July 16, 2010 – It’s Squash Beetle Season
An early morning walk through the garden this morning in the mist (Yes! We had a misty wake-up!) got the day off to a slow start. The gardens are beautiful in the morning, so sign of the mid day wilting from heat and wind. We missed a two inch rain yesterday. Just five miles away, two inches fell and we didn’t even get the dust settled. It was disappointing, to say the least.
Shirley's misty morning garden
Continuing our discussion of problem insects that trouble us here in western Kansas, the squash beetle is near the top of the list. These hard shelled beetles are impervious to insecticide applications unless you get after them when they are young. Squash bugs target pumpkins as well, in fact, they often cause more trouble in the kid’s pumpkin patch than Mom’s zucchini. They live through the winter as adults, coming out of hiding to lay clusters of brownish-red eggs on the undersides of squash and pumpkin leaves. Newly hatched babies are small and greenish with black legs. The first generation hatches in late June to early July and the second generation hatches in August, guaranteeing bugs until frost.
Effective control of squash bugs means timely insecticide sprays and thorough coverage. Scout for egg masses, removing the clusters, even if you have to pinch a hole in the leaf. The eggs get darker in color just before hatching. Placing pieces of board or shingles on the ground near the plants invites a bunch of insects to a small area, easier to zap them with spray.
In the veggie garden, Sevin works best on the baby bugs. If you have left them to grow up, you are in trouble. Using a duster to apply ten percent Sevin dust will also work. Five percent dust is not as effective.
But herein lies the crux of the problem…you have probably provided them with comfortable quarters during the winter, failing to clean up the garden down to bare dirt. Right after you pick the last pumpkin, remove all old plants, foliage and fruit and work the soil up. This deprives the babies of the necessary food source to grow up. The grown ups are denied a dinner table and have difficulty surviving the winter. This works well for isolated gardens (farm situations) but if your neighbor across the alley fails to clean up the fall garden, you may end up with some illegal immigrants next summer.
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