I was recently invited to visit a little-known treasure in Mount Vernon called the Stone Garden, which sits next to a busy community garden.
The Stone Garden is noted for stones that are mentioned in the Bible. The beauty and maintenance performed impressed me.
I got a call from Steve Conrad, who manages both gardens invited me to come for a visit.
While walking through the community garden, this insect caught my attention. The important part of this column is that they recognized this insect hadn’t harmed many of the plants.
The squash bug, or Anasa tritis, had not invaded the garden to do much damage. Squash bugs’ favorite menu items are both Pumpkins and winter squash, not the summer squashes.
Luckily, they grew summer squash and Zucchini.
As the invading enemy presents itself, you need to marshal your forces. As you look at the coming onslaught, you need to muster the right forces. Squash Bug, your enemy, has a snout that inserts it into the circulatory system of the plant and drains the life out of it.
Damage appears as a wilting plant, with death not far behind, as I have seen in the devastation of several gardens over the years. Maybe you don’t see the damage now, but make no mistake: this pest can destroy your harvest.
You need to be aware that this insect’s damage can annihilate your plants.
I learned Squash bugs belong to the insect order called Hemiptera, or in ancient Greek, means “half-winged.” These insects have some of the most destructive plant-eating habits.
Their shared feature is a snout, or proboscis. The Hemiptera order is more commonly called the True Bugs.
One approach to pest management that makes me feel better about dealing with any insect without harming my garden is Integrated Pest Management.
The UN defines IPM as “the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or minimize risks to human health and the environment.”
IPM has been around since 1970 to promote safer pest control. When using IPM, we also consider the insect life cycle, the insect, the climate and season, and the susceptible plant all affect how you deal with the insect.
What it amounts to is that we don’t need a nuclear bomb each time we have an insect to destroy. Strategic use of your arsenal can be most effective.
To limit squash bug damage, detect them early. Start by removing squash bug debris from the previous year. You can use a lawn torch to burn any eggs left on the ground from the squash debris. Flame throwers were effective in World War II.
Prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Cover your squash rows early in the season with floating row covers to protect your plants. Properly maintained yellow scout strips can also reveal the Squash Bug population.
As the squash comes into bloom, remove the row covers to allow pollinators to do their job. You can also hand-pollinate if you choose to leave the row covers on.
Companion plants can repel squash bugs. Studies have shown that nasturtiums, marigolds, and icicle radishes repel squash bugs. Fragrant herbs like dill, lemon balm, peppermint, catnip, marigolds, bee balm, and parsley can help repel squash bugs.
Ladybugs and Tachinid flies feed on Squash Bugs; therefore, include sweet clover, cilantro, dill, and anise hyssop to attract these insects to your garden.
Commercial organic insecticidal soap or liquid Castile soap sprayed on squash bugs on plants will also break down their outer shell. Use a mix of 1 teaspoon of soap and 1 quart of water as a foliar spray on squash plants. Neem oil is also effective at killing squash bugs.
A natural Neem oil mix is 2 teaspoons of Neem oil, 1 teaspoon of dish soap, and 1 quart of water in a spray bottle, which kills off nymphs and adults.
Squash bugs usually hide under rocks and plant debris at night. You can use this habit to your advantage. Spread a sticky compound called Tangle Foot on boards underneath the plants, you could stroll through your garden in the morning and gather the insects attached to the boards.
There are more solutions to getting rid of this insect than I have just mentioned. But these are the main tips for today. We all need to use IPM.
I hope that you have a great stroll through your garden this week. If you have a challenge, drop me an email at ericlarson546@yahoo.com