I have written several articles on the squash vine borer, and they can be a real problem, but they tend to stay confined to vines. A couple of years ago someone called the office and complained that bugs were eating her squash and cucumbers, leaves and all. I was puzzled, as I had never heard that the borer ate the entire plant. She brought some bugs in and after some research we determined they were squash bugs. The same night another gardener brought in the same bugs with the same story: They ate everything in sight.

The squash bug is common throughout the United States. It will attack all members of the cucurbit family, but are most common on pumpkins and squash. Their piercing and sucking mouthparts feed on the plant foliage, and late in the season they may also feed on the fruit. Evidence of the damage includes wilting leaves that will appear black or dried out.

  
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