They have already killed one plant. I want to control them organically. Some have been hand picked, egg masses squished, nymphs squished, and now I am going to put diatomaceous earth around the stems, and use tape on my hand to try to lift the egg masses from the leaves without damaging the leaves. Any other suggestions?

I sure would be spraying those squash plants with Neem. I use the Neem on my squash to control/stop the powdery mildew and to kill any eggs laid from Squash vine Borers. Should work on squash bugs also.

I have read that if you soak the base of the plant really well that the squash bugs will all crawl up trying to escape the water and one can pick them to drop on a can of soapy water to drown.

Yesterday afternoon I picked off 4 or 5 squash bugs, squished a lot of eggs, picked up a lot of eggs and nymphs with the tape which also collected a lot of dirt while capturing nymphs. I sprinkled diamatacious earth around the stems. These plants are growing through a strip of black plastic. The tape picks up some eggs, but those near the leaf veins still need a fingernail to scrape them loose. This morning I caught 27 adult bugs and a few not quite mature nymphs, put them in a bucket with water, poured them out in the pasture on bare soil and stomped on them!

Rita, thanks for the suggestion. I don't have any Neem oil, and it is a 40 mile trip to town.

Ha, I just order these things on line!

http://www.planetnatural.com/p...

Thanks for the link.

What do these bugs look like???

Squash Bug
http://www.google.com/imgres?i...

Another pest of squash, the Squash Vine Borer Moth
http://www.google.com/imgres?i...

Thanks Rita. I have seen the borers but have never seen squash bugs before. I will keep on the lookout for them. I have been spraying the plants and vines so hopefully I won't get any.

I have been spraying my Squash with the Neem to keep the Powdery Mildew under control and it too kill any pest bug eggs from hatching.

Hi, All...
And a special wave to MaryE...nice to bump into ya! Hope all is well out your way!

As for Neem, be especially careful when using it, especially on squash and other cucurbits with the beautiful yellow and BIG flowers as they tend to be ones that attract bees for their pollination needs. Neem is highly toxic to bees and I'm sure we're all familiar with the bee loss these days; efforts should be made to work with and protect any bee species, placing their importance on as high a scale as you possibly can.

Pick your proper time for using Neem, preferably during times of zero bee activity (very early mornings or very late evenings). Or reserve it for plants that aren't as attractive to bees.

As for squash bugs themselves, I've often posted to hose the plants down so the bugs will come to the top of the plants to "dry out", then zap them with a soap spray (Safer's) mixed with a little rubbing alcohol. It will zap quite a few of them completely, stun some of them (pick them up while still stunned) and often-times the alcohol will zap the eggs to the point of not hatching. I wish there was an easier way to deal with squash bugs. I think they are the absolute hardest pests to get rid of using ecologically-friendly methods.

Wishing you a bumper crop of squash, MaryE! Hope to get those dangblamed critters.

Shoe (ahhh, stir-fried squash with sweet onions! squash casserole with cheese and bread crumbs on top! batter-fried squash, served with a Southern accent and a glass of sweet tea! ....

Horseshoe, nice to see you here. I remember you from Daves.

You know, I never use Neem on my cucumbers because I don't want to harm the bees. But I spray the squash late when the squash flowers are closed and the bees have gone home at night.

Hi there, Shoe, it's good to see you! So far, so good. I haven't lost any more plants and the squash bugs are becoming harder to find. I crawl through the squash patch on my hands and knees, taking a little bucket with me. These bugs are easy to pick up, they don't move very fast. They have their own private pool, that little bucket with soapy water.

Yesterday when I was flood irrigating the squash row, I notices some of the immature squash bugs moving awfully fast. Looking closer, I saw that they were being carried to safety by ants. I have seen ants carrying aphids, I know they farm them, but this surprised me.

I would be careful with Neem near foods.

Neem is made to be used on vegetable plants.

Wow, what a sight that must've been, Mary, seeing ants carrying squash bugs "to safety". Maybe you're on to something there. I wonder if they are beneficial to the ants in some form or other.

And grinnin' thinking of you lurking thru the squash plants with your bucket, on patrol!

Hi Rita. Yes, I was on DG for a number of years but I've been on ATP since its inception. Guess we haven't run across each other until this thread. Nice to see you. I remember following your thread last year on your cucumber trials. Hope you had great success, especially with one of my favorites you were growing, Suyo Long.

Shoe (off to cook some fresh picked okra to chow down on with some pan-"sauteed" (not fried) fish!

Horseshoe said:
Hi Rita. Yes, I was on DG for a number of years but I've been on ATP since its inception. Guess we haven't run across each other until this thread. Nice to see you. I remember following your thread last year on your cucumber trials. Hope you had great success, especially with one of my favorites you were growing, Suyo Long.
!

Guess we must have missed each other then. I have been at ATP since it started also.

I only have a very few Suyo Long plants already producing but I did plant a second crop pf cukes this year. Lots more Suyo Long plants there so we will see how they do.