a new enemy

I have discovered a new bug to conquer:  the STINK BUG.  Sometimes referred to as a squash bug.  I noticed some eggs on the tops of my pumpkin plant's leaves.  Nice neat little rows of seeds.  I had also seen some stink bugs but it never occurred to me that they were bad.  Having found out that some bugs are actually beneficial, I'd been meaning to look them up before I began any type of massacre.

Low and behold, after doing some online research, I discovered that they are actually quite harmful.  They been the culprit of some extensive damage to produce farms.  Of course, not wanted to douse my pumpkin patch with the pesticides they use in farms, more research led me to find some more natural remedies. 

Dawn Dishwashing Liquid.  The miracle cure.  I used a spray bottle with a mixture of soap and hot water.  I went out to the garden with a bowl of rubbing alcohol ( for putting the eggs into) and the squirt bottle.  The soap worked great!  When I found a bug I just sprayed them relentlessly and  they fell over and croaked.  Awesome.  I found at least ten, and hundreds more eggs on top off and under the leaves.  I even found two bugs doing it.  Ha haha.

I will continue to monitor and spray for the rest of the season which is easier now that I know what to watch out for.

eggs.  the tale tell sign; they're in a V pattern that follow the veins of the leaf

they lay them on the top of the leaf too

so tidy!!

soaped up bug.  dead.

First Pumpkin!  So cute!  It's about the size of a grapefruit.