The Stink Bugs Are Eating Squash Plants
Squash bugs are often mistaken for stink bugs, as they both release an odor when killed. However, only squash bugs are a common pest in many vegetable gardens, where they feed on a variety of organic material, including the leaves and foliage of squash plants. Squash plants produce large lobed leaves, which are often on low-lying vines. The tender leaves, vine and fruit of the squash plant make them an ideal target for squash bugs. Does this Spark an idea?
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Squash Bugs
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Squash bugs are very similar in appearance to stink bugs, and they both release an odor when they are killed. However, stink bugs will also release an odor when they are merely disturbed, and they are not a predator of curcurbit plants, including squash plants. Squash bugs are winged with flat backs that are a gray to brown color. Squash bugs have yellow-striped undersides.
Signs
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Squash bugs affect only plants in the curcurbit family, including pumpkins, melons, cucumbers and squash plants. Adults and young squash bugs will suck the sap and juice from the leaves of the plants, causing them to lose necessary nutrients and water. The leaves will turn a dotted yellow-and-brown color, with the initial point of injury turning a dark brown or black. In extreme cases or with young plants, squash bugs can kill the plant.
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Growing Conditions
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Keeping your garden free of old plant debris and excess organic material is the most effective way of preventing a squash bug infestation. Placing wooden boards around your garden perimeter and killing any squash bugs found underneath them in the mornings is an effective treatment method. Trellising your squash plants on a support system will also help keep squash bug infestations to a minimum, as the plants are less accessible.
Controlling
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Chemical control is not an effective way of treating squash bug infestations, as the eggs and bugs are often located on parts of the squash plant that can be difficult to reach with a spray. However, insecticide sprays with neem oil or canola oil can be useful in treating squash bug infestations, so long as care is taken to reach and cover all or most of the squash bug eggs and insects. Using more toxic pesticides can be detrimental to plant health, as they will also kill beneficial insects and parasites.
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References
- University of California IPM Online; Squash Bugs; July 2008
- University of Illinois Extension: Watch Your Garden Grow --- Summer Squash
- Purdue University; Growing Cucumbers, Melons, Squash and Gourds; B. Rosie Lerner and Michael N. Dana; 2001
- University of Minnesota; Squash Bug; A. Genetzky, E.C. Burkness and W.D. Hutchison
Resources
- Photo Credit Zedcor Wholly Owned/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
