Dealing Doomsday to Squash Bugs

It’s been two years since I last wrote an article about killing squash bugs in the garden.  Just to be clear here, the subject of today’s article is Anasa tristis, the gray/dark brown bugs that lay eggs which look like little footballs of the undersides of squash family leaves.  The squash vine borer, Melitta curcurbitae, is a black and red moth-like critter with a caterpillar-like larval state.  Fortunately, I’ve never had to deal with them.  Squash bugs are bad enough.

In the two years since publishing my method for dealing doomsday to squash bugs in the garden, I’ve run across a few other ways of controlling them.  As we watch the global food situation become increasingly dire by the day, I’m becoming even more convinced of the need for everybody to grow their own food.  Zucchini and other squashes are going to be a critical member of any survival garden.  We can’t afford to lose these essential productive powerhouses to squash bugs.  So we’d better have several preventative measures and solutions we can immediately implement.  

Squash bugs eat all types of squash, melons, and cucumbers; however, most sources indicate that their absolute favorite food is pumpkin, with other types of squash following close behind.  They will eat melons and cucumbers if they don’t have their favorites available. 

The number of generations of squash bugs per season depends greatly on your climate as well as how mild the winter was.  Northern states may have only one generation to deal with, while southern states can experience up to three generations.  Areas with multiple generations of squash bugs to contend with may not be able to use all the suggestions presented below. 

Handpicking.  Most every author out there states that handpicking the squash bugs and removing the eggs and then drowning all of them in warm soapy water is the best way of controlling the little monsters.  I would guess—but can’t say for sure—that most of these people are also only growing a couple of squash and melon plants.  Handpicking might actually be a viable solution in that situation.  If you’ve got a lot of squash plants, however, my experience doesn’t support that idea.  I grew dozens of squash plants when we lived in Missouri.  There was no way I could control them by handpicking, even if I spent hours each day, which luxury I didn’t have then and certainly won’t have in the future.  And I’m growing dozens of squash plants this year, and probably for the next several years as well.  We’ll all need more weapons than our fingers. 

Self-Rising Flour.  The self-rising flour method, which I wrote about here (basically, sprinkle self-rising flour on the plants), works really well.  In combination with catnip, it might be 100% effective.  It was for me for two years, but I still want to have other options. 

Diatomaceous earth is more effective on eggs and nymph stages than against adults.  

Neem oil is effective on squash bugs of all ages and also helps control powdery mildew.  It also doesn’t harm pollinators. 

Pyrethrin-based sprays are best used when plants are younger and you won’t be harvesting anything for at least a week. 

Trap crops are decoys planted away from the main garden.  It is best to use their favorites here.  An Oklahoma State University study found that squash bugs favor yellow straightneck and crookneck,[1] though most everyone states that pumpkin is the squash bugs’ favorite.  Plant resistant varieties in the garden.

Timing the plantings.  Plant a trap crop early and then destroy that crop and all the squash bugs it attracted before the main crop begins to grow.  

Floating row covers may work.  While there are many companies that will sell you their perfect solution for such situations, a bolt of tulle from Amazon will cost less and work just as well.  Regardless of what row cover you use, it must be well secured to prevent bugs from going underneath.

Cardboard.  I’m not going to insult your intelligence by suggesting the cardboard trap promoted by others.  You can read about that fiasco in the earlier article on killing these beasts. 

Synthetic chemical pesticides with carbaryl, esfenvalerate, or permethrin as the active ingredient should work.  Permethrin should already be in your supplies as an effective means of dealing with ticks, bedbugs, and other nasties.[2]  The synthetic pesticides will be far more effective early in the season than later on.  And because squash bugs are pretty good at developing resistance, pesticide use alone should not be relied on.

Companion planting with catnip is effective at repelling squash bugs to some extent.  I certainly wouldn’t rely upon it alone.  Other plants that reportedly deter these bugs are dill, nasturtium, tansy, peppermint, and spearmint. 

Links to related posts:

Killing Squash Bugs

Synthetic Fertilizers, Pesticides, and Herbicides:  Are They Key to  Productive Survival Gardens?  Permethrin
Diatomaceous Earth 

The Medicinal Uses of Catnip  

The Medicinal Uses of Nasturtium  

References:

https://extension.psu.edu/squash-bug

https://extension.usu.edu/pests/research/squash-bugs

https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/squash-bug/

https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/insect/05609.pdf 

https://www.epicgardening.com/squash-bugs/

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[1] https://extension.usu.edu/pests/research/squash-bugs

[2] https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/insect/05609.pdf

 23 march 2024