The squash bugs ate all of my squash and pumpkins last year, and I plan to do better this year. The thing is I really try and be as organic as possible and I hate to spray chemicals all over my food.
I have tried making teas using various herbs that I put into a spray bottle. I get aphids every year on my euryops, etc. I don't grow many vegetables though and those I have I have not had a problem with anything other than dang gophers. There are plenty of easy recipes just google it. Most of what I have found ask you to use either rubbing alcohol or dish soap and those can burn plants if you live somewhere that is really hot. I live in San Diego and the Summers here can be killer on my poor plant babies. Some stores carry organic pesticides as well but I do not know how effective they are. Sorry I couldnt be more help!
Tobacco dust, Companion planting Marigolds, creating habitats suitable for ladybugs and Praying Mantis etc. Best bet, research the pests you normally have to deal with and find out which of their natural predators are most likely to be found in your region, then do things to attract more of them to your garden.
You can try making a pepper spray by boiling habanero peppers in water and spray that on your plants. (or the hottest peppers you can find) It works for some bugs. I gave up on the total organic thing years ago. Sevin dust, or liquid Sevin is what I use when things get out of control. It turns inert in a few days and washes off real easy. It works for all of my problems except the critters, and mama cat takes care of them. Chickens and ducks can be an asset for your garden, they turn bugs into fertilizer. A little ingenuity can go a long way sometimes. Years ago I had a problem with turtles eating my melons. I started growing them in cages and problem solved. A little urine around the garden keeps some of the animals away, too. .
And the urine around the plot will do good as well, especially for mammals and such, not so much for squash bugs. Another would be to till in your dryer lint in a ring around the area, another scent of man that works to dissuade hungry warm blooded critters. And theres allot more than marigolds that do it too.
While my cats keep most of the small critters away, I've always had a problem with them using my beds for a litter box. I do raised beds and last year I finally got tired of it. I got some chicken wire and laid it out over the beds with holes for the plants. If the cats can't dig, they don't go there. .
You can buy Ladybugs for your garden, when you get aphids just spray the plants with water and release them in the mornig or night
Squash bug and squash vine borer are some of the hardest pests to control. Some products acceptable in organic vegetable production that are effective against squash bugs include diatomaceous earth, Organic growers have traditionally used botanical insecticides such as sabadilla, ryania, rotenone, or various blends of these to control squash bug. However, most botanicals have generally proven to be a bit expensive and only marginally effective. Companion planting or trap cropping (growing the bugs' favorite foods in order to lure them away from your garden crops and into the trap crop where you will catch and destroy them) can provide some control. Plants that are purported to repel squash bugs to some degree are catnip, tansy, radishes, nasturtiums, marigolds, bee balm and mint. Planting your squash later in the season, once the majority of the squash bugs have already hatched and perished can help you gain the upper hand against these pests. If this isn't possible due to the short length of your growing season or isn't effective because you live in the South, where squash bugs have two generations a year, try using floating row cover (a gauzy, see-through blanket that goes over your plants) to keep these pests off your plants. And as with everything else, keeping your plants watered and well-fed with compost or other organic fertilizers can help them fight off the squash bugs. If winter squash is a must in your organic garden, try planting varieties that have shown resistance to squash bugs. These include Butternut and Royal Acorn. Squash bugs prefer yellow summer squash to zucchini or summer squashes, so if you're not particular about the types of summer squash you grow, stick with the ones that the bugs like least. Zukes are a good option. Squash bugs do have natural enemies in the form of insects that feed on them, such as spiders and ground beetles, and diseases that strike them. Tachinid flies and some parasitic wasps prey on squash bugs by laying their eggs in them. However, affected bugs often continue to feed and lay eggs for a while after being parasitized. These beneficial insects may help you have fewer squash bugs next year, but they probably won't help you very much when it comes to saving this year's crop. Once this year's squash has finished its season, be sure to clean up after it properly. Removing the spent squash plants and composting them will bury or kill many of the surviving adult squash bugs and eliminate the winter homes of many others. Crop rotation is also important. As far as Sevin, it is, of course, a chemical poison. Years ago it used to be considered one of the "safer" chemical poisons, and was much used (though not by organic growers). In recent years it has been proven that there's nothing "safe" about it...a chemical poison is a chemical poison. Also check: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/squash_pest.html This is just the abstract (overview), on the right side of the page is a link to the printable PDF version of the entire document, also available at: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/squash_pest.pdf (12 pages — 576K). You can save it to your computer, it has much more info in it. Peace, poor_old_dad
Hey poor_old_dad, I may not be far from you, I'm in Ga. on the state line at I20. I used to have a real big problem with horn worms, but the year before last I saw just a couple and last year there were none. At first I thought this is just great, I've had these beasts take out half of my garden in 2 or 3 days. But, after some thought, I'm wondering if this may be a symptom of something that may not be so good. Since you seem to know a lot about the little garden communities, do you have any idea what's going on here? Actually, last year the only problem I had was the little white flies toward the end of September or so. There were none of those little green worms that eat into my tomatoes either. I used no poisons or anything last year. .
i was going to say buy some ladybugs, but one of the posters suggested planting other flowers that attract them. that would probably be better
I'm in WV. This year I'ma try the floating row cover you were talking about and see if it helps. Last year they killed all of my pumpkins though the zuchinni and butternut didn't seem to have quite as many problems, thank goodness. Thanks everyone for the help!
This is slightly related (as in it's not about squash bugs), but one lady I worked under as a farmhand used to put out little saucers of beer in her garden. She said it kept the slugs at bay as they would go for the beer before they would go for the plants. It sounded weird to me, but she's been doing it for nearly half a century, so I'll be trying it this year in my garden.
Cut the top off of a 2 liter plastic drink bottle so you have something that looks like a funnel. shorten the bottom of the bottle and bury it in your garden. fill it with beer and put the top on upside down. snails love beer, they will get in the bottle through the funnel and cannot get out. .
For squash bugs a few wet boards on the ground near the plants will attract them during the night. First thing in the morning flip the boards over and engage in the mechanical method, aka squish em. Handful of wood ash with a handful of lime in 2gals water as one mix for protection. Coat leaves both sides. Clove of garlic, several Habaneros, 'bout a spoon of pure orange oil, a smaller dose of organic dish soap, and water in a blender as a general spray. The garlic and Habanero repel on chemical scent, the orange oil melts the exoskeleton of alot of bugs, the soap helps it stick and doesn't harm your plants. Ladybugs and predator wasps are good buddies of the gardener. Thing is, if you buy ladybugs make sure you have plenty of ladybug friendly flowers to keep them there or they'll fly away. As mentioned, release them at dusk and make sure to wet all the flowers. If they stay, aphids be damned. Birds are your friends so plan to attract birds. Put up tall posts they can sit on and observe your garden when you're not there. Make bird houses. Some insects will go to distraction crops if you have room. Find out what they like better and plant that away from your main crop. Mulch and more mulch and keep tall grass/plants down and away from your garden. ... and yeah, slugs do like beer plus it gives one an excuse to finish up what you don't use. Nothing like gettin' drunk with slugs and having a conversation with the birds.
Dipel or Thuricide are two of the better known brands of insecticide made from Bacillus thuringiensis, a natural control for caterpillars such as the hornworm. By the way, that translucent gauzy fabric does keep squash bugs out, but also keeps out bees. Be prepared to pollinate the squash yourself or peel back the fabric every morning along the row of squash to allow bees a chance to pollinate the blooms.
