Amor Chamness Cook
DEAR AMOR: What is the best way to get rid of squash bugs? — Chelsey
DEAR CHELSEY: I can relate to your squash-bug disgust. Squash bugs, anasa tristis, can infest vining plants like gourd, squash, pumpkin, cucumber, cantaloupe and watermelon.
As a gardener, I take pride in the many vegetable varieties I’m able to grow. There is one vegetable, however, that I will not grow. I had observed that whenever I had kabocha squash, countless squash bugs were infesting it, covering the whole vine patch.
Beyond my unfortunate failure in raising kabocha, I have maintained my yearly crop of vine plants through the years. Included in my must-haves are my favorite kinds of gourd, summer and winter squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, and watermelon. By experience, these don't seem to attract thousands of those super pesky bugs in my garden. If they were present, it had not caught my attention at all. Yes, I do watch my garden grow.