Avant Gardener: Don't let down your guard and squash bug management is possible without chemicals

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • July 24, 2012
  • 338
                        
Summary: Bug management is serious business when the jack-booted thug called the squash bug penetrates the garden gate. He was probably there all along, just waiting for you to let down your guard. Since early June I have been turning over rocks and looking under boards to see if I could find the elusive squash bugs that I knew were going to eventually appear. Last year they did a number on my cucurbits, leaving next to nothing for me. The cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini and decorative gourds were in a sad state after the army of squash bugs came through the gates of the garden. I was prepared this year and started looking for eggs and dusting the garden early with Diatomaceous earth. This stuff is great. It is made from fossilized remains of marine phytoplankton. It is effective when it is dry. Bugs with exoskeletons are literally cut up by the stuff that is virtually harmless to mammals unless inhaled directly into the lungs. Squash bugs can be a challenge in the garden. The eggs are a distinctive copper color and are most often seen in large groupings on the undersides of leaves. The nymphs or young hatchlings are easily managed with Diatomaceous earth or a bucket of soapy water if hand-picking is not out of the question. The adults however are not so easy to manage. They are definitely the jack-booted thugs of the garden and killing them is nearly impossible without big, poisonous chemicals that I want nowhere near my food. Diatomaceous earth does have its downside. In addition to killing young squash bugs it will also kill some beneficial insects like bees, the great pollinators of the garden and lady bugs, the aphid controllers. Timing is of the essence. The key to success in any garden is management. Nature does not take kindly to being told what to do and because she never specifically suggested we grow food in neat little rows with charming markers and decorative statues to add whimsy to the garden we must also assume she has not instructed the squash bugs to take a hike either. Management requires a watchful eye and a rather pessimistic attitude that includes assuming the worst will occur. The moment the squash bug eggs are detected is when to take immediate action, as gross as it is squish the eggs. If you do see any nymphs, and don’t let the cute name fool you, dust them with the finely-powdered Diatomaceous earth or hand-pick them and toss them in a bucket of soapy water. They will swim for a bit but will eventually perish as they become overwhelmed in the bubble bath. This bug stuff is awful. The management is really just a nice way of saying killing and that is a difficult thing for some gardeners to tolerate. I gave my brother grief for whacking a mole with the flat side of a shovel a few years back but later realized he was just trying to grow healthy, nutritious food. Mr. Mole played no role other than that of a little, furry thief and simply did not take a hint when a garden hose flooded his den and other measures were taken to nicely ask him to go elsewhere for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For those of us that choose to grow some of our food the ugly side of bug management will have to surface if we want success in the form of edible fruits and vegetables from our unnatural patch of earth called the garden.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load