Squash beetles

mlflood · Joined: 19 Apr 2005 Posts: 1 Location: Allen,TX

How do I get rid of squash beetles? Those pests are eating everything in my garden and nothing seems to get rid of them. Have tried all available organic sprays i.e., garlic juice, orange oil, etc. What do I need to use and what strength, time of day, frequency, and combinations should I try? Thanks. Margaret :roll:

Nadine · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 1162 Location: Carrollton,TEXAS

At http://www.dirtdoctor.com/dallasnews.php?id=451 I found:

Question: I am looking for an organic liquid that I can apply to a fairly large area where I plan to grow watermelons and cantaloupes. Last year, they did fairly well, but I had trouble with squash bugs and spider mites.
A.L. Dallas
Answer: You have several choices, including liquid humate products, compost tea, animal feed molasses and my "Garrett Juice" formula on www.dirtdoctor.com/home .php. The animal feed molasses is not a pure organic in that it contains a small amount of feed-grade urea.

Be sure and spray the underside of leaves and do this in early morning or in the evening at dusk. Mix as per the instructions on the package. Garlic pepper tea added to the Garrett Juice formula (usually 2 ounces of the garlic pepper tea per gallon of ready to use Garrett Juice mixture) and seaweed (Maxicrop) are my personal preferences. It is my opinion that the latter would be preferable this time of year due to the heat. Do this on a weekly basis keeping the solution well mixed as you are applying it. A trombone sprayer is a great investment. It's performance can not be beat. Be sure and get one with a good grip handle on it. As for the Hudson brand (the brand of which I am most familiar), it is worth the extra $10 or so for the professional model. It is much easier to use than the one that has no handle.

goo0h · Joined: 07 May 2004 Posts: 127 Location: Denton,TEXAS

Nadine wrote: A trombone sprayer is a great investment. It's performance can not be beat. Be sure and get one with a good grip handle on it. As for the Hudson brand (the brand of which I am most familiar), it is worth the extra $10 or so for the professional model. It is much easier to use than the one that has no handle.
Interesting. Just this morning I was wondering how I can more effectively reach the tops of my Crepe Myrtles. (One is a pretty good sized tree, making my little 1 gallon hand sprayer a bit of a stretch.)

20-25 feet! Hmmm... I guess I'd have to be careful to not end up spraying goop into the neighbors pool! ;-)