They look like squash bugs. Horrible evil things. Next time, check under the leaves for little orange spherical eggs and smoosh them all. https://www.almanac.com/pest/squash-bugs
this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2025
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What eats them
fire does pretty good.
this year I've been taking a a propane torch to them with much success.
also been using diatomaceous earth and ~~seven~~sevin.
edit: just to add, torching the eggs works really well at cutting their numbers down and doesn't hurt the plant if they're big enough. if you burn after watering the damage is even less to the leaf.
it's oddly therapeutic, though I don't like to be cruel to any living thing, but life is brutal and I want to eat my food.
first year I've done it and I'm actually going to get to harvest squash after three years of getting nothing.
Seven?
Probably means Sevin. It's an Insecticide usually in dust form (not the band Sevendust). I've had good results using Sevin dust to protect tomatoes against horn worms.
yup, you got it.
I'll torch the adults and eggs then dust with sevin on the plants that were heavily infested, then use the dia-earth on the less impacted ones as a preventative.
sorry, I misspelled it.
Sevin
it's a pesticide. I recommend using a bulb duster to apply it to the locations you need it. wear a mask, it won't kill you or make you sick. it will irritate your sinuses and give you nosebleeds if you breathe in too much of it.
Used to be able to get 20lb bags of the stuff. Throw it in a seed-spreader and walk it around. Now, I can only find 5lb bags, though the pests I was fighting seem to have been out-competed in recent years.
mantises must, because I've seen them in my squash, as well as mantises, and got a squash harvest just fine.
Squash bugs are a plague. Spray them with insecticidal soap or a mixture of dawn dish washing liquid. They will die virtually on contact. Planting varieties that those bugs hate is a good solution.
Pretty much a stink bug:
https://thepetenthusiast.com/stink-bug-vs-squash-bug/
I guess they eat enough squash people stopped mentioning the shitty smell, so good on em.
Squash bugs, a friend of mine looks through the stems and stabs them with a toothpick. It's a lot of work
On a squash no less.
Those look like Halyomorpha halys:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_marmorated_stink_bug
If you live in the US or anywhere else where they are invasive you should consider murdering them.
Oof. Uh oh.
Good picture!
https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2020/12/uninvited-pests.html
Squash bugs, not stink bugs. Still a pest.
Oh thank you! I'll take this as a win nonetheless.
I've dealt with multiple seasons of squash bugs and they are intense to manage, and you have a lot on that one pumpkin, you've probably had them a while and they've had plenty of time to lay eggs and multiply. They will over winter in the soil so make sure to clean up the garden beds of all debris as much as possible after the growing season and consider moving your squash elsewhere or don't grow them at all for a year or two.
We've tried all sorts of different methods at controlling them: wood boards on the ground, picking eggs manually, picking individual bugs manually, insecticidal soap, synthetic pesticides, but once you have that many adults showing you're in a bad spot. The best way to get rid of them is in egg or nymph stage. Eggs can be easily removed from leaves using tape and nymphs will die with castile soap sprays, but you have to stay consistent with inspection and prevention for most the season.
We eventually decided to not grow squash for two seasons. We're just wrapping up summer #1 of no squash, one more to go....
Good luck!
Super helpful - thank you for the solid advice! And yah, I am planning on not growing any next yeaqr (and I guess the year after that, now that you mention it).
Thanks for this. I'm going to try the board/trap method and see how that goes. They creep me way out but I should be able to do this, I think.
Auf der Mauer auf der Lauer liegt 'ne kleine Wanze. Seht euch mal die Wanze an, wie die Wanze tanzen kann!
Auf der Mauer auf der Lauer liegt 'ne kleine Wanze.