5 Ways to Ensure Squash Bugs Don’t Invade Your Garden Next Year, a Gardener Shares

Several years ago, I lost my summer squash to a nasty invasion of squash bugs that continued to plague my cucurbits for the rest of the growing season. That fall, I did a deep dive into finding effective tips for keeping those sneaky squash bugs away.

Here’s how to prevent squash bugs from overwintering in your soil or returning in the spring so you can stop struggling with these pests.

Do Squash Bugs Come Back Every Year?

Cool autumn temperatures usually kill squash bug nymphs but adult squash bugs can survive the winter by hunkering down in old leaf litter, dead plants, and soil. If you had squash bugs in the fall, they’ll likely return the following year unless you stop them from overwintering and laying eggs in the spring.

Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best-growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more!

How to Prevent Squash Bugs from Overwintering

Controlling squash bugs during the growing season limits plant damage and reduces the number of squash bug eggs in your garden, but sanitizing your garden in the fall helps even more.

A thorough fall garden cleanup removes squash bug adults and reduces the spread of other plant pests and diseases, including powdery mildew. Here’s what to do.

Remove Infested Plants

1. Pull cucurbit plants infested with squash bugs in the fall when the plants die back.
2. Pick off any squash bugs you see and drop them into a bucket of soapy water.
3. After removing the plants from the garden, rake the fallen leaves, twigs, and other surrounding plant matter. Check beneath nearby rocks, stacked wood, and along the edges of raised beds and pots for hidden squash bugs.

Destroy Old Plant Debris

Avoid composting the infested plant matter because squash bugs can survive the heat.

Instead, bag infested plants and throw them in the trash or burn them. Destroying old cucurbit plants should also reduce powdery mildew issues from developing.

Consider Tilling

Till your garden in the fall to rid your soil of hidden squash bugs and other soil-dwelling insects. Squash bugs bury themselves up to 6 inches deep in garden beds, so you’ll want to till accordingly.

Rotate Crops In Spring

Rotate cucurbits into a new section of your garden the following spring. This makes it harder for squash bugs to find your plants if you accidentally missed a bug or two in the fall.

Install Row Covers

Install row covers over your crops after rotating them. This prevents lingering squash bug adults from landing on your plants and laying eggs.

When your plants start to flower, remove the row covers or hand-pollinate the blossoms for a good harvest.

Additional Tips for Preventing Pests During the Winter

Squash bugs aren’t the only pests that overwinter in the soil and old plant debris. Here are a few more ways to manage other pests at the end of the growing season.

• Improve soil. Healthy plants are more resistant to pests and diseases than stressed plants. Amending your soil with compost or manure at the end of the season can give your plants the strength they need to resist pests in the spring.
• Weed thoroughly. Some pests overwinter in weeds or use them as host plants for their eggs. Reduce these pests by pulling out all the weeds in your garden in the autumn and applying weed-suppressing mulch.
• Encourage natural predators. Birds gobble up many garden pests, including grubs and squash bugs exposed through tilling. Install birdhouses and roosting boxes to encourage these garden helpers to stick around.
• Choose resistant cultivars. Some plants are naturally resistant to pests and diseases, so look for these plants when ordering seeds in the winter. Butternut and ‘Royal Acorn’ are known to be less appealing to squash bugs.