Hmmmm I had tiny green ones that ate my spaghetti squash just as it ripened.They were stickin out all over it like a pin cushion!
Sooooo frustrating!
Dekker( of Dekker Family Farms) said he won't bother with squash because they lure in all the bad bugs
tanya

Research the active ingredient spinosad. It kills fast but you will want to watch using it around butterflies and bees. I use the Monterey Garden Insect Spray version if I really have to use something.

We went from cold to hot literally overnight....Were you maintenance spraying weekly with Thuricide?

The pictures I posted are from last year. I wanted to get some ideas for how to stop them before I plant any more melons/cucumbers. I was spraying both thuricide and neem oil weekly at the time.

The big issue I'm having is that most things that kill caterpillars take a couple days to do it. Whatever these things are, they lay eggs and burrow into the fruit overnight. The cucumber in picture I posted was spotless the night before. The picture was what I found the next morning: a glob of eggs and holes.

I'll look into the spinosad.

If anyone has any other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Anselor,

Another idea. :)

Silvia

I can't believe maintenance spraying didn't work. How old was your Thuricide? And, did you spray the undersides of the leaves, and most importantly, the buds of the new growth? They lay the eggs in the new growth buds and when the VERY SMALL worms hatch out they migrate down to the undersides of the big leaves until they get big enough to attack the fruit.

Hi everyone. I'm a newbie gardener so I have never had the opportunity to experience what you're talking about, BUT!, read this in the Feb/March issue of "Organic Gardening" magazine's letters to the editor.

"Squash Those Bad Bugs"....I read the article on organic squash-bug control in the June/July issue (Ask OG). Years ago, I had just about given up on raising squash, as I could not defeat the bugs using Sevin dust. Then I read an article - possibly in Organic Gardening - that recommended grinding up onions and garlic in a blender, adding water, and spraying the squash requently with the mixture. The theory was that the smell kept the bugs away. This seemed like a lot of work. So, the next spring, I saved some onion bulbs and planted two with each hill of squash and cantaloupe. As an extra precaution, I took a handful of onion tops, cut them into short pieces and dropped them on and around the plants. I have not had any squash-bug damage for 15 years. I have passed this idea on to several friends and they have all had similar results. A reader from Abilene, TX"

I hope that helps! I will be interested to hear a follow-up if anyone tries this because hopefully next year my squash won't freeze and die and I'll try this method to keep bugs away.

Mrs TLC, I just found a bunch of tiny little worms only about 1/4 inch long, hanging on their silk just under the leaves of my Sunflower plants. Are they the squash bugs you all are talking about? I will try the onion/garlic. Perhaps that is what is eating my strawberries and not ants as I thought.? I do have purple onions growing not even 3 feet away from the Sunflowers.

I think these are pickleworms. I've got the same things and they match the description perfectly. Here's a picture:

{{gwi:844012}}

Same thing here on my beautiful cantaloupe! Gel egg mass on both the leaves and in holes in the almost ripe fruit appeared on the same day. Had to remove all the affected fruit, I cried, and sprayed both Neem and Spinosad to try to salvage the remaining buds. Cannot find the adult culprits so I can't identify either caterpillar, fly or some type of beetle. HELP!

I've been battling with the pickleworms for a while..they did a number on my cukes..Bt seemed to work well, but I had to keep up with the applications..especially once the rains started in earnest this summer..Really disappointing because I probably lost more than half my crop to them..good luck.

Thanks Jeremy for the info. You put a name to the culprit! Lots of info, photos and suggestions at entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/pickleworm.htm#life. Again, thank you so much!!

New gardener here...I use nylons on my cucumbers and cantalope...tie it on when they are small...it works great so far..zuc also..I do a morning check for new fruit and tie them into the nylon...they grow inside the nylon..daily check to make sure fruit is not exposed...I net the cucs at night with tulle also