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.

Hi, I live in Brevard, too. Just in case we're neighbors, do you ever see American White Shepherds out-n-about, along with a funny-looking Chihuahua? That's us, lol. Don't be afraid to come over and say hi, we're friendly. I wonder if those tiny little dark colored flies are fungus-gnats, and/or possibly fruit flies...and are the caterpillars tiny, too, kinda crawling around in the potting mix? If so, those might be the tiny little dark colored fly's offspring. We've been non-scientifically experimenting ---if you live in our neighborhood, you'll see the house with some coonties in the front yard. One of the coonties is singled out with a head-net (the kind that people wear over their heads and it covers face, ears and neck with a draw-string cinched up to help protect from biting bugs and stinging bees). Well that coontie with the head-net on it is filled with Ladybugs...So I was wondering if a Ladybug filled netting might work for your container gardening on your deck. Btw, nice decking! Also, we've been using 'used coffee grounds' on all our plants, whether potted or planted out for landscaping (see link below for gist), and I think it's been working, even on those those tiny fly gnat thingies, which I think makes the soil or potting mix somehow unappealing to them! Um, just in case it needs to be said, I am not an expert. If you live anywhere near Emerald Island Nursery, Rockledge Gardens, or Sun Harbor Nursery, all are super nice, very helpful, and supply organic remedies. Good luck to you, and very best wishes! Here is a link that might be useful: Coffee grounds

I think hand picking or vacuuming adults, planting beneficial-insect-attracting flowers, and using row covers on the grow beds are your best options for control. The following methods of control are quoted directly from "The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control" CONTROL METHODS: Squash Bugs - Maintain vigorous plant growth; handpick all stages of squash bugs from undersides of leaves; support vines off the ground on trellises; attract native parasitic flies with pollen and nectar plants; cover plants with a floating row cover (you'll need to hand-pollinate flowers. Stink Bugs - Control weeds in susceptible crops; remove or mow weedy areas adjacent to garden beds; attract native parasitic wasps and flies by planting small-flowered plants. As a last resort, dust with pyrethrin.

Thanks guys. I don't use any pesticides except for occasional BT on corn earworms. Not even soap sprays anymore, because I don't want to kill off what beneficials there are. I doubt it's distressed plants because I super-amended the soil last Fall, and the tomato bed looks like a jungle out there that is chock full of fruit. I haven't seen many yet, but I know that where there are two, there are many more, lol. I do have lots of sunflowers, no soybean or millet, though. What I was wondering is if there is an attractant that I can put in the tomato areas, either some scent that attracts them or a color (perhaps a red Christmas ball with tanglefoot on it). I remember a thread last year about cuke beetles being attracted to something in clove oil, and making traps to lure them and kill them in soapy water. It would be wonderful if there were something like that which would work on stinkbugs. I have managed to keep the squash bugs to a minimum, but their eggs area easy to spot, and they will climb up to the top if you water overhead and can easily be hand-picked. Tomatoes are so thick that it is impossible to see many of them at a time for picking (or vacuuming them as I prefer). You guys just keep throwing ideas at me, and I'll see if I can come up with a better method. Mrs H