August 8, 2020

This is a squash bug. It is not our friend. Squash bugs have moved into our pumpkin plants and have been wreaking havoc! These little guys suck the sap out of leaves causing them to turn yellow and eventually die. In large enough numbers they can kill the whole plant!

We've been fighting them off here at the SATEC garden and will hopefully be able to save the collection of pumpkins we have growing. Each day I check under the leaves for the pests and either pick and squash them or drop them into a bucket of soapy water. They're very good at hiding and can sometimes be found napping in curled up dead leaves. I also check for little clusters of their eggs which I scrape off. Hopefully keeping up this practice will be enough to keep the population from growing too large!

If you are interested in bug hunting, feel free to stop by the garden and check in on the garden beds way in the back. Be careful not to step on the growing vines or pumpkins! 🎃 Let's make sure they don't also move into our cucumbers, watermelon and summer squash!