regular dish detergent and water. kills them pretty fast. you can find them in the mornings under the stem of the squash plant where it is cool and moist. or you can take paper towel rolls, wet it and stake it down next your plants to make a habitat / death zone for the critters. you got to be vigilant. they are really notorious about getting all over my butternut squash plant. i take the hose and spray the top of my plants and they go running. thats when i get them with the dish soap and water.

Pick & squish ...... then hunt for the eggs & destroy them too!

I have used Palmolive dish detergent in water to spray them, and it's really fun because it kills them fast. I also sometimes just cut off the leaves that have a lot of the eggs on them.

A hint from the Rodale folks has really helped cut down on squash bugs in my garden -- they call it the "fall clean up trick" In the fall when the squash plants are done, you put them all into big black trash bags and leave them in the sun to kill everything. Don't put them inthe compost. THis reduces the population for the next year. I know that doesn't help you this year -- I hope you find something that does!

Oh -- and the other thing that has really helped is planting garlic in the hills. Each years I've done that, I've hardly had any squash bugs. (and when I didn't, I had lots.) I've heard onions work too. Just one or two per hill.

Save the squash!

Copied from my post on another thread:

Take squash bugs, for example. These bugs will remain until the squash are dead. They move to the last remaining green foliage and fruits. If you then in the fall will spend a little bit of time in foot squashing ALL the bugs that have congregated, you can pretty well wipe out the population...I did it. I also one year did it on my neighbor's too...that helps too.

I, too, am having a heck of a time with stupid squash bugs! I hate these things!!

I have googled and googled and I settled on a garden sprayer and dish soap, only when I went out to get the buggers, when I watered, they didn't come out of hiding. I know I have them, I saw them before. I am wondering if the recent onslaught of rains is having an effect. Due to the recent drought, I haven't gotten hardly any zucchini, and the dreaded yellow spots are moving on to my cukes!

Also, I think I may be getting some mildew from all of the rain that ended the drought. It's white on top of some of the zuke leaves. Almost like a spiderweb.

Any ideas people? I need help. This is getting ridiculous!

Dreaded yellow spots? Watering to bring them out of hiding? I think you're referring to cucumber beetles, not squash bugs.

Squash bugs hate water. If you sprinkle the plant, they run for cover.