Plant guide:ð Pumpkin
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Pests
Squash Bugs on Pumpkin Plants
Commonly affects: Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima, C. moschata (Pumpkin)
Leaves develop yellow speckling that turns brown and crispy, sometimes wilting entirely on affected sections of vine. Clusters of bronze-coloured eggs are visible on the underside of leaves, and grey-brown adult bugs cluster at the base of plants.
Potential Causes
- 1Squash bug (Anasa tristis) adults and nymphs feeding on sap, injecting a toxin that causes wilting
- 2Overwintering adults emerging in spring to lay eggs on new plants
- 3Heavy infestations especially damaging to young or stressed plants
Solution Steps
- 1Check the underside of leaves regularly for bronze egg clusters and crush them by hand.
- 2Hand-pick adult bugs in the early morning when they're least active.
- 3Place a board near the base of plants overnight â squash bugs shelter under it and can be collected and destroyed each morning.
- 4Apply insecticidal soap directly on nymphs, which are more vulnerable than hardened adults.
Prevention Tip
Check for and destroy egg clusters weekly starting early in the season â a handful of eggs found early prevents a much larger infestation of nymphs and adults later.
