Pests & diseases › Squash Bugs
Squash Bugs
Gray-brown shield-shaped bugs (3/4 inch). Suck sap from squash and pumpkin vines, can kill whole plants.
Symptoms
- Yellow patches on leaves that turn brown and crispy
- Wilting vines that don't recover
- Bronze egg clusters on leaf undersides
- Gray nymphs in clusters under leaves
Lifecycle
Adults overwinter under debris, emerge late spring.
What to do
- Hand pick adults and nymphs early morning
- Crush egg clusters
- Trap board: place board near plants overnight, flip in morning and squash bugs underneath
- Insecticidal soap on young nymphs only (adults shrug it off)
If it's bad
- Pyrethrin on young nymphs
- Bifenthrin (last resort)
Stop it coming back
- Clear all debris in autumn
- Floating row cover until flowering
- Resistant varieties: Royal Acorn, Butternut
- Trap crops: Blue Hubbard
Crops it goes for
Acorn Squash (Pumpkin)
Butternut Squash (Pumpkin)
Cantaloupe
Giant Pumpkin (Squash)
Hubbard Squash (Pumpkin)
Jack-O'-Lantern Pumpkin (Squash)
Ornamental Pumpkin (Squash)
Pie Pumpkin (Squash)
Summer Squash (Pumpkin)
Zucchini (Courgette)
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.