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Squash Bugs – What Are They and How to Get Rid of Them?

Earl — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:00:04 +0000

Squash bug on a winter squash leaf in my Arkansas garden

Human child next to infected patch of winter squash

My winter squash plants are being attacked!

Squash bug nymphs on dead leaf

Squash bug nymphs

Squash bug nymph looking for refuge on a squash leaf

Soft, white, squash bug nymph

Squash bug eggs on underside of winter squash leaf

Squash bug eggs

Squash bug adult

How to Kill Squash Bugs Organically

The video below shows an organic way to kill squash bugs and cucumber beetles, using dish soap. It’s amazing how fast it works! [ Credit: georgem21275 ]

I tried this and it works! Fast! I just used dish soap mixed with water and poured it over a gathering of squash bugs and they were all paralyzed within seconds. It was just a little soap and mostly water, shaken up.

How does dish soap kill bugs?

The soap suffocates them. These insects breath through their outer covering and not through their mouth. Air enters the insect’s body through valve-like openings in the exoskeleton. [ source ] A soapy liquid covering their body clogs up these openings, preventing Oxygen from entering their bodies.

Other Common Squash Pests

The video below shows several of the common insect pests on squash plants. [ Credit: NMSU ]

Conclusion

You can combat squash bugs with a small amount of cheap dishwashing liquid and water, which is also fairly harmless to our environment.

Spider Spins Web

Earl — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:10:43 +0000

As night begins, this spider spins its web against our house.

Box Turtle is a Predator!

Earl — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:24:48 +0000

Watch as a box turtle enjoys a swim before lunch.

For lunch he eats a grub, snail, and a large beetle.

This cute turtle is actually a vicious hunter. Watch the video to see…

My daughter found this box turtle on our property in Arkansas, USA. We borrowed him from the wild for a week. After a week, we released him back from where he came: the woods behind our house. We sent him on his way with a full belly.

Surprisingly, my first few attempts to feed this turtle failed.

What do box turtles eat anyway?

At first I offered him different kinds of fruit, like banana and grapes. I also offered him a carrot. The turtle refused to eat these and I was afraid he was going to starve to death while visiting us.

I read online that box turtles also like to eat small bugs. I put some bugs into the 18-gallon plastic container we were keeping him in. The turtle immediately turned into a vicious predator. He gulped down many bugs, including grubs, a worm, a snail, and rolie polies.

Where do you find food for box turtles?

I found the bugs in two places: in my compost pile and around my garden. The big beetles were found under logs that border some garden beds. I found a grub slithering across a garden bed right after a rain. The rest of the bugs were found in my compost pile. I simply took a shovel and dug into the pile, uncovering rolie polies and a worm.

My biggest surprise with this turtle was how much of a carnivore he was. He refused to eat his fruits and veggies but loved to eat live prey.

The turtle was released yesterday and is again wandering around on our property where my daughter originally found him. The way I convinced her to let him go was to tell her that if we let him go, we could have lots of baby turtles on our property later. After our turtle finds another adult turtle, they will lay eggs and make baby turtles. She was excited about that and was motivated to let him go without a fuss.

We enjoyed meeting this turtle, seeing how turtles swim, and learning more about what turtles eat.

Who’s Been Eating My Melons?!

This is a melon that made it safely out of the garden and into the house.

This year I have seen many more turtles, mostly hanging around the garden. These turtles love to eat melons! Nooooo!!! My garden has turned into a turtle sanctuary! Watch the video below to see how I discovered a turtle eating the melons in my garden.

VIDEO