What are these crazy looking things on my squash?
They are super tiny in white stuff. Not ants.
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Lindsaylew82
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2115
- Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 9:26 pm
- Location: Upstate, SC
My knee jerk answer is squash bugs, but I can't really mag up or zoom in on your photo without ur getting pixelated. They look to be freshly hatched. Or is one of the later stages of nymphs. Every stage looks so drastically different.
These things are the WORST pest I have I my garden. If I don't stalk them and hand pick frequently, then I get over run. Quickly. I spray with neem oil weekly JUST for these jerks. I check the undersides of leaves for eggs and crush them. I handpick the adults and nymphs that I see. It's never ending with them.
That being said, are you sure it's a bug, cause it looks like you have a little powdery mildew on the leaves as well. Again, can't zoom in without distortion.
These things are the WORST pest I have I my garden. If I don't stalk them and hand pick frequently, then I get over run. Quickly. I spray with neem oil weekly JUST for these jerks. I check the undersides of leaves for eggs and crush them. I handpick the adults and nymphs that I see. It's never ending with them.
That being said, are you sure it's a bug, cause it looks like you have a little powdery mildew on the leaves as well. Again, can't zoom in without distortion.
I can't zoom in enough either. Fuzzy and moving and black or grey may be mealy bugs or aphids or a combination of both.It helps to have a hand lens or loupe to identify pests. And we need to be able to zoom in to see them too when you take a picture. If they are soft bodied and kinda sticky when you rub them off then it is likely to be one or both of those. Most mealy bugs are not black. Aphids come in different colors but the fuzzy ones are usually white.
You can blast them off with a stream of water or you can use either insecticidal soap or and oil spray. My favorite is just plain alcohol. Just don't spray in the middle of the day. Put out ant bait to control the ants. The leaves look like they may have downy mildew from the yellow splotches. Weak plants will be targeted by pests and disease. A strong plant is less of a target. You need to make sure the plants are fed and get enough room and air circulation to get the optimum growth from them. You also need to jump on problems early on. It looks like your squash has multiple issues besides the bugs. You may be able to limp along to get some fruit, but there will come a time when it is just best to start over.
You can blast them off with a stream of water or you can use either insecticidal soap or and oil spray. My favorite is just plain alcohol. Just don't spray in the middle of the day. Put out ant bait to control the ants. The leaves look like they may have downy mildew from the yellow splotches. Weak plants will be targeted by pests and disease. A strong plant is less of a target. You need to make sure the plants are fed and get enough room and air circulation to get the optimum growth from them. You also need to jump on problems early on. It looks like your squash has multiple issues besides the bugs. You may be able to limp along to get some fruit, but there will come a time when it is just best to start over.