The squash garden has been our best producer this year. We've been swimming in zucchini and yellow squash...up until now.
The squash bugs are taking over! Well, not really taking over. Yet.
They have managed to just about kill one of the zucchini plants and have moved on to the adjacent zucchini. I guess I don't feel too badly about it as the plant already gave us plenty of zukes, but it has just become a breeding ground for those zuke-juice-sucking bastards. And a few days ago we found some on my Butternut squash plants. This is WAR now.
For the past few weeks Paul has been sprinkling DE on the plants, hand squishing the bugs & scraping off the eggs, but no matter how many hundreds of them are disposed of, they come back even stronger.
I was out there yesterday and again this morning "gathering up" the masses I could in a large container (chicken food anyone???) and squishing others between my fingers. Ick, I know, but it's the easiest way to do it if there is only one or two on a plant. I'll also been snapping off leaves if it looks like it's beyond recovery and toss the leaf, bugs and all, into the container. They are crafty little buggers (pun intended) becuase once you disturb the leaf, they all go running for cover.
I am now typing with yellowish-green stained fingertips and occasionally scratching at my hands, wrists and arms because those little pricklies on the squash vines make me itch. I'll give the bugs a little time to regroup and then go back into the squash garden to continue my assult.
BTW - The bug picture was the "graphic" picture. I know, it's just a bunch of bugs, but I'd much rather look at butchering photos than a hoard of bugs.
EEEEUUUUW! Lordy how I hate large numbers of bugs. Any bugs. It makes me itch just thinking about it! It is, indeed, war!
ReplyDeleteIt must be the heat. I've never had squash bugs before, but they were a plague this year.
ReplyDeleteYACK!! I have never seen squash bugs here...ACK. That was a graphic picture. I don't mind bugs, but when there's that many of them in one shot....criminey. Hope the yellowish greenish stain on your fingers goes away soon....
ReplyDeleteBLAAAAH! Disgusting! Where are those chickens when you need them! Brave girl, I'da just let them in the garden and have at it!
ReplyDeleteI haven't had them nearly as bad this year, but something killed all but one of my squash vines.
ReplyDeleteOne day they were OK; the next wilted and laying on the ground. I am thinking borers.
I hate those little grey devils!