Squash Bugs

They mate in the spring and the female lays her eggs on the underside of the leaves of your plants as well as the stem. One method of control you can do now is inspecting your plants for the eggs and if you see a cluster of orange-brown eggs then crush them.

You should also inspect your plants for the already hatched squash bugs, which are in the nymph stage of growth.  They are gray in color and move quickly when disturbed.  They will hide on the underside of the leaves.  If you find you only have a few you can remove them or knock them off into soapy water.  You can lay out boards or pieces of newspaper to provide a hiding place for squash bugs.  Check these each morning and destroy any that you find.

Squash bugs hide on the underside of the leaves and feed by sucking juice from the plant.  If you determine that you need to use an insecticide to control them or you have too many plants to check by hand, you need to use insecticides that kill by contact and you need to spray the underside of the leaves.  You can use malathion, rotenone, carbaryl (Sevin) or permethrin.  Use high pressure on your sprayer.