Hand picking squash bugs and nymphs

[hendi_alex]

I've been hand picking squash bugs and nymphs all summer. With my limited planting of five squash plants, only three earlier in the season, it has been pretty easy to stay ahead of the squash bugs. Today when I was watering I accidentally learned a new trick. I sprayed water on the plant, including the base and stem, and the squash bugs, often connected and mating, simply began to walk up the stem from their hiding places and were very easy to pick and squish. Also, earlier I had been squishing some squash bug nymphs. They would walk away from my hand, walking around stems and into hiding areas, making the effort a little difficult. While watering later, I noticed that the nympys become totally immobile and stand perfectly still, making it ever so easy to squash them.