4 Ways to Manage Squash Bug Damage on Squash & Zucchini Plants: My Approach to Reducing Pest Damage!

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

My new Podcast: The Rusted Garden Homestead https: https:bit.ly/443SSGL Visit my blog, The Rusted Garden Journal, for the written DIY recipes and more garden information: therustedgarden.blogspot.com Thanks... Here is how you can support me, more videos, and The Rusted Garden... The Rusted Garden Seed & Garden Shop: www.therustedgarden.com/ Companies I am Affiliated With... Bentey Seed Company bentleyseeds.com GreenStalk Garden Vertical Towers: lddy.no/4eal Vegega Metal Raised Beds:www.vegega.com/?ref=le64f3gm30 AgroThrive Water-Soluble Fertilizer: bit.ly/3qx7rot The Rusted Garden 'Scan & Grow' Seed Collection www.therustedgarden.com/search?type=product&q=qr Just scan the QR code and watch a planting video: Follow me on Instagram instagram.com/therustedgarden/ Join The Rusted Garden Homestead FB Group facebook.com/groups/Therustedgardenhomestead Follow me on TikTok www.tiktok.com/@therustedgarden My Books The Modern Homestead Garden: amzn.to/43iXbyx Growing and Edible Landscape: amzn.to/3NgMUxj Visit My Amazon Store Front I earn from any eligible purchases you make. www.amazon.com/shop/garypilarchiktherustedgarden Become an affiliate of The Rusted Garden and Earn 15% on sales.

[@kimparker1752]

I always forget to check regularly for the squash bugs, so this year, I planted in a very large pot (cattle mineral lick tubs) and using a couple of low tunnel hoop wire, then covered with a mesh like screen cloth used for small trees/bushes. I then pollinate myself, check every morning for flowers. First planting in spring finished up in July, and 2nd planting I am now harvesting from zucchini and yellow squash. Tons of fruit from 2 plants, few minutes each morning is all it takes. For me, this is a win/win!!

[@spir5102]

I also had to give up planting squash. After years of battling them, gathering more information on ways to treat them, planting trap crops, and doing everything I knew to do, they still decimated my butternut squash plants. I’m done.

[@keyshawn3417]

I started growing trombone squash and zucchini rampicante. The squash bugs dont really decimate them. You need to trellis these squash.

[@JimMeakim]

I have been using Neem Oil with soap. I spray early, several days after planting. Spray the plant and the soil under it. Spray again just before blossoms really get going, avoiding any blossoms. When I start picking, I spray the area where I picked, the main stem. I find this masks the smell of the cut plant that can attract pests. I remove the finished plant immediately after it's last harvest. This is working well in deterring white flies on my brussels sprouts too!

[@mattgohlke8216]

These, and other stink bug types, we found will come out of hiding when you give the plants a soak on shower setting. When they come out into the open we use a small shop vac to collect the bugs, its very effective and kinda fun. If you do it at night your neighbors will stop asking to borrow stuff too. We went on a 5 day trip, came back to quite an infestation in the cucumbers, they were cleared out in 2 days. Then try the soak again every week to get the juvinile bugs that hatched. Pretty easy issue to deal with.

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

Thats a great tip. The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD

[@nrgltwrkr2225]

I find that what works best for me is interplanting the squash with Plants That Repel Squash Bugs. I haven't had any for the last few years. I also move where I plant my squash every year. Here is a partial list of plants that have worked for me in the past. The flowers listed below also attract pollinators for the squash flowers, yay! Lemon thyme Petunias Marigolds - Best one and so easy to grow. Nasturtiums - second favorite, easy to grow. Tansy Lemongrass Cironella grass Basil Sage Alliums like chives Catnip Lavender

[@soozieevans7222]

This is the first time I had a problem with these bugs, I don’t know where they are coming from. I never thought of replanting more zucchini plants, I did not want to deal with them again.

[@nrgltwrkr2225]

@@soozieevans7222 You can also cover your zucchini with row covers, but then you have to hand pollinate the flowers, which is easy. Just use a Q-tip. There are videos on KZbin. Best of luck.🥰

[@DebRoo11]

​@@soozieevans7222make sure to clear your beds at the end of the season bc I think they overwinter under debris. I think a beneficial nematode solution in spring helped my dad with many of the pests in his garden. They do their work throughout the whoke season

[@maryraymond8375]

Thank you, I will try that this year with marigolds. 😊

[@nrgltwrkr2225]

@@maryraymond8375 You betcha! Happy Planting!

[@jackrudden5970]

They devastated my squash, melons, and cucumbers. With this latest round I planted like late July, I’ve been using a lot of dust and hand picking. Then cucumber beetles are also terrible. Worst year for cucumbers. I only got like 3.

[@bucksinbama]

My 2nd round got decimated by squash bugs. I barely got a bloom before I just pulled them. They are a pain.

[@jaytoney3007]

Doing seed starts in an airconditioned room is working. On day three, I have my first cabbage sprouts, and am anticipating kohlrabi sprouts soon. After most of the seeds have germinated, I'll move them outside to a shady area, then do seed starts for Pak Choi, and Yellow Heart Winter Choy. When the temperature cools down below 90F, I'll sow seeds for Komatsuna and golden beets, and when it drops below 85F, Danvers carrots. I didn't think about sowing pea seeds in an airconditioned room. Trying to pre-sprout pea seeds failed because of the heat, so I missed my window for growing fall peas. They will have to wait until late February next year. My crookneck squash and zucchini plant have doubled in size in the last week, and the crookneck squash is loaded with flower buds, so more squash soon. I had a major infestation of Hornworms, over a dozen large hornworms on two plants. The damage, overnight, was severe, and the plants removed from my garden. I still have Brandywine tomato plants with fruit on the vine, and plenty of cherry tomatoes still producing. I'm going to have to do another pepper harvest soon. I am getting more peppers from my GreenStalk, than my pepper bed. Next year my Ye Olde Mostly Perpendicular Tower of Peppers will be replaced with The Twin Towers. Notice a theme? I'll still be growing peppers in my pepper bed next year, but only using half of it for peppers, the other half for something else, Kohlrabi? Golden Beets? Both? This year, I had a problem with the zinnias lining my raised beds. The variety I grew are supposed to be dwarf varieties getting only 18-20 inches tall, Thumbelina Zinnia. The problem is, they grew over three feet tall, overshadowing the peppers. It was supposed to be the other way around. So, I decided that next year, I will grow them in fabric pots, about eight pots, and strategically place them in different areas of the garden. I will also be dedicating four 25 gallon grow bags to cantaloupe and Sugar Baby Watermelon, and planting three fruit trees, a Lapins Cherry, and two plum trees.

[@cynthiafisher9907]

I didn’t plant squash this year because I didn’t want to deal with squash bugs. They are so hard to keep up with!

[@moniquelynwone8228]

Thank you so much I have never grown corn before but now I think I would love to try it; now that I seen your video thanks ❤

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

It is worth a try. Stay up on watering. Thanks for your support and please visit.. The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD

[@TimSheets]

squash bugs are the bane of my garden! I don't have too much trouble with anything else, but, squash bugs infest the squash of course, and melons, and cukes. Ugh! hate those things! LOL

[@LauraRisdall]

Thank you! I feel like it's an annual problem. I've never heard of using soap spray. Going to try that!

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

Good luck The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD

[@janet6421]

thanks this is helpful

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

Glad to share The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD

[@shavannajj]

I have seen your videos on neem oil soil drench and aspirin soil drench. Have you ever tried a BT soil drench. If so what were the results? I am in zone 9(Houston, Tx) squash bugs and squash vine bore have been my biggest problems this year 😩

[@warrenalbert7922]

Great information Gary. A constant battle we must endure. I realized I have to do multiple plantings as you recommended. Do you have any suggestions for leaf-footed bugs. I’m having a battle with them on my tomato plants.

[@sqlexp]

I haven't had any squash bug problem, but I have treated my plants for aphid and spider mite infestation with coca cola. It doesn't matter how severe the infestation is. All I need to do is to spray the plants with pure nondiluted coca cola. Both fresh from the can and year-old stale coca cola work the same. There is no worry about damaging the leaves and no time wasted on diluting. I just spray until the infested areas (the top and underside of leaves) are soaking wet, and I only need to do it once to completely eradicate the pests, though you may want to worry about how the coca cola is going to affect the soil ph, but it doesn't bother my plants. You may want to rinse the leaves a couple of days later. I'm not sure how well it eliminate adult squash bugs. I learned this trick from a video about Indians doing this many years ago because the pesticide there were very expensive😊

[@titanart6225]

Gary QUESTION all my Fall crops were riddled with Aphids, I sprayed them with a mix I normally use for mature plants and I really hurt my seedlings, I may not be able to recover them, I think the spray was too strong. Such a shame. I always have issues with Aphids in early spring and late summer into the fall. Do you have any tricks to keep these critters off Young seedlings?

[@T-Mo_]

I check the underside of the leaves every couple days for their tiny orange eggs. Just remove them by hand. Also for the adults i soak the base of the plant, wait 5 minutes and then squish any that are crawling up the stalks, away from the water.

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

The water thick works well. The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD

[@David..832]

I had to give up squash out here, the vine moth decimates everything no matter what I did and I patrolled them daily

[@spir5102]

I have been gardening for 50 years, and I also gave up planting squash. I thought I knew what to do, tried many different methods, patrolled every day, used trap crops, and the squash bugs decimated my butternut squash. I’m done.

[@David..832]

@@spir5102 Lol, if I knew how crafty those vine borer moths were and how they go into the heart of the stalk I wouldn't have even tried to with them in the first place, what a waste of time and labor🙄

[@ESJohnson14]

@@David..832After 4 straight years of losing my zucchini plants with almost no fruit, I was successful this year in getting probably 20lbs or more of zucchini before my 6 plants were overtaken by pests. I grow organically and rarely use even organic pest sprays. I put seeds in the soil about 2 weeks before my last frost date - around April 1st for me. Before the plants had female fruit flowers I kept the plants covered by insect mesh as a precaution for the first 4 weeks at most. After that I uncovered them for pollination purposes. Around 4-8 weeks the plants swelled to be huge and we’re putting out tons of fruit. Around week 10 I started seeing some vine borer damage and tried to eliminate the threat on the plants with fruit still growing. My plants were huge like his large ones in this video so they can take quite a bit of damage before being overtaken. By week 12 all of my plants were toast. I didn’t even succession plant because the pests are just too crazy to deal with. I got so much off my plants in a short time that we’re kind of over zucchini. We also got a lot of rain this year and I’ve learned that consistent watering also makes a huge difference in the growth rate. Keep trying! It’s possible!

[@jacquiesuper2200]

OMG so gross!! I didn't have many squashs this year, but am so glad I didn't have those bugs. I HATE bugs so that would have freaked me out!!! Next year I will do some succession planting for sure.

[@pristineperistome5696]

I lost 7 hybrid & crook neck squash plants this month. It seems to be gophers in my case. The gophers also tore a branch of low hanging ripening cherry tomatoes. They’ve also takes 2 of my 3 sugar pumpkin plants with the last ones looking damaged probably from underground. My answer? Inundating my newly opened spaces with fall/winter vegetable seeds and herb seeds. I probably planted 10 varieties or more (5 kinds of basil alone). Did it in the California “hurricane” on Sunday/the beautiful day Monday. Edit: also trying to sneak in last minute warm weather herbs like basil of which I will bring inside to grow over winter hopefully.

[@cynthiafisher9907]

Trap the gophers with kill traps. That’s what we do.

[@bobbybrown840]

💙

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

Cheers. Thanks for your support and please visit.. The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD

[@Robot_Cajun]

I thought June and July were the domain of the squash bugs. Maybe, but something sure sucked the life of my “Round 2” zucchini and cucumber plants last week. Between that and the incessant >100F temps this gardening season has been a bust. So maddening. Well, except for my first time growing a very sweet sugar baby watermelon from a plant that I bought at a local nursery. I’m currently trying my luck growing watermelon from the seeds of that watermelon. 🤞

[@verawallace9055]

After a while I wasn't see anymore eggs in my zone 7b, I think it was August but I don't have the best memory , l planted my Sugar baby seeds the middle of June, now there is three big size ones ,another biggie for me is figuring out when to harvest,

[@reibersue4845]

@@verawallace9055 October 17th in zone 6 and I had a pumpkin that grew out of an old compost heap. Just pulled it out cause it was decimated by hatchling. I thought it was too late in the year for them. East TN zone 6.

[@verawallace9055]

@@reibersue4845 I didn't know that I thought they only appeared certain months as that was my experience, I guess they are in the soil and ready to pounce on healthy plants, the first time it attacks my pumpkin I had no idea what was happening, I thought I needed to watered more

[@Michael-Stacking]

Can Tomatoes and Bell Pepper be affected by Squash bugs. My Zucchini plants are no longer producing Female flowers and the leaves and roots are dying off and I want to pull up what's left.

[@Goodluck27711]

When you say “soapy wash” are you referring to regular dish soap mixed with water

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

I use castille soap for dish soap I use less. The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD

[@justinoffutt]

I told my wife this week - next year I’m planting a plot away from everything else…harvest as we can then burn them all once taken over. Succession plant and do it again…repeat

[@kathleenrobinson1088]

Yep the little buggers killed my beautiful spaghetti squash plant

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

They are tough. The Rusted Garden Vegetable Seeds & Home Garden Supplies: www.therustedgarden.com Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop Sign Up Here: bit.ly/4aarkDD

[@stephaniehogue6442]

Is it okay to cut some of the leaves off?

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

Yep. Get your GreenStalk Vertical Gardening Towers now for a spring series. Grow Vertically! Use the Discount Code THERUSTEDGARDEN on GreenStalk 'Vertical Tier Systems'. Use this link and enter my code for the discount greenstalkgarden.com/?rstr=therustedgarden

[@PatsPurposefulPutzing]

use duct tape because it has good sticky adhesive -- removable painters tape not so much

[@THERUSTEDGARDEN]

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[@soozieevans7222]

They love to hide on the underside

[@EDLaw-wo5it]

Does neem oil not kill them?

[@spir5102]

It will probably kill some of the younger ones, but the amount of time and energy to look for the bugs, determine the age of the bugs, spray with neem oil, spray with soapy water, apply diatomaceous earth powder, spray with BT, they were just too numerous to Control. I’ll buy my squash at the grocery store. It’s not worth the effort.

[@anbb5114]

I've used Captain Jack's powder under items near the plant (where the bugs rest at night) and use the high pressure water to draw them out. I look for eggs too.

[@anbb5114]

It does seem when they get the Captain Jack's powder on their legs, they die. I use Captain Jack's Bug Spray on the baby bugs. Hubbard seems more resistant to them.