Re: [gardeners] bugs on my squash
margaret lauterbach (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 28 Jun 1999 07:28:06 -0600
At 10:05 PM 6/27/99 -0500, you wrote:
>I found some bugs on my squash today that I have seen referred to
>as stink bugs. I also found eggs on the underside of the leaves.
>The eggs are goldish brownish in color and oval shaped, and small.
>
>Last year I lost all my cucurbits to bugs. What can I do to get rid
>of these bugs?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Holly
Holly, if you'll look up "squash bugs" I'll bet your bug looks more like
that than a stinkbug. Stinkbugs are about 1/2 inch long, squash bugs are
closer to one inch. I'd like to know of a sure-kill formula for squash bugs
that wouldn't harm bees or other beneficials, but the only thing I can
suggest is kill what you can when you can with thumb and forefinger. Watch
the leaves -- and stems -- for red eggs, and crush them. Darned squash bugs
will lay a trail of eggs up a stem. Use your thumbnail to get them. I don't
mind tearing leaves to remove a patch of eggs, then squashing them against
a fencepost. Sort of satisfying "pops." They mate back to back, and you
can often do in two at once.
Once those eggs hatch, the little grey nymphs can suck the life out of a
squash plant in no time. It looks like it's starved for water, but they're
the culprits. Good luck to you and me. Margaret L