They've ARRIVED.

The very thing I've been fearing has come to pass.
...
Squash bugs have found my garden.

~
I had heard enough from cousins and friends to know these guys don't kid around.  (Just look at the leaf he's perched on.  They bring devastation!)  Ever since I first heard the word "squash bug," I've been researching online to figure out WHAT to do to prevent and/or get rid of these nasties!  I've known all along that I want every vegetable in this garden to be organic... completely free of pesticides.  So many of the solutions I've heard about and read about weren't an option.
~

What I found out in my reading was:

1) There are actually two types of squash, gourd, and zucchini-plant pests.  The "squash bug" you see pictured above... and the "squash vine borer." (Ew!  SO gross!)

2) Squash bugs and borers are most attracted to yellow squash and certain varieties of pumpkin.  They're not supposed to be as attracted to zucchini.

3) They're also not supposed to find a small garden like mine so easily.  There aren't big squash fields around my house (that I know of) and I only have three plants.  How did they find me?!?

4) They take shelter over the winter and come back year after year... usually protecting themselves in areas where there is rotting wood or mulch to shelter them.

~

So, as best I could... I tried to eliminate anything in my garden that might attract or shelter these bugs.  I planted zucchini rather than yellow squash, I put no mulch or old wood near my garden, and I checked the plants each and every day for signs of unwelcome guests.

Well TODAY I saw those signs.

The first indicator was that my zucchini (which had begun to form and grow beautifully) suddenly seemed to be growing much more slowly and certain zucchini looked a bit withered.  I attributed it to the heat.  Silly me. Withered zucchini is a bad sign.

~
But when I got home today, there was no mistaking the real source of the problem.  At the base of the zucchini vines I saw a few of these unmistakable tunnels (with bits of white fecal matter around the edges.)  I even saw (gag!) one of the little white larvae peeking out of the hole.  (I know there were many more in there with him too!)  I stabbed him to death with a butter knife.

Just looking at this gives me chills and makes me feel sick.  Don't let anyone tell you that growing your own vegetables is all sunshine and roses!  I honestly don't know if I have the fortitude to try growing squash again next year.  Seeing these borers is stomach-turning for me.

~

Next bad sign:  eggs.
Adult squash bugs like to lay their eggs in a triangle-like pattern along the veins of the leaves.  When the eggs hatch, they feast on the plant, destroying it very quickly.

~

I'm told that squash bugs usually only reproduce one generation in a given summer (although I've read they can sometimes go through two generations in the South.)  So the best thing to do is keep eradicating these eggs as you find them.  My hope is that once they're done laying eggs, I won't have to fight them anymore.

The vine-borers are trickier.  Once they've made a home in your squash vine... your options are pretty limited.  You can either slit the vine open, skewer the larvae out, then bind up the plant and hope it lives... or you can let it die... or you can attempt to kill the borers with some sort of harmful substance.  Since I didn't want to use pesticides, I concocted my own death-mix containing the following:

-dish soap
-water
-smashed garlic
-loads of cayenne pepper

I took the death-mix outside and painted it onto the squash vines with a paint brush... applying it VERY liberally.

I also put a little death-mix in a gatorade bottle and caught the adult squash bugs in the bottle.  (They're not too clever, thankfully, so catching them in the bottle wasn't too tough.)  After catching the adult bugs in the bottle... I cut out the portions of leaves that contained eggs and stuffed them in the bottle as well.

I was out there for over an hour, SWEATING, and getting a little scraped up (not to mention creeped out!)  One thing's for sure, squash plants are not nice!  They're prickly little suckers.
~
As a final attempt at killing off the borers and preventing any new ones, I shook some extra cayenne pepper onto the moistened squash vines.  (I want to burn those borers' little guts out!)

Hope this doesn't kill my plants.  I've read that Cayenne and dish soap are a safe and effective method.  I've also read that a drop of rubbing alcohol can work, but we didn't have any.
~

Even if this pepper doesn't kill the current larvae, I'm hoping it will prevent any friends from joining them.

~

I also picked these zucchini today to rescue them.  They could've done with a few more days on the vine... but that's not so helpful when the vine is sucked of all its nutrients.

In closing, I hate squash bugs.  I will destroy them.  If you have any tips of your own, send them my way!

~Carissa