles. Breathed a sigh of relief and thought they would take care of the problem for me. The good guys just outnumbered the bad guys. Yep on the pollen and nectar. Garden was a veritable insect kingdom with 5 kinds of bees, and tons of the "good' predator bugs  zooming around all the vege flowers, nasturtiums, herbs I let go to flower, etc. It was a major infestation of both kinds of cucumber beetles and consumed a huge amount of time to be able to bring 4 kinds of squash and a couple of huge Atlantic pumpkins to fruit. Bought a great little book on garden bug identification with very clear pictures and learned to immediately identify who was who. Also did an a.m and early p.m ugly bug squashing detail but that again was very time consuming.  And, yes, I buy very good organic seed from very reputable companies.

Just looking for an easier way next year!

There are small pollinator bees called leaf cutter that nest in small tubes that can be kept under the netting. They are sold br Crown Bees.

leaf cutter bees: Oooooooooo! Perfect. Thank you!
already hatching a plan for next year on a leaf cutter/cuke bug net house

Keep the netting on all the time and buy Parthenocarpic varieties. They only produce female flowers and do not need pollination.

Ah, yes, thank you. Had totally forgotten about these. Not a huge fan of the thin skinned cukes but may change my mind if that is what it takes to outwit the bugs. Went googling and found this article which is brilliant in discussing the topic as well as listing where to buy.  Going to look into same for zucchini as noted in link. Both my cukes and zucchini had way more male than female flowers this year which was puzzling me as well.

Two great solutions to my problem. Thanks, all! Going seed buying online this week so can test out both ideas next summer.

https://www.bountifulgardener.com/best-parthenocarpic-cucumber-varieties-to-grow/#:~:text=Parthenocarpic%20cucumbers%20are%20cucumber%20varieties%20which%20don%E2%80%99t%20require,are%20not%20pollinated%2C%20you%20also%20get%20seedless%20cucumbers.

I haven't had cucumber beetle problems in years, Mid-Atlantic, Zone 7.  Few pests on my peppers or tomatoes, either.  I TOTALLY stopped using ANY sprays, powders, soaps, etc. several years ago.  Pest controls, organic or chemical, just damage the soil infrastructure and organisms, and weakens your plants. Concentrate on making cold compost (grass, leaves, veggies), and feed your soil, not your plants. Let nature's beneficial soil organisms crowd out the pathogens.  If you have pests, it means you have failed in your soil.  Applying pallative measures to sick plants just makes sick fruit.  An occasional pest is important, because that is food for your plant protectors.  Killing all the pests starves your plant protectors, which will then leave.  It is all about balance.  Also, don't fence out your bees and moths.  While parthenocarpic plants will make fruits without pollination, they won't make many.  Plant two varieties of cucumbers (parthenocarpic if you wish), and some nearby flowers to draw pollinators, and you will have many more cucumbers.  I know how aggravating it is to watch pests destroy your gardening efforts, but don't react by attempting to destroy the pests. Go work on your composting, and very soon, nature will protect your garden.  It's way more fun that fighting pests.  Healthy soil makes healthy plants, and healthy plants don't have many pests.  Books by Jeff Lowenfels and Eliot Coleman will change your gardening life.