By The Giant Veggie Gardener

Squash bugs and squash vine borers are a vegetable gardener’s nemesis. Here are some “remedies” that I’ve either tried or read about. Give them a try.

Squash bugs

Squash bugs attack both summer and winter squash, piercing the squash and then out the juices. If left unchecked, they can take over and destroy the plant. The key to control is catching them right away.

  • Plant onions around squash to help repel them. I planted little sets around the squash last year and got a few bugs but not a lot.
  • Make an onion spray to put on leaves. Fill blender with water and add a couple of onions. Blend onions and let them sit overnight. Strain onions out and put in sprayer to spray squash plants.
  • Put row cover over young plants till they flower, then remove for pollination.
  • Spray Neem oil on squash when you have to keep them uncovered for pollination. Neem is an effective repellant.

Handpick every seven days. Remove eggs, nymphs and adults from leaves. Put in bucket of soapy water. Then cover plants again with row cover. Squash bugs life cycle from egg to nymph is 7-10 days so keep ahead of them.

Plant late – first couple of weeks of July – you may miss their lifecycle.

Rotate squash into different beds: bugs may not find you. Squash growers generally get the first year free of squash bugs. Afterwards, the bugs find you and the battle is on.

Squash Vine Borer

This bug is not supposed to be west of the Rocky Mountains. However, it has been found here damaging and killing squash plants. It likes to bore into the main stem around the base of the plant to lay its eggs, which then turn into larvae inside the vine and eat it from the inside. Look for sawdust-like particles around base if plant suddenly wilts.

Make a lengthwise cut on the vine; dig out the grub and then tape the wound shut. It may survive. Cover until pollination needs to happen.

Wrap aluminum foil around the base of the vine for about 12 inches – play defense here.

Bury the vine with dirt or mud covering the main vine.

Squash bug: Read more from the University of Minnesota

Squash vine borer: Read more from the University of Minnesota

My blog giantveggiegardener.com