Bugs in the Garden

There are several bugs in the garden and flower beds making their appearance. First of all, the squash beetles, while not particularly problematic, the beetles do lay eggs on the undersides of the leaves. These eggs hatch and the borers bury into the stem close to the ground causing damage and death to the plant. Since these borers do a lot of damage, I recommend using chemical sprays like Sevin or some of the Bayer products. Spray or dust around the base of the plants every 10 days till the end of July.

Squash bugs are soft-bodied, grey bugs that are a type of stink bug. They suck the juice out of the plants causing wilting and deformation of the leaves. These pests are hard to control since they do not eat the leaves. A contact insecticide like Malathion or others helps when the numbers are large.

There have been a lot of blister beetles in flower beds. These beetles rarely are in numbers that cause a lot of harm. They can be sprayed but do not pick them off and squish them in your hand. They have a toxic chemical that causes blisters on your skin using this as a predator control.

Lastly with bugs, is the stripped or spotted cucumber beetle. They do not cause too much harm to larger plants, but some carry a bacterium that infects cucumber plants causing them to wilt. It is best to use Sevin when you first see them and discard any wilted plants, so the bacterial disease does not spread. Always follow label directions especially the waiting time before harvesting.