squash bugs

Organic extermination method for killing squash bugs: I used Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid mixed with water, approximately one table spoon of soap per 24oz of water. You can of course scale this up and use a large garden sprayer, however I'm under the impression that soaking your plants with the solution on a hot sunny day can harm the plant. Presumably any dish soap would work.

You will notice how terrible my plants look -- most of that damage was due to a storm uprooting them a couple days before, although the bugs did take their toll before I began fighting them back with the soapy solution.

Please pardon the shoddy camera work.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• organic
• pest
• control

[Loubelle48]

Seventh Generation makes 3 varieties of dish soap -- Free and Clear, Lavender Floral and Mint, and Lemongrass and Clementine Zest...does it matter which one?

[georgem21275]

@Loubelle48 I'm pretty sure Free and Clear was used, although I suspect it doesn't matter. It's the soap itself that does the dirty work.

[eldrama2]

you have just saved my entire squash crop. it works great! thank you, thank you, thank you.

[georgem21275]

@eldrama2 Good luck with your crop. Just remember to be vigilant, the soapy water does not destroy eggs and its damn near impossible to find and destroy every clutch. Daily bathing is about the only thing you can do to prevent re-infestation.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of plant are they attaching?

[jerrydff7]

im going to see how it works?

[georgem21275]

@jerrydff7 @jerrydff7 Well Jerry, you and your little insect friends are right on schedule! I am currently battling them on my zucchini plants. I think most of the bugs are dead however a few of the plants appear to be exhibiting the symptoms of wilt. In the meantime a second round of zucchini will be planted today and my infested plants will serve as a trap crop... and I'll save seeds from the plant that seems most resistant.

Good luck and thanks for linking me!

[itsmemxc]

I think it may be too late for me to save anything this year... except they have not yet killed my acorn squash or 2nd zucchini planting. There is hope! They are everywhere and everything else I have tried to spray them with is not working. I'll give this a shot!

[foofarters]

Thanks man, I just treated my garden the same way but used and injected canister with the garden hose. I felt like I was in Zombie Land.

[Sudschick610]

I have a question or two...or more...lol So, do I understand correctly that you have to spray the bugs directly? And you don't spray the plant to keep them from eating it, is that correct? My worry is harming the Praying Mantis. We have hundreds of them in our organic garden. We also have lots and lots of Lady bugs. Will the soap harm them?..even if I don't directly spray them? My last question is about spiders. We have a LOT of Black Widows. Will it kill them too?

[Loubelle48]

Thank you for the quick reply! I shared your video on my Facebook page and several friends are going to try it. Like most organic methods of control, this will require diligence and time, but I think the rewards are worth it. Thanks again!

[olov244]

joy is a good biodegradable soap, haven't used it for this but if you can't find better i'd try that. for the big ones i just squish them, but soap works great for the little ones. then just scratch off/cut out the eggs. i'm getting a couple sacks of praying mantis next year(need them out before the last frost i guess)

[jerrydff7]

oh ok i get you! =)