A common recommendation for getting the best of the pest is to place boards near the crop, let the bugs congregate underneath, then turn over the boards and smash the plant eaters. The editor-in-chief of Mother Earth News, Cheryl Long, says she was working on a blog item about a Texas A&M suggestion that gardeners use boards when "the idea for the squisher occurred to me.
Instead of using whatever is handy to squish the bugs on each board, Long invites gardeners to try creating a squash-bug squisher.
Connect two boards with hinges and lay the boards next to your crop. Pick up the squisher, flip it over and slam the two boards against each other. The publication suggests using a very flat material for the boards, perhaps fiber cement siding, which resists warping and is heavier than wood.
A time-honored practice to outsmart squash beetles is to plant what's called a trap crop, that is, a plant that the pest may be attracted to rather than the squashes. A squash relative, the pumpkin, may be a superior choice as a trap crop. Dr. Michael Merchant, professor and urban entomologist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service, says squash bugs are more damaging by far to pumpkins; squash is actually their second favorite target.
He suggests supporting your trap boards with a couple of small rocks so you are creating a crevice into which the bugs can crawl easily to escape the heat of the day. An alternative to boards is a large cabbage leaf left on the ground; Merchant says squash bugs will take refuge under just about any flat shelter.
Some of his other tips for controlling the dreaded squash bug include regular inspection and cleanup. "I do suggest that people check plants pretty frequently," Merchant says. Squash bugs lay eggs on the undersides of plant leaves in patches that are rather distinct. Coppery-colored masses of about a dozen or two dozen eggs can be spotted easily.
"Tear out that portion of the leaf or squish the eggs with your finger," he says. And if you aren't actually attempting to attract the bugs to a trap, clean up debris in your yard and garden.
On Mother Earth News' squash-bug squisher page, readers shared alternate solutions – from sucking the bugs up with a shop vac to setting a hungry bantam hen on them.
Rebecca Perry raises vegetables in Milford, Texas.
By REBECCA PERRY / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
The best approach for Fire Ants is a united front - talk with your neighbors in the garden and plan for an evening or day attack, to rid your area of the ants. Follow up with the suggestions from the above website to help prevent them from returning.