Q. I found these gray bugs on my zucchini and they are killing them! They are under the leaves and tons of them. What do I do?
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| Squash Bugs |
A. Most likely squash bugs. You can plant late, in June, after their infestation time has passed or you can hand pick them as you see them. You must do this as they appear soon after planting and get rid of them as soon as you see them. Do this for about three weeks and the numbers will be greatly reduced.
Or you can vacuum them with a handheld vacuum cleaner and vacuum the undersides of the leaves. You can use pesticides suitable for squash bugs but be sure to spray the undersides of the leaves. Do not spray plants when in bloom. Spray very early in the am or at sunset when bees are not active.
if, and after you vacuum them, make sure you securely block/cover the end of the hose, otherwise they will crawl out and return to the plant ..
ReplyDeleteWe are trying something in the Children's Gardens on the Las Vegas campus. Ordinary household white flower. They are supposed to eat it and then their insides will gum up and they will die. Will let you know if it worked.
ReplyDeleteOrdinary household white flower? Did you mean white flour like the cake mix kind?
DeleteI've heard the same about corn meal. That didn't work for me two years ago when they decimated my squash plant in about 10 days. If the corn meal did kill any, it didn't kill enough.
ReplyDeleteI read that a 1/2 tblsp of dish detergent in a gallon of water in a sprayer works well to kill the bugs. I battled them well this last yr. with this.
ReplyDeletedish detergetn and water works immediately! awesome!
ReplyDeletehihi, very simple
ReplyDeleteLiquid detergent in water works well and is an organic insecticide....it is labeled as Safer's Insecticidal Soap along with others as well. Products that are insecticidal soaps do not have any of the personal care products in them like perfumes and lotions which is better for the plants. It is good to remember that insecticidal soaps and water mixed with liquid detergents are general insect killers. They will kill any insect, good or bad. Direct your sprays at the enemies when using these products. They do not leave a residue so there is no long term activity from them What you spray is what you kill. Including honeybees and ladybugs.
ReplyDelete