i have always dealt with bugs fairly successfully. I recently moved to southwestern Missouri where I believe the squash bugs intend to take over my garden, and possibly even the senate and house. What on earth do you do with them here?

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lol We have them here too. E.V.I.L. that is my nick name for them. Praying mantis, spiders, tachinid flies are our friends in this instance. They are beneficials which will help to control these pests. There are restant varieties like "Butternut" "Blue Hubbard: and "royal acorn" Plant a differnet variety every year and rotate your crops every year as well. I plant in different places every year and this seems to help. Try planting dill, and marigolds near your squash, they say it helps deter them. YOu can also hand pick the adults and look underneath leaves for the cluster of little tiny red eggs, I keep a bowl of soapy water with me, then wear latex gloves (I am squeemish to touch them) to scrape them off plants. Tachinid flies like dill, that weed Queen Annes lace (wild carrot) , and shast daisy. Try interplanting your veggies with some of these flowers to attract the good bugs to eat and destory the bad bugs, therefore saving the senate from a certain destruction. :)
I have heard the soapy water, but never understood if it killed them or just made the eggs come off better. I can only keep them at bay for so long. I'll give the flowers a try for sure! thanks. we have enuf pests in the senate already
the problem with soapy water, is it really depends on the soap and is not insect specific, meaning, it could kill the good bugs. It definately is more labor intensive picking, I also pay my kids 10cents per bug - especially japenese beetles. This serves two purposes; gets my revenge againstg mother nature and keeps my kids out of trouble for a couple hours. :)
good luck!
Could I borrow your kids say, um in June? I'll pay 15 cents! : )
My extremely free range chickens helped out.  But you gotta get them when they are little.  The adults shells are so hard you can't even squish them.  The chickens couldn't even crack them...ewww.  Hate squash bugs!!

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