I'm ready to drop the BOMB!!

[My Foot Smells]

I have been ransacked by squash bugs, looking for solution. Sevin dust was a joke, they licked it up.

Is there anything that gets rid of these things? Usually organic, but RDNFC at this point; wanting to fire up the Enola Gay and drop the bomb on these suckers.

I don't have time to handpick and usually when I check the garden I only see a couple, but I know there are more hiding in the jungle.

[AlittleSalt]

We have had them so bad that I pulled the plants and burned them.

Soapy water coats them and suffocates them. I even made soapy Malathion water.

There has to be a realistic answer - otherwise there wouldn't be so many squash in the grocery stores selling for less than a dollar per pound. I haven't found that answer yet.

[Tracydr]

If you can hand pick a lot of adults, then dust the undersides and base of the plants heavily with DE. You can also spray with spinosad/soap first. That should keep the population down. I've done it and it works. May not get to zero but will help a lot.
I think Sevin just kills the good bugs which opens the gate for even more bad stuff, especially if everyone in the area uses it and bugs have developed resistance.

[b54red]

Since they are basically sucking insects the Sevin will only have a limited effect unlike on chewing insects. I think you should try a Permethrin or Pyrethrin spray. There is only a short wait time on them as they are not very poisonous to mammals and that is the reason they are in almost every flea treatment for dogs. Cats however are sensitive to them. I would mix up a good very soapy solution and add the Permethrin and spray well including the mulch under the plants and then repeat in 3 days and see if it makes a difference. You may have to repeat several times to get them under control. If that fails you can go nuclear and use Malathion but the wait times are significantly higher as it is far more potent. I have used Permethrin when necessary for many years with very good results on most sucking pests but it has little residual effect and must be reapplied to control persistent pests.

I am now experimenting with spraying food grade DE in water with a little soap in an effort to control spider mites on my tomatoes. If it works it may be a good way to help with squash bugs. The food grade DE mixes well and sprays easily without settling too much so you can get a fine coating on all the leaves both top and bottom. If you want to stay organic then you might want to try it and see if it works; but like most poisons it will kill good bugs and bad bugs.

Bill

[Dewayne mater]

Bill - if that works on spider mites, please start a new thread on it! They are the bane of my existence this time of year. Pyrethrins, IGRs, so far not really doing the trick.

Dewayne Mater

[Salsacharley]

I've been using DE on spider mites for 2 years, but I've been struggling with keeping my sprayers from clogging. I've been applying 1 T of DE per quart as RobinB recommends and I find it clogs every sprayer I've used from quart size to 4 gallon. I'm going to reduce the DE to 1 T per gallon and see how that works. I can attest that DE is effective on spider mites but I really need an effective dose to make it reliably consistent.

Originally Posted by b54red

Since they are basically sucking insects the Sevin will only have a limited effect unlike on chewing insects. I think you should try a Permethrin or Pyrethrin spray. There is only a short wait time on them as they are not very poisonous to mammals and that is the reason they are in almost every flea treatment for dogs. Cats however are sensitive to them. I would mix up a good very soapy solution and add the Permethrin and spray well including the mulch under the plants and then repeat in 3 days and see if it makes a difference. You may have to repeat several times to get them under control. If that fails you can go nuclear and use Malathion but the wait times are significantly higher as it is far more potent. I have used Permethrin when necessary for many years with very good results on most sucking pests but it has little residual effect and must be reapplied to control persistent pests.

I am now experimenting with spraying food grade DE in water with a little soap in an effort to control spider mites on my tomatoes. If it works it may be a good way to help with squash bugs. The food grade DE mixes well and sprays easily without settling too much so you can get a fine coating on all the leaves both top and bottom. If you want to stay organic then you might want to try it and see if it works; but like most poisons it will kill good bugs and bad bugs.

Bill

[Worth1]

The name of this thread made me think someone was about to tell someone some unsettling information.
Worth

Worth

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

I've been using DE on spider mites for 2 years, but I've been struggling with keeping my sprayers from clogging. I've been applying 1 T of DE per quart as RobinB recommends and I find it clogs every sprayer I've used from quart size to 4 gallon. I'm going to reduce the DE to 1 T per gallon and see how that works. I can attest that DE is effective on spider mites but I really need an effective dose to make it reliably consistent.

I had no clogging issues using 8 Tablespoons to the gallon using my SP2 back pack sprayer which is also good for spraying my bleach sprays. I first mixed it one gallon at a time with a bit of dishwashing soap to help hold it in suspension in an empty gallon jug which I shook well then poured through a fine strainer into my sprayer. I also tried to shake my sprayer every few minutes as I sprayed. I did notice that the first gallon out of the sprayer left a much heavier dose of DE on the plants so I may just mix one gallon at a time next and see if it works better. I always pour anything that has suspended solids or minerals through a very fine stainless steel strainer as it is poured into my sprayer to avoid clogging. I even do this to Texas Tomato Food when putting it into my hose end sprayer.

Bill

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Dewayne mater

Bill - if that works on spider mites, please start a new thread on it! They are the bane of my existence this time of year. Pyrethrins, IGRs, so far not really doing the trick.

Dewayne Mater

Dewayne I always ended up using Permethrin and in higher than label recommended doses along with the IGR to get good results with spider mites. I also found that I had to use a very high concentration of dish washing liquid of at least a tablespoon or two to the gallon. The soap is crucial in getting the products to the mites because of the wetting affects it has.

I found Malathion worked but it is so potent in comparison to Permethrin or Pyrethrin and it can really burn some leaves in strengths that will effectively kill spider mites. That is why I would rater use repeated sprays of Permethrin. I too am hoping this DE works good because so far this year no poisons have been used in my garden. I do worry about the loss of good bugs with the use of the DE but when spider mites are involved it is just a matter of plant survival in this heat when they get bad. I can say that if this works it will be the cheapest thing I have found to get rid of them. Lets all hope it works.

Bill

[Salsacharley]

Thanks for the tips Bill!


..

Originally Posted by b54red

I had no clogging issues using 8 Tablespoons to the gallon using my SP2 back pack sprayer which is also good for spraying my bleach sprays. I first mixed it one gallon at a time with a bit of dishwashing soap to help hold it in suspension in an empty gallon jug which I shook well then poured through a fine strainer into my sprayer. I also tried to shake my sprayer every few minutes as I sprayed. I did notice that the first gallon out of the sprayer left a much heavier dose of DE on the plants so I may just mix one gallon at a time next and see if it works better. I always pour anything that has suspended solids or minerals through a very fine stainless steel strainer as it is poured into my sprayer to avoid clogging. I even do this to Texas Tomato Food when putting it into my hose end sprayer.

Bill

[Dewayne mater]

Bill - sorry to ask you to do more, but, would you mind posting a picture of your strainer? We have several around the house of varying degrees if straining. At some point, wouldn't you be straining out the DE? I use the SP2 as well and, knock on wood, pouring through the plastic strainer that comes with it has been sufficient to avoid clogs.

I'm gonna go another round on permethrin and IGR. I was worried about the Permethrin I've got because it is pre mixed with neem oil, and using oil scares me this time of year. However, I sprayed at 6:30 a.m. and it is about 2 hours before the first light hits the plants. This seems to have been good enough as I don't see burning/oil damage. Looks like I've lost my sungold and one other plant to the red devils and I don't want to chance losing more. I would absolutely love to use no poisons and permethrin (not pyrethrin as I had said) is my only non organic spray this year. Spider mites are keeping me from that goal.

Dewayne

[b54red]

Here is a link to one like the one I use but you can get them much cheaper at Walmart or even Publix. I'm sure they are available almost anywhere kitchen gadgets are displayed. The mesh is very fine but it doesn't stop the DE from going through unless there is a little lump that isn't dissolved.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/...-strainer.html

I also would be afraid of using neem in this weather as I burned mine one year using it but they did recover. I don't think the amount of pyrethrin in those mixes with neem is enough to do the job on spider mites. I found it only slowed them down a little bit.

Bill