Grandpa wrote in message ...
Matt wrote:
snip

Grandpa,

You mention the companion planting. Did you try planting sweet
potatoes with the susceptible crops? I read somewhere that'll work.
Just wondering if that's worth a try.

No sir, didn't try that one, but darned near everything else. Squash
bugs have got to be one of the most detestible little bugs I've ever
seen. I wet the plants for maybe 6 seconds and they come running
(literally) out of the plants then I move in for the kill. They really
hate water! Years ago I did the Diazinon trick to them. It worked but
I was really uncomfortable eating the squash so I didn't do 'D' again.

What you want is a trap crop that you can either till under or spray,
something the stink bugs prefer over your pumpkins squash or melons.
But you have to monitor the trap crop and act on it.
Here are some blurbs ripped off the University of Florida webpages.
Search terms used were stink bug trap crops.
When you look at these bugs the ones with spiky armored shoulders are
benneficial insects called assassin bugs-they can pierce fingers so
beware. Same family but different!

Biological Control
Biological control of the southern green stink bug is provided by
parasites, usually wasps and flies. In Florida a tachinid fly,
Trichopoda pennipes, parasitizes adults and nymphs, and a wasp,
Trissolcus basalis, parasitizes eggs. These two parasites have been
introduced as biological control agents in places such as Australia
and Hawaii to control the southern green stink bug. Recently
California used T. basalis in an effort to control its southern green
stink bug population.
Management
The use of trap crops is not a widely accepted idea for control of the
southern green stink bug but it has excellent potential as a type of
control. The choice for trap crops in the summer would be leguminous
plants such as cowpeas and beans. In the late fall and early spring
cruciferous plants are recommended. The trap crop should be sprayed or
plowed under before the developing southern green stink bugs become
adults to prevent them from migrating to the main crop. Insecticides
are commonly applied at blossom and fruit formation. Consult the
Florida Insect Management Guide for chemical controls.