How to Kill Squash Bugs Without Killing Honeybees

Squash bugs can be destructive in the home vegetable garden. They suck the juices out of the stems and leaves of plants in the cucurbita family, such as squash, melons and sometimes even cucumbers, causing the plants to wilt and even die. But squash bugs are hard to kill, even with insecticides, because the adults, nymphs and eggs are often hidden in the thick foliage. Additionally, you don't want to kill the bees that are pollinating your crops. Still, there are ways to deal with squash bugs that don't hurt honeybees.

Handheld vacuum cleaner
container with soapy water
Insecticidal soap
Row covers

Instructions

- 1
  Clean up your garden thoroughly in the fall to deprive the squash bug of overwintering sites. Compost or till in all old foliage from squash plants. Likewise, compost or till in all other debris in the garden. To cover the soil during the winter, you can use green manure, such as rye and hairy vetch, which will not provide cover for squash bugs.
- 2
  Cover your young squash plants with spun-bonded row covers in spring as soon as you plant. This will keep the squash bugs from laying eggs on the plants and give the plants more time to grow before you have to remove the covers for pollination. When the squash plants flower, remove the covers so that bees can pollinate the flowers. Watch for eggs on the undersides of leaves -- they look like small coppery dots. Rub them off or crush them. Also, watch for the nymphs. These are small, soft, gray bugs that will turn into adult squash bugs. You can crush them or brush them off into a container of soapy water. Later in the season, check every morning for adult squash bugs and kill them. You can also vacuum them up with a handheld vacuum cleaner and then dump the bugs in soapy water to kill them.
- 3
  Spray your plants with insecticidal soap or pyrethrin if infestations are particularly bad. These insecticides are not harmful to people. However, it's best to spray early in the morning before bees start flying. If the bee is not sprayed directly, it will not be affected by the presence of soap or pyrethrin.
- 4
  Plant resistant varieties. Butternut squash is not susceptible to squash bugs, but black beauty zucchini is extremely susceptible and can even be used as a trap crop. Save the seeds from plants that appear to be resistant, and eventually you will breed a more resistant strain of squash yourself. Squash bugs are worse in some years than in others.
- 5
  Trap squash bugs by putting out boards or sheets of newspaper in the evening and checking under them the next morning. The squash bugs will congregate there, and you can catch and destroy them before they start feeding during the day.

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