As their name suggests, squash bugs are a bane of summer and winter squash plants and other cucurbit family plants such as pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons. Today, your cucurbit plants may look healthy, lush, and vibrant, and the next day wilted and dying.
Squash bugs are resilient, tenacious, and elusive. Outsmarting them often requires a combination of strategies. Your battle with these destructive pests is one of wits and persistence.
In this post, I’ll share the knowledge and strategies on how to get rid of squash bugs naturally to ensure your cucurbit plants thrive.
How To Get Rid Of Squash Bugs Naturally
1. Pick Off Squash Bugs By Hand
Your hands are perfect for picking squash bugs, nymphs, and eggs. Besides your hands, you will need a pair of gloves (especially if you’re squeamish), a bucket of soapy water, and a keen eye. Start your squash bug hunt at dawn or dusk when they are less active and easier to catch.
Examine your plants’ leaf undersides, near the base, and on the fruits. Adult squash bugs are shield-shaped, about 5/8 inch long, and have a mottled brownish-grey appearance. On the other hand, nymphs are smaller, greenish-gray, and cluster together, while the eggs are tiny, bronze-colored, and cluster on the leaves’ undersides.
Approach your plants quietly to avoid startling the squash bugs. When you spot a squash bug, quickly grab it and drop it into the soapy water. Scrape off squash bug eggs with a knife or your fingernail and dispose of them in soapy water.
Routinely check and handpick squash bugs every few days.
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2. Grab Squash Bugs With Duct Tape
Like handpicking, using duct tape to get rid of squash bugs is pretty simple and effective. Wrap duct tape around your fingers with the sticky side facing out. Approach your plants stealthily and quickly and gently press the tape’s sticky side against any squash bugs you find.
The squash bugs will stick to the tape, making removing them from the plant easy. This method works for both adult bugs and nymphs. For eggs, press the tape against the leaf where the egg clusters are, and they’ll adhere to the tape as well.
After successfully capturing the squash bugs and their eggs, fold the tape over to trap the bugs inside and prevent them from escaping. Dispose of the tape in a sealed plastic bag or inside the trash. Stay ahead of the squash bug hatch cycle by repeating duct tape sweep every 7-10 days.
3. Set Up Board Traps
Squash bugs shelter under objects that provide a dark, protected, moist environment. Therefore, placing wooden boards, old shingles, or even pieces of cardboard around the base of your squash plants creates a cozy hiding spot that squash bugs won’t resist.
Ensure the boards lay flat on the soil and wait until the next morning to raid these hiding spots. Quickly sweep up the squash bugs into a container or use a vacuum to suck them up and drown them in soapy water.
Alternatively, crush them directly under the board to kill them. Replace the boards and check them every morning.
4. Vacuuming
Your vacuum cleaner can double up as a pest control tool, especially if yours has a hose attachment. A shop vac or a handheld vacuum works, too. Gently move your vacuum cleaner slowly over the leaves and around the plant bases to suck up visible squash bugs and their eggs.
Dislodge squash bugs in hard-to-reach places with a brush attachment. Empty the bugs into a bucket of soapy water afterward. Vacuuming also works on garden pests such as asparagus beetles, cucumber beetles, and whiteflies.
5. Organic Sprays
Organic sprays are eco-friendly, less harmful to beneficial insects, pets, and humans, and most of them specifically target pests like squash bugs while minimizing harm to non-target species. Organic sprays that eliminate squash bugs include neem oil, insecticidal soap, and garlic or pepper sprays.
Neem oil disrupts squash bugs’ life cycles, insecticidal soap suffocates them, and garlic or pepper sprays repel them. Apply organic spray on a calm day, thoroughly but gently covering the entire leaf surface, especially the undersides.
6. Soapy Water
Manage the squash bug population in your garden with this simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly method. Soapy water will effectively kill squash bug adults, nymphs, and eggs, provided you thoroughly soak them.
The soap reduces the water’s surface tension, allowing it to penetrate the bug’s body and cause dehydration. Soapy water will also make squash bugs lose moisture, leading to dehydration. Moreover, the slick, soapy film it forms blocks the breathing pores.
Mix 1-2 tablespoons of mild, biodegradable dish soap without harsh chemicals with 4 cups of clean, lukewarm water.
7. Natural Predators
There are many good bugs that consume squash bugs and their nymphs. If these insects spend time in your garden, they can feed on squash bugs, thus reducing their population. Beneficial insects that help control squash bug populations include:
- Tachinid Flies: These parasitoidal flies feed and house their young ones inside insects such as squash bugs. Attract tachinid flies by planting mint, dill, catnip, fennel, calendula, and marigolds. This ensures adult tachinid flies have sufficient nectar. Adult tachinid flies don’t harm vegetable plants since they only consume pollen and nectar.
- Spiders: Hunting spiders are avid squash bug hunters. They crawl up the trees and around the soil to find and feed on their prey, mostly at night. Plant low-growing herbs and flowering plants around your cucurbit plants.
- Ground Beetles: They feed on squash bug nymphs and other garden pests. Maintain a diverse garden habitat and provide shelter like leaf litter or rocks to attract ground beetles.
8. Diatomaceous Earth (DE)
Diatomaceous earth is a formidable pest control method due to its abrasive and desiccating properties. It’s effective on various pests, especially soft-bodied ones like slugs, aphids, and snails.
When it comes to getting rid of squash bugs with DE, it will only work on the nymphs since adult squash bugs have a hard shell—spread DE at your plants’ bases.
Effective Strategies To Prevent Squash Bugs
Not dealing with squash bugs at all is, of course, the best approach to handle these pesky pests. You can prevent the occurrence of a squash bug infestation through these strategies.
a) Crop Rotation
Planting your cucurbit plants in the same spot every year will make squash bugs comfortable; they’ll come back to the same spot expecting a delicious feast and won’t struggle to find it. Changing the location of these plants each season confuses and disrupts them.
Divide your garden into distinct sections or beds and develop a rotation schedule that allows each section to host a different crop family each year. Rotate crops annually, ensuring you don’t plant cucurbits in the same section more than once every 3-4 years.
Keep detailed records of what crop types you planted in each section yearly to ensure accurate rotation. Besides preventing pests, crop rotation enhances soil health and reduces disease incidences.
b) Grow Squash Bug-resistant Plant Varieties
Some cucurbit plant varieties are more resistant and less attractive to squash bugs than others. Resistant varieties are less susceptible to damage caused by squash bugs and hence grow into healthy plants, more fruits and vegetables, and better harvests.
Therefore, look for cucurbit types bred for pest resistance or naturally resistant to squash bugs. Below are excellent examples:
- Squash Varieties: Butternut squash like ‘Waltham Butternut,’ acorn squash like ‘Table Queen,’ and crookneck squash like ‘Early Golden Summer Crookneck’
- Pumpkin Varieties: ‘New England Pie’ and ‘Howden’
- Cucumber Varieties: ‘Marketmore 76’ and ‘Straight Eight’
- Melon Varieties: ‘Hale’s Best Jumbo’ and ‘Crimson Sweet’
c) Companion Planting
Depending on the plants you choose with your cucurbit plants, you can keep squash bugs away by deterring them with scent or luring them to the trap crops and away from your main crops. Squash bugs dislike the smell of marigolds, onions, aromatic herbs, and garlic.
On the other hand, nasturtiums are so attractive to squash bugs that the pests will flock to them instead of your cucurbit plants.
d) Plant Early
Plant cucurbit plants early, allowing them to establish and grow before the bug population peaks. Alternatively, plant late in the season after squash bug peak activity, but choose cucurbit varieties that’ll produce a good harvest before the first frost.
Squash bugs are most active and harmful during summer’s warmer months.
e) Physical Barriers
Row covers, insect netting, and plant covers can help fortify your garden and plants against squash bugs. These barriers let the good stuff, like sunlight and water, in but keep the bad bugs out.
Cover young cucurbit plants and let them protect your plants until they flower; by this time, the squash bugs will have gone somewhere else. Remove the covers when your plants flower to let in pollinators.
f) Clean Garden Practices
Clear your garden of all plant debris after harvesting to eliminate overwintering sites for squash bugs. In addition, remove weeds because squash bugs can hide there.
Summary
While squash bugs can be a nightmare, don’t give up on growing your favorite cucurbit plants, be it squash, cucumbers, zucchinis, melons, or pumpkins. Controlling squash bugs with natural strategies is the best way to go. After all, chemical insecticides do not affect them.
Hey there, fellow plant enthusiasts! I’m Rachel, the green-thumbed writer behind Rooted In Garden. With a deep-rooted love for all things botanical, I’ve made it my mission to help you cultivate a thriving collection of houseplants. As a devoted plant parent myself, I understand the joys and challenges that come with nurturing these leafy wonders. Whether you’re a succulent aficionado, an orchid enthusiast, or simply adore all potted flora, join me on this journey as we explore the secrets to growing and caring for our beloved green companions. Together, let’s create a flourishing oasis indoors.