Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - What works for Squash bugs?

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What works for Squash bugs?

They seem to get worse every year, and I don't have the time to try picking them off the plants every day, they eventually get overwhelming.
They start on the summer squash, then move to the winter, then any cucurbits remaining. If all that is gone I may see them even on tomato plants.

Since I don't have nuclear war heads handy, I use Sevin dust if I get squash bugs. I don't like to use it, but sometimes it's go to a severe action or lose it all. I've tried a lot of other options, but if the squash bug population gets ahead of me, Sevin comes into play.

no idea if this will work or not but last year we bought nematodes and put on the garden. I also bought a bacteria to drench the seedlings with. there were good results with cucumber beetles so I am trying it on the squash to see if it helps there... otherwise just as BBV says.. nothin! and I mean NOTHIN' seems to kill them. I plant all Summer long. once a week I plant new seeds.

I hand pick bugs and remove eggs...every...single...day.:( Lucky to have the time to do it...I think!:?!?:/puke

If you choose to use sevin use it in the evening when the bees have gone way from the squash plants already. if you use it in the morning there will be bees on the flowers... being killed.

I haven't found anything to stop their wrath. This year I'm going to try and wait them out and plant in late summer to try and avoid them. At least in Texas they seem to come in waves of destruction and then leave for good once they've taken my squash dreams with them.

[SIZE=4] . Pick the adults. Scrape the eggs, smash the nymphs by the handful, if I keep getting that stinking juice on me, I will turn into one. I already reek like one. Squash bug Woman. Like spider-Man! Only stinky, and not cool. :no:
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Yes, I agree. If you have to use the dreaded Seven, do it in the evening. Keep it (Seven) away from your night blooming plants if you can. Trellising long vining squash and gourds helps a little. I can't grow most Summer Squash because of the squash bugs. I had some luck with Tatume.
[/SIZE]

I cannot grow zucchini because of the squash bugs. The one I can grow is Zucchino
Rampicante or Tromboncino. If you have the space, it's a good eating summer squash.

[QUOTE=tarpalsfan;688222][SIZE=4] . Pick the adults. Scrape the eggs, smash the nymphs by the handful, if I keep getting that stinking juice on me, I will turn into one. I already reek like one. Squash bug Woman. Like spider-Man! Only stinky, and not cool. :no:
[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

:))

[QUOTE=roper2008;688230]I cannot grow zucchini because of the squash bugs. The one I can grow is Zucchino
Rampicante or Tromboncino. If you have the space, it's a good eating summer squash.[/QUOTE]

This is true...the only zucchini that seems impervious. Oh, do you need space, though!!!:?: And also like either preserving MANY of them or having MANY who love to receive them.
Grew them one season only and then decided my 60' x 60' fenced space wasn't nearly enough.

[QUOTE=clkeiper;688184]If you choose to use sevin use it in the evening when the bees have gone way from the squash plants already. if you use it in the morning there will be bees on the flowers... being killed.[/QUOTE]

Thank you, carolyn, I forgot to post that part. Sevin kills everything, so use it at dusk and I keep it off any flowers/buds as well. It's serious stuff that needs to be used properly.

[QUOTE=karla-;688208]I haven't found anything to stop their wrath. This year I'm going to try and wait them out and plant in late summer to try and avoid them. At least in Texas they seem to come in waves of destruction and then leave for good once they've taken my squash dreams with them.[/QUOTE]

Up here, mine don't stop. I don't even know where they come from, no one gardens for a fair bit around me, but come they do and the rodeo is on. I start out picking them off and the eggs, too, destroying them. If they overwhelm my efforts then I go ballistic as I am not going to lose all my crop.

Maybe there are squash bug movies, showing humans as a Godzilla creature to the squash bugs as they sit around eating up the garden?! ;)

I don't LIKE using major stuff and try to use the most lower effect things first, i.e.picking bugs and eggs ( with a hand held vacuum1 works great), or a tobacco juice spray, but sometimes I have a choice - lose it or use the rough stuff.

[QUOTE=kath;688248]This is true...the only zucchini that seems impervious. Oh, do you need space, though!!!:?: And also like either preserving MANY of them or having MANY who love to receive them.
Grew them one season only and then decided my 60' x 60' fenced space wasn't nearly enough.[/QUOTE]

I plant 2, but don't get too many, like you. Seems like just enough. I have a big back
yard for city standards, 1/2 acre. I just let it sprawl, but still have to move some of
the vines that get in the mowing paths.

I'm going to try Yellow Crookneck(my favorite)in my front yard. One plant and see if
I can keep up with adult and eggs.

"Squash bugs"...I don't grow squash; are y'all talking about what I call "stink bugs"? They show up in my tomato patch on occasion.

Squash bugs and Stink bugs are different. Squash bugs have narrower bodies than stink bugs although both emit an odor when crushed.

Squash bugs do not normally infest tomatoes only cucurbit crops.

Some organic methods of control would be to lay boards on the ground near the squash and flip them over in the morning and squish the adults that have hidden there overnight.

Remove mulch from around affected crops because squash bugs hide under the mulch.

Neem oil can be effective on the nymphs but not the adults. Of course Neem can also kill bees so you have to be careful with the flowers but Neem is not as worrisome to me as Sevin on my food.

Watch for eggs and tear off that part of the leaf and destroy it before they hatch. The eggs are too tough to smash.

Thanks brownrex. I may try that if I grow one in the ground. I'm lucky, I have
stink bugs too.:(

[QUOTE=kevinrs;688134]They seem to get worse every year, and I don't have the time to try picking them off the plants every day, they eventually get overwhelming.
They start on the summer squash, then move to the winter, then any cucurbits remaining. If all that is gone I may see them even on tomato plants.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE=4]Try growing this instead because:[/SIZE]
[LIST=1] [*][SIZE=4]The squash bugs don't bother it.[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=4]Picked young, it's [B]better[/B] than summer squash[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=4]Let it mature and its long lasting winter squash[/SIZE] [*][SIZE=4]It prolific as hell and will start rooting wherever the vine has ground contact[/LIST][/SIZE] [B][SIZE=4]Zuchetta Tromba d'Albenga[/SIZE][/B]

[URL]http://www.growitalian.com/products/Zuchetta-Tromba-d27Albenga.html[/URL]

[IMG]http://cdn8.bigcommerce.com/s-83924/images/stencil/2048x2048/products/1023/271/FVXO_146-42_400px__19964.1310670946.jpg?c=2[/IMG]

I have stinkbugs too but they don't seem to bother my squash, only the squash bugs go after them and usually only in late summer.

I am most fond of *gasp* regular old zucchini and best of all, the warty yellow crooknecks picked little and so yummy. Baker Creel has one that is yellow and warty, weird name and cannot think of it right now, but excellent, too.

My strategy for dealing with squash bugs is to grow a number of varieties of squash, and let them promiscuously pollinate, and save seeds from any that survive the squash bugs, then replant the seeds and only save seeds from plants that are resistant to squash bugs. Repeat repeatedly.

Every time I see, "[B]What works for Squash bugs?" [/B]I think, "12 gauge shotgun!" :twisted:

We released Preying Mantis in the yard last year and I didn't see stink bugs or squash bugs. I plan to do it again. I have seeds for multiple types and I like Joseph's approach. I did order some Partenon squash from Johnny's and it is [COLOR=#000000]Parthenocarpic, so theoretically, I could cover it with lightweight row cover from day one... or grow it in the greenhouse only. I may try multiple approaches and see what works. I realize that I may get lucky and have too much which is a problem I haven't had in about 8-9 years!
[/COLOR]

[QUOTE=imp;688423]I am most fond of *gasp* regular old zucchini and best of all, the warty yellow crooknecks picked little and so yummy. Baker Creel has one that is yellow and warty, weird name and cannot think of it right now, but excellent, too.[/QUOTE]

Rugosa Friulana (if I remember correctly from last summer).

I guess I'm lucky, and have never seen a squash bug.

Stink bugs, yes, but they do no harm.

Squash vine borers, yes, and they can do harm. Aluminum foil tented around the stem works for me.

[QUOTE=RobinB;688657]We released Preying Mantis in the yard last year and I didn't see stink bugs or squash bugs. I plan to do it again. I have seeds for multiple types and I like Joseph's approach. I did order some Partenon squash from Johnny's and it is [COLOR=#000000]Parthenocarpic, so theoretically, I could cover it with lightweight row cover from day one... or grow it in the greenhouse only. I may try multiple approaches and see what works. I realize that I may get lucky and have too much which is a problem I haven't had in about 8-9 years!
[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

I tried that last year. I had really poor germination. Around 20% probably.

PM me with an address if you want seeds

[QUOTE=mekrebs;688377][SIZE=4]Try growing this instead because:[/SIZE]
[LIST=1][*][SIZE=4]The squash bugs don't bother it.[/SIZE][*][SIZE=4]Picked young, it's [B]better[/B] than summer squash[/SIZE][*][SIZE=4]Let it mature and its long lasting winter squash[/SIZE][*][SIZE=4]It prolific as hell and will start rooting wherever the vine has ground contact[/SIZE][/LIST] [B][SIZE=4]Zuchetta Tromba d'Albenga[/SIZE][/B]

[URL]http://www.growitalian.com/products/Zuchetta-Tromba-d27Albenga.html[/URL]

[IMG]http://cdn8.bigcommerce.com/s-83924/images/stencil/2048x2048/products/1023/271/FVXO_146-42_400px__19964.1310670946.jpg?c=2[/IMG][/QUOTE]
Guess you've been lucky... because squash bugs have infested mine some years. The plants are unlikely to suffer from the attack as much as [I]C. maxima[/I] squashes, though. They are really only vulnerable to squash bugs (or SVB) when young. BTW, the same squash is also sold by many other vendors as Tromboncino, or Zuccetta Rampicante.

For those who have never seen squash bugs, the adults are brown or gray, and closely resemble an assassin bug in size & shape. The nymphs are grayish... and usually in [I]huge[/I] numbers.

Cleaning up all garden waste at the end of the season will help keep squash bug numbers down - you need to eliminate hiding places for them to over winter. But if you have a lot of other gardens near you, or live near a pumpkin patch, you are pretty much stuck with them - because they locate squash plants by scent, and will just fly in from surrounding areas. It has been my experience that fertilizing young squash plants seems to increase the likelihood & severity of squash bug attacks, perhaps because it increases the chemical scents which attract them... so fertilizer is perhaps best applied later, after the infestation period has passed.

Row covers can be effective, if timed right. You want to cover the plants during the squash bug egg laying cycle... in my area, when I cover the young plants during the SVB cycle, it usually prevents squash bugs too. The cover should be large enough & loose enough to allow the young vines to roam. For me, if I remove the cover when flowering begins, the plants are usually safe from both insects. Thus far, I have never lost a squash crop if it was initially protected with a row cover... my losses were usually severe, or total, without one.

If you don't use a row cover, make an effort to find & kill the first adults, and their eggs. The first adults will often appear near the base of the stem, and will hide in soil crevices if disturbed. They will also hide under dead leaves (some of which are leaves they have killed) so remove those leaves as you find them.

If you don't like poisons or squishing, squash bugs are [I]very [/I]vulnerable to soap spray in all stages. In a one-quart spray bottle, I use: 1 cup rubbing alcohol; 1 tsp liquid soap; 1 tbs cooking oil; 1 tbs syrup (maple or corn syrup); and fill the remainder with water. Add the ingredients in the order listed; the alcohol prevents the soap from foaming, and the soap emulsifies the cooking oil. Add water to 1/2 full initially, shake vigorously until the oil & syrup have completely dissolved, then add water to fill & shake gently. The soap can be any mild soap, I recommend Safers, baby shampoo, or Dawn.

Hunt for the bugs with bottle in hand; if the bugs are completely covered with the spray, they will die within minutes. If you can find their egg masses, the spray will kill them also. To minimize the chances of leaf burn, you can rinse the sprayed areas with water after 30 minutes, since the bugs will be dead by then. This spray works on almost any insect pest; I also use it on aphids, caterpillars, Colorado potato bug larvae, and Japanese beetles. It will even knock wasps out in mid-air... so I use it (at night) to eliminate paper wasps that have built their nests in inconvenient locations.

Wow, will have to try that, Zeedman, sounds like if it works, I won't have to worry about timing for Sevin!