How to Get Rid of Squash Bugs With Natural Defense Strategies

Do you struggle with pests like squash bugs throughout the growing season? They can be such a nuisance, and an infestation can kill your plants to boot!

An Amish farmer taught me a ridiculously simple trick to reduce squash bugs, and I’m going to share it with you! Here’s how to identify signs of squash bug presence and how to get rid of squash bugs so you can spend your time growing an amazing garden, not fighting pests.

Let’s Grow Bigger

Squash can be a fun and very rewarding crop to grow! It is abundant, delicious, and depending on the variety, it can be stored for a long time indoors once harvested. 

I want to help you experience those rewards and succeed in your gardening endeavors. These resources can help you grow strong, healthy plants that will naturally be more resistant to pests and diseases:

• How to Grow a Pumpkin Plant (And Other Winter Squash)

• When to Harvest Pumpkins & Winter Squash

• How to Grow a Zucchini Plant Or Summer Squash

• When to Harvest Zucchini & Other Summer Squash

• How to Grow Cucumbers: A Complete Guide

• DIY Cucumber Trellis (Straight Line Trellis Method)

What Are Squash Bugs

Squash bugs are dark gray-brown insects with alternating gold stripes. Their bodies are elongated and flat, measuring approximately ⅝ inch in length. They are similar in shape to a stink bug, but narrower, and they also emit a strong, foul-smelling odor when crushed.

They are a serious pest to plants in the cucurbit family, like pumpkins and winter squash, cucumbers, melons, gourds, and summer squash.

Squash bugs are not to be confused with squash vine borers, which target the same plants. They are easy to distinguish from squash vine borers by both their appearance and the type of damage they cause. 

Understanding The Squash Bug Life Cycle

Adult squash bugs emerge in the spring and begin feeding and mating. Each female will then start laying eggs in groups of about 20 on the undersides of leaves or on the stems of plants. Adult females can continue to produce eggs daily for several weeks.

It takes about 10 days for the brown eggs to hatch into nymphs and begin feeding on plant sap. Newly hatched nymphs have a dark-colored head and a bright green abdomen. 

Nymphs grow and mature over a four to six week period, turning light gray as they age. Squash bugs can overwinter as adults in debris, soil, brush, or fields.

Signs That You Have Squash Bugs

Squash bugs usually attack squash plants, but they are also known to target other plants in the cucurbit family, like cucumbers. Look for these signs:

• See Squash Bugs - You may see adult squash bugs flying around or feeding on your plants.

• Eggs on Plants - Start looking for small clusters of brown eggs on the undersides of leaves, especially in June through July.

• Yellow Spots on Leaves - Squash bugs suck sap out of leaves, leaving yellow spots that slowly turn brown.

• Wilting - The plants will start to look wilted as squash bugs feed on them, and may eventually die.

How to Get Rid of Squash Bugs

Winning the battle against squash bugs is all about working smarter, not harder. The best trick for getting rid of squash bugs is to simply plant later! 

By planting summer squash and cucumbers in the fall garden, you can significantly reduce squash bug pest damage! (Contrary to their name, summer squash varieties grow great in the fall.) This allows you to grow vulnerable plants at a time when pests like squash bugs and cucumber beetles are not very active.

If you are growing winter squash varieties, waiting to plant them isn’t really an option. To grow winter squash, you will need to rely on the defense strategies listed below.

Natural Defense Strategies Against Squash Bugs

Let’s squash these bugs before they get the upper hand! Use these methods to protect all types of cucurbits in your garden:

• Intercropping - Biodiversity is a great DIY method for pest prevention. Use intercropping to help keep squash bugs away from your cucurbits. To confuse the squash bugs, plant fragrant plants like borage, onions, oregano, spearmint, dill, nasturtiums, and marigolds around your squash to mask the scent. 

• Oil Scent Masking - Along the same lines as intercropping, you can use essential oils for pest control. Mix essential oils and spray them with a pump sprayer or place cotton balls soaked in essential oils around the plants you want to protect. This method can be effective when it is used correctly. 

• Use Spinosad - Spinosad is an organic pesticide that uses beneficial bacteria to control insects. Squash bugs and squash vine borers can be controlled with spinosad, but you have to use it early as a preventative measure, even if you don’t notice signs of a problem! 

• Spray with Thuricide - Thuricide is a liquid formulation of natural bacteria that controls tomato hornworms, caterpillars, loopers, and other chewing insects. 

• Diatomaceous Earth - You can use diatomaceous earth to kill squash bugs and other arthropods. Apply a powder coating of diatomaceous earth on the soil around the base of each plant and on the plant itself. It works on contact, so be sure to coat both the top and undersides of the leaves.

• Remove Stressed Plants - I know that none of us like this option, but stressed plants will attract pests. Be proactive by keeping your plants healthy and strong through adequate water and fertilization. Then remove cucurbits that show signs of stress before they attract bugs. You can also remove and destroy plants that become hosts to squash bugs.

• Remove Debris - Squash bugs can overwinter as adults in debris. Keeping your garden and nearby areas clear of debris and dead plants in the fall will limit the protected places where they can overwinter.