I have the most amazing readers, and most of the time, it is me learning from you, but every once in awhile, someone sends in a question that I think, “Hey, I bet lots of people would love to know the answer to that.” So, I am going to try to feature some of your questions and answer them, the best I can.
Hi Mavis !
Just a little note to say how much i appreciate your blog and newsletter. Love it m sooo much good info and ideas…keep up the good work . I have a question for you? How do you deal with pesky squash bugs that attack zucchinis and other plants in the squash family… I have tried anything from soap water to picking off by hand but i still don’t seem to get them all and have suffered shorter lifespans of my plants and harvest. I don’t use pesticides, all I plant is organic…any ideas or proven tips would be appreciated.
Good question Chris. Sounds like you’ve done a couple of things I would recommend. I’ve had some luck adding cayenne pepper to my soap mixture {about a teaspoon to a spray bottle}. The soap thing will need to be fairly regular {daily} to manage them. Picking them off by hand also works {I am not going to lie, squishing them gives me a sick satisfaction}.
The real key, though, is prevention. Try planting mint, chives, garlic, onion, tansy, radishes, nasturtiums, marigolds, and/or bee balm close by. Squash bugs HATE the smell of mint and chives–so they try to avoid anything close to them. On the flip side, they are super attracted to marigolds and nasturtiums–which can distract them from your produce bearing squash.
You can also wage war by introducing beneficial insects to your garden. That way, they can prey on those nasty squash bugs, leaving you to enjoy your garden.
If you find after all of that, you are still having a problem with them, you may want to try to grow varieties that are resistant to squash bugs. Butternut squash, royal acorn, and sweet cheese squash all seem to be more resistant to squash bugs.
Finally, make sure to week very regularly to avoid giving the bugs a place to hide. Also, if you do happen to get squash bugs, don’t compost your dead plants and clear your beds really well in the fall. Those little buggers have a tendency to overwinter and cause trouble all over again the next growing season.
Hope that helps, Chris and thanks again for the question!
If any of you have found a super effective way to rid yourself of or avoid squash bugs altogether, please leave your comments below.
~Mavis
Got problems in the garden? Well so do I. Last year I purchased The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease Control and I LOVE it! Got bugs? Get the book and you’ll be happy. Or at least well informed. Ha!
Dominique says
Thanks for sharing! I will keep that in mind. I love your website.
Roxie Moreland says
You can also use food grade Diatomaceous Earth which is safe for humans. It causes them to dehydrate due to small scratches on their shell. Last year I used it for the first time because we had blister bugs from hell. It took care of the squash bugs too!
Marcy says
That first pic with the bugs all over TOTALLY gave me the willies! Another bonus to Alaska….much fewer pests! Ours just get hairy and large!
Carmella says
Be careful using DE – it kills the good bugs too!
Cheryl Kimbley says
Milky Spore is the only thing I have found to help. It looks like dust – but is actually little critters that eat the larvae – so no bugs. I mix as directed into soil, then till it in. The years I have used we had excellent crops – not so much on the off year. It is pricey and can be bought on the internet.
ONLY thing I have found that works.
Cheryl
Lissa says
Duck tape! roll it into a circle and roll it over the area. It picks em all up. Then you can stomp on em or toss em.
Beckybeq says
(Going outside to plant onions in the squash bed)
I’m trying something new this year, since I’ve lost my squash plants for the last 3 years straight. When I transplanted them, I wrapped the stem of the plant in aluminum foil. (I have plenty of foil left from an after Christmas clearance a few years back) As the plant grows, I wrap the main stem. Now, to just sit back and see if it actually works.
Mari says
U squish bugs when you could put them in a container and give them to your girls?? Shame on you. Your hens will quickly devour the evidence and they love live food.
Let some of your hens out and steer them towards your pumpkin patch. They will not harm the squash, but will have 5 star dining. Do this twice a week and you will have a clean patch.
Also having wood shavings or chips under your squash makes it harder for snails to move around. Saw dust is excellent as it is sharp. Don’t use gravel tho as it heats up to much.
Jane Doe says
I have yet to meet a chicken who will eat a squash bug. They’re like stink bugs. They smell bad and apparently taste bad too. The other day one of my younger ones tried a squash bug. She promptly spit it out and went to wiping her beak on the ground. I’ve raised chickens for decades and squash too, and never had any luck getting the birds to eat the nasty things.
Vicki says
I grew these two years in a row when I lived in Indiana and had several raised garden beds: http://www.gourmetseed.com/product/ZS14/Zucchetta-Tromboncino.html. The squash bugs devastated my other squash plants (pattypan, eight ball, zucchini and crook neck yellow squash), but left these alone. They outproduced *everything* in my garden – wonderful, prolific plants. They tasted wonderful, and since the neck is so long, they are mostly meat with a tiny seed cavity, so not much waste. Sigh – I miss my garden. I’m living vicariously though you and all the garden photos everyone is sending you.
Ray says
Last year I used my small shop vac . I drilled small holes in the wand to cut down on suction at the end of the wand . Then dump in duck and chicken pen .
Mavis says
Ray, you are a genius!
Natalie says
Are all these tiny grey, flat bugs covering my squash leaves and blossoms Squash Bugs?? My entire 4X8 bed is COVERED and its starting to look like its harming my plants. I already lost one bed earlier this summer to the same thing but I had no idea what it was. My garden is SERIOUSLY infested and I’m totally panicking that I can’t save it. What is my best route considering the degree of infestation? I don’t even think my chickens could get it under control if I let them in there! Help!
Roger Brett says
Start by locating a good plastic pump spray bottle with an adjustable nozzle – the type you’d see for spraying window cleaner. Make a mixture of the blue Dawn dishwashing liquid, cayenne pepper and cold water (to avoid sudsing). Fill the sprayer with the water first, then add the other ingredients. Some experimentation will be required to get the right ratio of ingredients. Many people online have claimed success with this formula. It may take a couple minutes for them to die after being sprayed. I haven’t tried this but since they hate chives and mint, I wonder if mixing some of those extracts in the spray might leave a residue that could repel the survivors after spraying. Let us know if that works!
Stephanie says
I have read growing tobacco is suppose to be a good bug deterrent. The leaves can also be dried and then added to water to make a spray. I will be trying it for the first time in 2014. Hope it works!
Kameron says
We have found that fresh cut dill placed on and around the squash plant will keep them at bay for at least a week. Have dine this the past 3 years and have had bumper crops of squash. Tried planting dill in containers and placing them close by, but it didn’twork like the cut dill.
Eileen says
Our extension office suggested big sunflowers as a deterrent. I tried it last year and they swarmed to plants when they begin to flower. Then I take the handheld vacuum with the pointed nozzle, turn it on first and then quickly point to the bugs and suck them up. This year I’ve had far less bugs I think b/c I caught so many last year. I use the vacuum each time I go out to the garden and suck up the few stragglers I find. I rolled cardboard around the tip and folder over the nozzle to slide on and off when not in use as they will crawl out of the vacuum. Also put DE around the base of the plants. I feel I’m winning the war now.
Margaret says
We bought a one of the small propane torch bottles and screw on wand from Lowes. Search your plants and everywhere you see the eggs, lightly put the flame from the torch to them and the eggs pop…if they have hatched and the bugs are small just go over them with the flame…for the big ones, we squash them. It really does help, but if you have a lot of plants it is work and you need to be careful to not hold the flame too close to the leaf for a long period of time, although it did not appear to affect the plants. We have done this for 2 years in a row and it is effective. Btw, don’t forget to check the stems for eggs. Happy hunting!
Carrie says
Try Neem Oil. This is a natural product. Follow packaging directions and spray once a week. I’ve used this product for the last 2 years and it works wonderfully. This spray can also be used on fruit trees to get rid of insects.
Emilee Hunter says
Any thoughts about using other mint products? I have some mint smelling granules to keep mice away. I would be interested in anyone’s opinion if this might work to keep the squash bugs away?
Ray C. says
Get rid of the moths that lay the eggs. For an organic trap, I take an empty plastic milk jug , cut a 2×4 inch hole in the side about 3 inches from the bottom. Then add about 4T of molasses, a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar and two cups water and mix well. Place the jugs near the plants. This will draw the moths and they end up drowning in the mix. This year I tried a bottle of Coney Island RootBeer 5.7% alcohol instead and it seemed to draw even more kinds of unwanted bugs. I will try the RootBeer again next year, even around my apple trees.
kathy R says
I am going to try moth balls between newspaper with Cyprus mulch. I also planted my squash in a large coffee can with bottom and top cut off and placed a few inches into soil of garden soil.
Christine Brown says
I have been usinng neem oil and insecticidal soap in a spray bottle. Works great on all kinds of bugs but particularly on squas bugs. You have to spray every time you see them but after awhile…you don’t see them at all!
Jan W says
An old gentleman farmer told us to put squash seeds & cucumber seeds in a small clean (tuna fish) can to which you have placed about 1/3 C, of kerosene…drop seeds in, then immediately scoop them out & plant. THIS WORKS!! And it in no way affects the plants and/or the taste of harvest. The best part is that the bugs will NOT go near your plants.
Also he recommended that for a bumper crop of cucumbers, plant the seeds on the longest day of the year…that worked well for us, too…
Sometimes the old codgers have good ideas!!!