The nymphs will not have enough food to develop fully, and the adults will lack adequate nutrients to prepare them for overwintering. Purging plant residue will tamp down any populations of nymphs and adults that are present. Remove the fruit and foliage immediately after harvest, and work the soil if growing in the ground to reduce the presence of available hiding places. It is critical to take appropriate measures after the harvest as well, to reduce populations of bugs that may overwinter in your vegetable garden. Planting nasturtiums, on the other hand, can help to repel them. This is often done in commercial operations. More susceptible crops like zucchini and pumpkins may also be planted as a trap crop to keep the pests away from melons and cucumbers. Waiting to plant out your crops until seedlings are more mature means they will be less susceptible to damage, but this may not result in freeing them entirely from the risk of infestation.ĭepending on your climate and the length of your growing season, planting short-season varieties that mature quickly may also help to avoid an infestation.īe sure to check the number of days to maturity on seed packets for a given cultivar when making your selections. Keep in mind, however, that these pests prefer to feed and lay eggs on more mature plants. Since small plants and seedlings are more likely to be damaged significantly by squash bug feeding than more mature plants, consider using transplants instead of growing them from seed in your garden.
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But there are natural methods you can employ to provide extra protection. Larger, sturdier plants are more likely to tolerate feeding damage that would kill young plants. Keeping your cucurbits healthy will help to protect them against these pests. If the weather is extremely warm or cold, you might find the insects at the base of plants.Ĭheck your plants daily if you can throughout the late spring and summer, and destroy any egg clusters or nymphs that you find. Squash bugs tend to congregate under flat surfaces during the night. One way to find out if they are in your garden is to put boards or shingles flat on the ground by the plants, and look under them the next morning. These insects tend to feed in groups, which makes them easy to spot. Chomping on leaves when they feed in the spring allows the transfer of the bacteria to your crops. Serratia marcescens bacteria can overwinter in the bodies of the adult insects, which serve as vectors for cucurbit yellow vine disease. Immature nymphs will die off with the arrival of freezing temperatures, while adults will fly or crawl to shelter for overwintering before beginning the cycle again. However, in other areas such as Kansas where it is warmer, the adults from the first generation may lay eggs for a second generation, and then these adults overwinter. These insects produce one generation per year in cooler parts of the country, such as Minnesota. The eggs hatch in one to two weeks, and give rise to nymphs that mature about four to six weeks later, progressing through five instar stages. It is no surprise that these bugs are more likely to be a problem following a mild winter. Therefore, they are poised to strike when plants start growing in the spring, flying to cucurbit plants to feed and mate. Biology and Life CycleĪdult squash bugs survive the winter in sheltered places, such as under rocks, around buildings, and in plant debris. Other related species also known commonly as squash bugs may appear in the garden as well, though damage caused to crops by these pests is less typical. They have piercing-sucking mouthparts that make them highly efficient at sucking the water and nutrients out of your plants, and they may transmit disease this way as well. Insects at various stages of the life cycle may be seen in the garden at the same time. In the fall, after plants have died, you may see both adults and nymphs clustered on unpicked fruit. Light green with black heads and black or reddish legs in the next phase, and with a shape like bulbous and asymmetrical grains of rice, the maturing nymphs develop through five stages known as instars into elongated gray-brown shield-shaped adult insects that resemble stink bugs.īoth the adults and the nymphs will often be found hiding beneath foliage during the season.
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