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Oklahoma Gardening

Ach. I have squash bugs.

14 years ago

I hadn't been able to check the plants very scrupulously this week and one of the vegetable marrows has tiny squash bugs on it. I found and squished 20-30 eggs and killed an adult, but I couldn't get all the immature ones. I only saw three or four of them, but I'm sure there's more.

I'm going to have to water tomorrow. I felt under the soil and it is very dry. We had a little rain yesterday morning, but not much. Guess I'll have to get those hoses.

On the positive side, I have squash as well as squash bugs. Yay for squash!

Although my watermelon vines are about 5' long in 3 or 4 different directions, I don't have any fruit yet. Is that normal? They have flowers, but no fruit.

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Comments (2)

Okiedawn OK Zone 7
14 years ago
I hate squash bugs. An easy way to get them is to lay a board or shingle down on the ground fairly close to the plants. The squash bugs will congregate under that shingle or board, and then all you have to do is lift it up and step on them and squish them (or squash them!).

On the watermelon, it might be normal. It depends on the variety and it depends on how long they've been in the ground and how long they've been flowering.

Watermelons have male and female flowers, so check yours and see if you have female flowers yet. If you have only male flowers so far, which is normal early on, the females should soon appear. When that happens, you'll still need to have pollinators around to transfer the pollen from the males to the females. If you don't have pollinators, you can pollinate them yourself by transferring the pollen from the male to the female. Watermelons produce relatively few female flowers/potential fruit in comparison to other cucurbits, so it is important to watch them carefully and make sure they all get pollinated.
gamebird
Original Author
14 years ago
My squash is getting pollinated okay (not great, but okay), so I think I have pollinators. I don't see many pollinators. I haven't seen any honeybees at all and not very many butterflies or those flies that sit on flowers.

I'll try that board trick. Thanks!

Today it's raining! Yay for me! (and everyone else lucky enough to be rained on today) It puts a bit of a damper on our 4th of July celebrations, but the rain probably won't last.
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I DESPISE squash bugs! But, since I don't want to kill pollinators or other beneficial insects, I have used companion planting, DE, soap sprays to control them. I also gather tips from fellow gardeners - LOVE the duct tape idea for the eggs, Gumby! One thing that works to keep the squash bugs from my cucumbers is planting them among tansy. It has worked for me every year, though I have had problems in another area of the garden with my squash and melons. Someone suggested to avoid using mulch for my squash, and that is what I will do this year, since the cukes get no mulch either - must be a connection. Row cover is another good tip, but I have not yet tried this. I would encourage you to try and avoid using pesticides, as the jury's still out on the connection betweeen their use and the problems with bee colony collapse. Depends on what study you read, and who put it out there, but my bet is that pesticide use cannot be ruled out as at least part of the cause.
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