You can’t beat squash bugs 100% but you can greatly reduce the damage they cause to your squash, zucchini, and other garden crops. This is how I manage a common garden problem.
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4 Ways to Mange Squash Bug Damage on Your Squash, Zucchini, and Other Garden Plants: My Approach! https://therustedgarden.blogspot.com/2023/08/4-ways-to-mange-squash-bug-damage-on.html
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21 Comments
I had to give up squash out here, the vine moth decimates everything no matter what I did and I patrolled them daily
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Squash bigs killed my garden this year. I've battled them for years and know all about them but they won again. How do I kill them in the soil before next year?
Does neem oil not kill them?
I have seen your videos on neem oil soil drench and aspirin soil drench. Have you ever tried a BT soil drench. If so what were the results? I am in zone 9(Houston, Tx) squash bugs and squash vine bore have been my biggest problems this year 😩
I also had to give up planting squash. After years of battling them, gathering more information on ways to treat them, planting trap crops, and doing everything I knew to do, they still decimated my butternut squash plants. I’m done.
I lost 7 hybrid & crook neck squash plants this month. It seems to be gophers in my case. The gophers also tore a branch of low hanging ripening cherry tomatoes. They’ve also takes 2 of my 3 sugar pumpkin plants with the last ones looking damaged probably from underground. My answer? Inundating my newly opened spaces with fall/winter vegetable seeds and herb seeds. I probably planted 10 varieties or more (5 kinds of basil alone). Did it in the California “hurricane” on Sunday/the beautiful day Monday.
Edit: also trying to sneak in last minute warm weather herbs like basil of which I will bring inside to grow over winter hopefully.
Can Tomatoes and Bell Pepper be affected by Squash bugs. My Zucchini plants are no longer producing Female flowers and the leaves and roots are dying off and I want to pull up what's left.
OMG so gross!! I didn't have many squashs this year, but am so glad I didn't have those bugs. I HATE bugs so that would have freaked me out!!! Next year I will do some succession planting for sure.
They're DISGUSTING! I can't stand those disgusting disastrous useless creatures.
I find that what works best for me is interplanting the squash with Plants That Repel Squash Bugs. I haven't had any for the last few years. I also move where I plant my squash every year. Here is a partial list of plants that have worked for me in the past. The flowers listed below also attract pollinators for the squash flowers, yay!
Lemon thyme
Petunias
Marigolds – Best one and so easy to grow.
Nasturtiums – second favorite, easy to grow.
Tansy
Lemongrass
Cironella grass
Basil
Sage
Alliums like chives
Catnip
Lavender
Doing seed starts in an airconditioned room is working. On day three, I have my first cabbage sprouts, and am anticipating kohlrabi sprouts soon. After most of the seeds have germinated, I'll move them outside to a shady area, then do seed starts for Pak Choi, and Yellow Heart Winter Choy. When the temperature cools down below 90F, I'll sow seeds for Komatsuna and golden beets, and when it drops below 85F, Danvers carrots. I didn't think about sowing pea seeds in an airconditioned room. Trying to pre-sprout pea seeds failed because of the heat, so I missed my window for growing fall peas. They will have to wait until late February next year. My crookneck squash and zucchini plant have doubled in size in the last week, and the crookneck squash is loaded with flower buds, so more squash soon. I had a major infestation of Hornworms, over a dozen large hornworms on two plants. The damage, overnight, was severe, and the plants removed from my garden. I still have Brandywine tomato plants with fruit on the vine, and plenty of cherry tomatoes still producing. I'm going to have to do another pepper harvest soon. I am getting more peppers from my GreenStalk, than my pepper bed. Next year my Ye Olde Mostly Perpendicular Tower of Peppers will be replaced with The Twin Towers. Notice a theme? I'll still be growing peppers in my pepper bed next year, but only using half of it for peppers, the other half for something else, Kohlrabi? Golden Beets? Both? This year, I had a problem with the zinnias lining my raised beds. The variety I grew are supposed to be dwarf varieties getting only 18-20 inches tall, Thumbelina Zinnia. The problem is, they grew over three feet tall, overshadowing the peppers. It was supposed to be the other way around. So, I decided that next year, I will grow them in fabric pots, about eight pots, and strategically place them in different areas of the garden. I will also be dedicating four 25 gallon grow bags to cantaloupe and Sugar Baby Watermelon, and planting three fruit trees, a Lapins Cherry, and two plum trees.
I have the BEST SOLUTION! Vacuum Them up!!!! I think the best way over to take care of the squash bugs Once they are mature or even when they’re smaller is to bring a little hand vac with you everyon every time you water … after watering they will show themselves and start moving around… then you suck them all up with your vacuum! It works like a charm!!!! And I have to admit it’s PRETTY FUN AND SATISFYING TOO!!
My 2nd round got decimated by squash bugs. I barely got a bloom before I just pulled them. They are a pain.
I didn’t plant squash this year because I didn’t want to deal with squash bugs. They are so hard to keep up with!
Great information Gary. A constant battle we must endure. I realized I have to do multiple plantings as you recommended. Do you have any suggestions for leaf-footed bugs. I’m having a battle with them on my tomato plants.
I always forget to check regularly for the squash bugs, so this year, I planted in a very large pot (cattle mineral lick tubs) and using a couple of low tunnel hoop wire, then covered with a mesh like screen cloth used for small trees/bushes. I then pollinate myself, check every morning for flowers. First planting in spring finished up in July, and 2nd planting I am now harvesting from zucchini and yellow squash. Tons of fruit from 2 plants, few minutes each morning is all it takes. For me, this is a win/win!!
I told my wife this week – next year I’m planting a plot away from everything else…harvest as we can then burn them all once taken over.
Succession plant and do it again…repeat
squash bugs are the bane of my garden! I don't have too much trouble with anything else, but, squash bugs infest the squash of course, and melons, and cukes. Ugh! hate those things! LOL
I thought June and July were the domain of the squash bugs. Maybe, but something sure sucked the life of my “Round 2” zucchini and cucumber plants last week. Between that and the incessant >100F temps this gardening season has been a bust. So maddening. Well, except for my first time growing a very sweet sugar baby watermelon from a plant that I bought at a local nursery. I’m currently trying my luck growing watermelon from the seeds of that watermelon. 🤞
Have you ever tried sucking them off with a Shop Vac filled with soapy water? Do you ever blend hot peppers with the water?