Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

we're not seeing too many here but while i
was looking at the website for harvesting and
curing tips they mentioned putting out yellow
dishes with water in them to capture them.

no idea how well it actually works, but i'd
be interested in hearing how it goes from
anyone who does try it.

No-o-o-o-o! Any of the target species caught in the containers are
likely to be outnumbered by dead specimens of harmless or even
"beneficial" insects that reflexively (tick tock: organic clockwork)
flew into a brightly-colored potential food source.

for someone facing a large infestation (a friend said
he had one pumpkin with hundreds of nymphs on it) it may
help for a short span and then see. i would always
advise people to monitor the situation and see if it is
doing more harm than helping.


Lures and traps
work because a huge percentage of flying insects react positively to
bright colors, yellow, white and magenta being among the most common of
flowers. Brightly colored containers of liquid in or near the garden
are almost guaranteed to more "innocent bystander" flying insects to
their deaths than it ever will of the target species. I routinely keep
bowls of water in garden beds for the use of animals and early on
discovered the danger brightly colored containers pose to insects. For
my purposes (attracting pollinators and insectivores), water white ("no
color") or stainless steel colored bowls work best for providing water
without luring nectar or pollen gathering insects. Although wasps and
bees routinely land on the surface of the water in those containers, I
_rarely_ find a dead insect in one.
Realistically, I know of no way to eliminate squash bugs and shield
bugs, especially as the end of summer approaches. OTOH, a gardener may
easily convince himself that he's managing them by learning their habits
in order to determine when they're most vulnerable in the garden and by
being at the proper places and times with traps and instruments of death
(yogurt cup containing water and a bit of liquid detergent). A simple
board or piece of cardboard on the ground in the garden is an effective
overnight trap and allows the operator some latitude in deciding what to
kill, while the early morning hours (early every morning, not just some)
when adults and nymphs on the plants are relatively docile is the best
time to flick them from the plants into the instruments of death. Dunno
about squash bugs specifically but many shield bugs and their nymphs
simply release and fall to the ground when disturbed early in the day,
making them easy to catch in the yogurt cup.

http://insects.about.com/od/insectpe...Squash-Bug.htm

http://articles.extension.org/pages/...arming-systems

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74144.html

Remember, though, that the processes described primarily serve to make
gardeners and farmers _feel_ that they're controlling the beasts.

i know. nature goes in cycles... i haven't ever bothered
to trap squash bugs or many other creatures. it is Ma who
freaks out and "Must Do Something[tm]!". but so far we've
just cut around any damage to the fruits and ate them anyways.

will be soon we'll have to pick/cure them for storage.


Relatively inexpensive biological controls exist but the life cycle and
mobility of the insects reduces their effectiveness considerably. I
suspect the only solution is to finish paving the planet.

heh, well i'm sure there are a lot of people who do feel
this way.

i'm more the other direction. the place i currently live
has so much rock/crushed limestone that it seems very sterile
to me. if i stay longer term i'll probably take a lot of
this out... ah well, we'll see.


songbird