[Boobs]

My garden was so great and producing just a couple of weeks ago. Now the only things still looking healthy are the peppers and tomatoes. My squash, zukes, cukes, watermelon, and pumpkins and marigolds are all dead or dying. There are bugs on them, but I don't know what it is and if I can save the plants from them. They lay red eggs and then when they hatch they look like spiders with yellow sacks. I'm pretty sure they aren't spiders, though. What should I do?

 

[annekevdbroek]

You might try taking a bit of the plant, with bugs attached, to your local garden center and see if they can identify what is killing your plants. In the meantime a possible treatment is to mix water with a small amount (2 tsp per bottle of water) of dishsoap and spray the bugs. Cover them completely with water/soap. This will actually kill quite a few insects (e.g. aphids) without harming benficials like ladybugs.

 

[cravenab00]

the red eggs sound like squash bugs. nasty little things. When they are in their young stage, you can use garlic spray to kill them. But it wont work on the adults, the only option there is handpicking them.

When you find the eggs, tear off the part of the leaf they are on and throw them away, DONT compost. at least that will stop the spread of them.

Also, do you have what look like striped ladybugs on your cukes, squash, pumpkins etc....? Those might be cucmber beetles. And they will destroy everything if not taken care of. The spread bacterial wilt. I have already lost one pumpkin plant to this.
If you can, get some dill plants. It will deter alot of insects.
Also neem oil will do the trick.

HOpe you can save some of it!

 

[Boobs]

Thank you for the replies! I'll try the soap spray first and go from there.

 

[Red]

Pick off as many as you can. I drown them all in a can with warm soapy water. Spraying helps, but they can lay eggs much faster than they ever seem to die and removing as many as possible will boost your chances at sucess.