@droolinggardener: Alas, there's no easy cure for squash bugs, but your army grew the year before it appeared and you can adopt practice that will shrink the army next year. Keep your garden free of debris, meaning stuff the adult bugs can hide under at night (stray pieces of wood, stalks, fallen leaves in heaps). Also, the reverse. In the evening lay a board beside the plants. The bugs will gather under the board for the night. Come out early each morning, lift the board and crush the bugs. Another method. Inspect the under side of leaves early in the season to spot the eggs, which are tiny and orange and usually in clusters, which is handy because the remedy is to rub them off. I use my thumb with my fingers behind the leaf for support and roll the eggs aways so the fall to the ground. You'll be suprised how many clusters you find and how fast the bugs hatch, which is why you have to start early. When the bug are young and tiny you can roll them away too and you'll crush most them as you do. If you repeat this regime every spring the army will grow smaller and stay small.

@Groundskeeper: Thank you for the info. Good to know!

@Pollinator: Whoa! This is a perfect tip for Your Garden Show. I'm going to try it and report the results in Fall. I hope other folks do the same. The more the better.

@Pollinator: 

@Pollinator: Thanks!  I used to plant marigolds between my tomato plants - but i'll add many to the squash row this year as well.  I used to go out every morning and lift up every leaf to look for eggs - and old tweezers and bottle of soapy water to catch the adults and drown them.  But after the squash plants got so big later on in the season it was really hard to check each leaf... Hoping all the work I did last year will mean less bugs this season.  That and all the preying mantis eggs I've seen around the property... hope those guys go crazy in my garden!  =)  I plant french marigolds behind my garage/workshop and every spring I have hundreds of volunteers come up - already transplanted 6.5 flats of them to 3&4 packs.  Ran out of potting soil... had to get more.  So I have plenty to use in the garden! 

@PYehl: Please keep us informed how the marigolds do for keeping the  squash bugs away from the squash, I planted 12 more yesterday , the suggestion about sunflowers was interesting someone else posted , I did notice where my cantaloupes were planted last year I had a ton of sunflowers and no squash bugs, now I am wondering if the sunflowers did do the trick! 

@PYehl: Please keep us informed how the marigolds do for keeping the  squash bugs away from the squash, I planted 12 more yesterday , the suggestion about sunflowers was interesting someone else posted , I did notice where my cantaloupes were planted last year I had a ton of sunflowers and no squash bugs, now I am wondering if the sunflowers did do the trick! 

@Glorioussnookie: Will do - and funny thing is my sunflower patch is right up against the squash bed this year...  so it might be hard to know if it was marigolds OR the sunflowers....  but hopefully between the 2 I won't have a major infestation this year!

@Glorioussnookie: might have to try that as well - when I would see 2-3 areas of eggs on one leaf I would just cut the leaf off and put in a trash bag to be hauled far away from my house.  =) 

@clong: 

@sreece: I was wondering about neem oil. Haven't tried it myself but now I will. Thanks.

@sreece: 

@Louisiana lady: Another tip to try. If ten of us could try this and report the results, that would be Citizen Science.

@Louisiana lady: Another tip to try, a good one. Thanks. If ten of us could try this and report the results, that would be Citizen Science.

@Groundskeeper: I have a lot of sunflowers planted this year, so I will definitely be one of the ten to try and let you know  my results,  come to think of it, where I had my cantaloupes planted last year I had a lot of sunflowers and never saw a one squash bug, honestly didn't look at the sunflowers maybe they were my helper in disguise.

@Glorioussnookie:  This is more interesting all the time. Sunflowers as magnets for squash bugs. We have to start a Forum about it.

@Groundskeeper: Hi great idea, if you could start the forum I sure will add to it, I am relatively new to computers and this site and have no clue how to start a forum hehe! Thanks so much!

@Glorioussnookie: Here at Your Garden Show, virtual headquarters, we're working on some major additions to the site. Forum will be one, a place where all of us can start any topic we like and contribute to any and all topics. I have a feeling that one of the first will be squash bugs. I'm looking forward to learning what other gardeners do about them.

@sabrinasgarden: Thanks so very much!!!!! I will definitely use this tip!!!