Oh, I see the way to create a whole new outdoor party gig. Invite a bunch of friends over for a BBQ. As they come-in the door each one gets issued a fly swatter or some other form of weapon. Their instructions tell them that to win the prize they must terminate the lives of the most bugs out of anyone attending. Depending on the athletic skill of the contestants you may be rid of all of the bugs by the end of the party.

Greg
Southern Nevada

I wasn't aware they are attracted to light. That's good to know. It conjures visions of squash bug traps. Anything that works against these destructive bugs is worth its weight in gold.

How long do you cook them?

Maybe a bug zapper in the squash patch would be in order then?

I read of a guy who had infestations of them, got a bug light, and never had a problem again for various reasons. The frogs and other insects would wait at the bottom for the bugs that dropped. Double win, frogs and svb attracted to bug light to be zapped to death.

gershon, LOL!!!

The bug squashing party was funnyh.

I plan on using this knowledge to drastically reduce the neighborhood population of squash bugs with a nightly bug squash.

Another weapon.While watering my summer squash due to no rain noticed that all hatched squash bugs marched up the stems to be killed. Now my twice daily bug patrol for eggs will include a gallon jug of water for those I missed. Wish I had discovered this a while ago. Going into my notes for next year.

Watering and waiting for the adults and nymphs to march up the stems is something we have been doing at our house this summer. When they were very bad at one point we were even going out after a good rain (when it did rain) to check for them. Hunting and killing squash bugs has become one of my daughters favorite activities in the garden.

What would be great is a skinny stick or dowel with sticky tape at the end to catch them when they try to run. I catch them half the time, but not all. I got eggs that I could find, but they seemed to have stopped laying. Don't know where they're laying, but I see a few here and there, kill them when I can.

Our squash bugs aren't that fast. I can usually get them quickly if they don't fall to the ground. The cuke beetles and the shield/ stink bugs are fast. Thought the cukes love to land on me and then I just smack em dead on me.

Part of the reason we had them so bad was I put leaves under the birdhouse gourds. Everything said to mulch, I didn't realize the type of mulch was important, but they were hiding and even laying their eggs in the leaves.

I am seeing fewer around the garden, but the last I checked I still had a decent amt of nymphs with the birdhouse gourds with some eggs, but nothing like earlier in the season. I am certainly going to use them as a trap crop in the fall and do another in the spring. Then maybe I will only have to work on the cuke beetles next yr, but that is just wishful thinking.