How to Save Your Pumpkins from Squash Bugs in Illinois

If you’ve got a pumpkin patch or even just a few squash plants growing in your backyard garden here in Northern Illinois, chances are you’ve run into the same nightmare I just did: black, nasty bugs all over your plants.

Pumpkin Garden

For the last few years, my family has taken on a new role: pumpkin farming.

READ MORE: How To Stop Boxelder Bugs From Coming Into Your Home

Ok, calling ourselves pumpkin farmers may be a bit of a stretch, but every year our little patch delivers more pumpkins to satisfy our decorating and carving needs.

Here's a pic of last year's haul:

We've learned some useful pumpkin growing information over the last few years like:

• The difference between a male and female pumpkin flower.
• The necessity of pulling plants early before the vines completely overtake your space.
• You can grow pumpkins without planting a single seed. (After Thanksgiving we toss our old ones, carved and uncarved, into the patch and let them disintegrate over the winter. In the spring we till them up and boom! New pumpkins begin to grow!)

This year I learned another new thing about growing pumpkins, but it is something I could have lived without ever knowing about: squash bugs.

What Do Squash Bugs Look Like?

Last week I entered our garden and spotted a few pumpkins covered in nasty black bugs that I had never seen before:

Immediately after snapping that picture, I sent it to my neighbor bestie who is a far more experienced gardener and said: "Help! What the heck are these?". She quickly replied with: "Looks like you have squash bugs."

WHAT?! What the heck are squash bugs, and how can I get rid of them immediately?!

How to Get Rid of Squash Bugs

Squash bugs look a lot like stink bugs, but they're bigger and darker. They’re flat, shield-shaped insects that start out as tiny red or gray nymphs before growing into brownish-black adults about half an inch long.

Squash bugs use their piercing mouthparts to suck the juices out of leaves and vines, and they can severely damage crops in a hurry, if you don't take action.

Now comes the fun part...how to get rid of squash bugs. I'm about to embark on this adventure, and I'm always up for trying a non-chemical approach first.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign says squash bugs are harder to get rid of the older they get, and these bugs like to overwinter under old plant debris and outdoor structures. Maintaining a clean garden and removing dead vines is the first line of defense against these pests.

Here are other non-chemical ways to get rid of squash bugs in your garden:

• Handpick them off plants and leaves and drop them into a bucket of soapy water.
• Look for egg masses on leaves then remove and destroy that section of the leaf.
• Place pieces of cardboard or newspaper in your garden, near the plants overnight. Squash bugs will hide underneath them, and in the morning you can squish or dump them into soapy water.

I think I'll try the cardboard/squish attack first. Wish me luck!