If you grow pumpkins, zucchini, squash plants, and other cucurbit plants in your garden, squash bugs can be a destructive pest. Squash bugs have identifiable extended oval bodies and are tiny, flat-backed dark gray or brown insects. To avoid squash bugs from ruining your crops, you’ll need to eliminate them quickly. Hand picking, diatomaceous earth, and neem oil sprays are all methods for squash bug control.
A multi-method approach is required to control squash bugs and prevent them from returning. It’s important to keep away from attracting plant-destroying insects, in addition to natural insecticides. Row covers, companion planting, and not mulching around squash or pumpkin plants are all part of total squash bug elimination.
This article will teach you how to prevent squash bug problems in your garden by following these steps. You’ll find out about squash bug life cycles in addition to natural ways of eradicating them. As a result, you may eliminate the bothersome bugs from your garden by using an integrated squash bug control strategy.
Squash Bug (Anasa tristis) Facts
The genus Anasa and family Coreidae contain the squash bug, a tiny insect. Squash bugs are roughly 0.6″ (1.5 cm) long and have a flat rear with a grayish-brown body. Sucking the sap from leaves causes them to wilt and die, resulting in significant damage by squash bugs. Squash bugs eat mostly pumpkins and summer and winter squash plants, as the name suggests. Squash bug eggs and adult bugs can be found on zucchini, cucumbers, cantaloupe melons, and watermelons.
Squash beetles are a name for these insects. When crushed, squash bugs release a putrid odor. Others refer to squash bugs as stink bugs because of the unpleasant fragrance. Although squash bugs and stink bugs share a similar appearance and have a foul odor when crushed, they are unrelated.
Squash Bug Control
Before the egg clusters of squash bugs hatch, the most effective way to manage them is by removing or scraping them off. The eggs and squash bug nymphs will be eaten by ground beetles. Furthermore, you should by hand remove any mature squash bug from the undersides of leaves.
Adult squash bug nymphs should be dropped into a tub of soap water to kill them permanently after they’re removed. Preventing squash bug populations from growing too large is important in order to ensure a full harvest of squash plants.
What Do Squash Bugs Look Like?
A squash bug adult has a flattened dark gray oval or egg-shaped body that is 0.6” (1.5 cm) long and has three black eyes. Three pairings of black legs and two antennae characterize the squash pests. A dark U or V-shaped mark over the skull, as well as two prominent dots on the rear, may be visible.
Squash Bugs vs. Stink Bugs
Squash bugs and stink bugs have a lot in common, making it easy to mistake one for the other. When crushed, both emit a stench and appear to be the same. Since the adult squash bug has a thin body and solely eats on cucurbit plants, you may differentiate them from stink bugs.
Squash Bug Life Cycle
Female squash bugs lay oval, bronze-colored eggs on the underside of cucurbit leaves in late spring, signaling the start of the squash bug life cycle. Clusters of eggs, which may contain up to 18 eggs, are discovered in the V-shaped thick leaf veins. After seven to nine days, squash bug eggs hatch.
The squash bug nymphs go through five instars (stages) before becoming adults after hatching in the summer. The nymphs take four to six weeks to reach maturity. As adult pests, squash bug nymphs become a darker gray color. They are light grayish-white in color at birth.
Squash bugs may survive up to four months in the wild. Overwinters beneath garden trash, mulch, log heaps, and dead squash vines. This insect pest is destructive. Since there is only one generation of squash bugs each year, reducing their numbers to a bare minimum may be achieved with patience and perseverance.
Where Do Squash Bugs Come From?
If you grow any type of plant from the Cucurbitaceae family, squash bugs may fly and will frequently fly from nearby gardens. Squash bugs may therefore enter your vegetable garden from any direction. In the spring, adult pests will come out of mulch to lay more eggs on neighboring squash plants.
Where Do Squash Bugs Live?
Squash bugs live on the leaves of pumpkin, zucchini, and other squash types. The squash nymphs will initially live on the underside of leaves, where female bugs lay eggs. Squash bugs may be found under mulch, rocks, or plant debris on adult squash vines.
What Do Squash Bugs Eat?
Squash and pumpkin plant leaves are the primary food of squash bugs. Zucchini, cucumber, and melon plants will be destroyed by the destructive insect pest. The bug injects toxins into plant leaves using its razor-sharp sucking mouthparts. Squash plant leaves dry out, becoming brittle, and eventually die.
Squash Bug Identification
Dark gray or brown insects with a flat back that crawl on the underside of pumpkin or squash leaves are a good indication of squash bugs. The pests have a spotted back and triangular patterns on their bodies, which are elongated oval. Squash bugs may grow up to 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) long.
What Does Squash Bug Damage to Plants Look Like?
Squash bugs feed on squash and pumpkin leaves, resulting in yellow spots that appear. The leaves become yellow, wilt, and die due to extensive squash bug damage. Moreover, the plant may produce fewer and smaller crops.
How to Get Rid of Squash Bugs from Plants
It may be difficult to get rid of squash bugs once they’ve reached the nymph stage. Using natural squash bug management techniques is always the best option. By doing so, you keep harmful chemicals out of the food chain. Chemical pesticides may also lose their effectiveness if bugs develop resistance. Squash bugs may be controlled in a variety of ways.
Remove Squash Bugs from Plants by Hand
Pick the adults and nymphs off the leaves, then toss them in a tub of detergent water to eliminate squash bugs. You can slice the complete leaf and eliminate a group of insects on a squash plant leaf by soaking them in soapwater. You may dispose of the squash bugs in compost or pour over weeds once they are dead.
Use Diatomaceous Earth to Eradicate Squash Bugs
Since it destroys the outer layer of squash bugs, diatomaceous earth (DE) is a natural squash bug killer. Sprinkle your squash plant vines and leaves with food grade DE. The DE dehydrates and kills the bugs when they come into contact with the abrasive white powder.
For diatomaceous earth to be effective in squash bug management, it’s important to remember the following. The soil and leaves must be completely dry for DE to work. After you’ve seen rain or watered your garden when the soil is dry, you’ll have to reapply the powder.
Use Duct Tape for Quick Bug Removal
Duct tape may be used to create a natural squash bug trap. Just roll the tape so that the sticky side is exposed. That’s all you have to do! With little effort, you may set numerous traps around your squash plants in strategic locations. Squash bug egg clusters may also be removed from leaves using duct tape. Gently peel away a small piece of tape from the eggs by pressing it gently against them. The heavy-duty tape should stick to the majority of brown bug eggs.
Insecticidal Soap Spray for Killing Squash Bugs
Squash bugs are killed by an organic soap spray that breaks down their outer shell. As a foliar application, you can buy commercial organic insecticidal soap. To eliminate squash bugs on plants, you can make your own soapy spray using dish soap or liquid Castile soap. Add 1 tsp. of squash bug spray to a cup of water.
Using a spray bottle, mix 1 quart (1 liter) of water with liquid Castile soap. To kill squash bugs on contact, spray directly onto squash, pumpkin, or zucchini plants. The soap will slow them down, making it easier to apprehend them even if some of them survive.
Spray Squash Bugs with a Neem Oil Solution
Squash bugs may be eliminated using neem oil, which is a natural organic insecticide. Mix 2 tsp. of glycerine with 1 Tbsp. of water to make a natural insecticide spray. 1 tsp. neem oil is added to this recipe. In a spray bottle, mix dish soap with a quart (1 liter) of water.
To eliminate squash nymphs and adults, spray the squash plant foliage with neem solution liberally. Natural control measures might not always be 100 percent successful in the event of a heavy infestation. If organic pesticides fail, you may have to resort to commercially accessible insecticides in that scenario.
How to Prevent Squash Bugs
Early detection of nasty pests is crucial in preventing a large infestation in your fight with squash bugs. Check the underside of cucurbit plant leaves every few days for egg clusters in mid-spring, when females start to lay eggs. Afterwards, crush eggs attached to leaves and stems. Yet, there are a few additional steps that may help to avoid an squash bug infestation.
Prevent Squash Bugs by Planting Resistant Varieties of Squash Plants
Planting squash bug resistant cucurbit varieties is the simplest method to prevent squash bugs. Lemon Squash, Butternut Squash, and Zucchino Rampicante Squash are some squash varieties that are resistant to squash bugs. ‘Early Summer Crookneck,’ ‘Royal Acorn,’ ‘Butternut 23,’ and ‘Enhanced Green Hubbard are some of the other squash varieties available.
Use Row Covers to Deter Squash Bugs
Female bugs laying eggs can be protected from doing so by using floating row covers to cover your squash plants. It’s important to keep in mind that this insect control approach is only effective during the early season. Row covers have the potential to obstruct pollinators from accessing flowers.
When the vines begin to bloom, the best way to utilize row covers for squash bug prevention is to take them off. Inspecting the underside of leaves for eggs and squash bug nymphs is also important on a regular basis. You could alternatively, throughout the season, use row covers to protect flowers and hand pollinate them.
Companion Planting Can Help Prevent Squash Bugs
Squash bugs can be prevented from consuming your squashes and pumpkins by growing plants that repel squash bugs. Nasturtiums, marigolds, and white icicle radishes are all said to repel squash pests. In addition, you might use aromatic plants like dill, lemon balm, peppermint, and parsley to ward off insects.
Another strategy to reduce squash bug populations is to cultivate crops that attract squash bug predators. Squash pest larvae and nymphs are eaten by ladybugs and tachinid flies, for example. Sweet clover, cilantro, dill, carrots, and anise hyssop are among the plants that attract beneficial insects.
Of course, in your efforts to rid squash bugs from your garden, companion planting is just one approach. Nonetheless, combining numerous control methods may help reduce the number of garden pests.
Avoid Attracting Squash Bugs by Keeping Your Garden Clean
Dead plant material, debris, rocks, and log piles serve as overwintering habitats for squash bugs. Squash bugs have no place to call home when you clean up your garden and eliminate all unnecessary waste. Other insect predators and animals are also more likely to discover the pests, which they will devour. During the autumn, remove all dead cucurbit plant matter to prevent squash bugs. Instead of composting dead squash and pumpkin leaves and stems, it is usually recommended to chop or burn them.
You can ensure that as many adult squash bugs are eliminated this way. Tiling will help get rid of more garden pests that are hibernating in the ground as part of your fall garden clean up.
Don’t Mulch Around Vegetables to Prevent Squash Bugs
Avoid mulching around squash, pumpkin, and zucchini plants to prevent providing the ideal environment for squash bugs to thrive. Squash bugs thrive in the thick layer of bark or straw that covers the soil. Also, try to remove as much mulch or ground cover plants as needed if you are battling a large number of squash bugs.
Squash Bug Control — FAQs
What’s the best way to prevent squash bugs from overwintering?
During the winter, adult squash bugs hide out in places such as beneath plant debris, mulch, rocks, and wood piles. Adults will emerge from hibernation in the spring, mate, and deposit hundreds of eggs on squash plants. As a result, at the conclusion of the growing season, it’s crucial to remove all plant debris.
Do squash bugs bite?
No. 1 is not a number, it’s the letter “a.” Squash bugs are harmless to humans and may be picked off squash plants with no danger. People should not be afraid of them. Just be aware that crushing them will emit an awful stench.