Hi folks. I am having the same problem every year with my squash and zucchini, so I thought I would run it by you and see if you have any ideas how I can fix the situation next year. This has now happened to me for the last 5 years.

In spring, I plant two zucchinis and then two other spring squash, say patty pan or a crooked neck. When I put them in, I usually mix a little cow manure with the soil to give it extra food. They also get watered every morning through drip irrigation.

So, the plants take off and grow huge. I get tons of blossoms and then start getting more zucchini/squash than I know what to do with.

However, a few weeks later, I start seeing ants/aphids. They flock to the squash in huge numbers. I try insecticide soap, and that keeps them in check for awhile, but by the end of July, I have lost control of the situation. There are simply too many. By August, I start to see powdery mildew and then it's all over. I usually have to pull the plants up not long afterwards.

So while I get a big initial crop, in the end, my crop is somewhat stunted because I have to prematurely pull the plants that have been decimated by pests.

It's important to note that the squash are the *only plants in my garden* that get this huge influx of aphids--everything else is perfectly healthy. I'm wondering if the problem is that the soil is too rich for the squash? I read something about how high-manure in the soil + a hot winter (which is what I get here) can cause this problem with squash, but that doesn't make any sense to me. Do you have any ideas how I could stop this next year, besides spraying more poisons/releasing ladybugs?

Thanks!