Squash.—This crop is subject to the same pests as cucumber. The squash-bug, or stink-bug (which also attacks cucumbers and melons), is grayish-brown in color and about three-fourths of an inch long. It exhales a very offensive odor which makes hand picking, one of the most effective means of controlling it, an extremely unpleasant task. The measures adopted against the cucumber-beetles are also effective in controlling this pest. Other remedies that may be tried are the collection and destruction of the conspicuous eggs which are to be found in masses on the under sides of the leaves, and trapping the adults by placing shingles on the ground around the plants. The insects will congregate under these and can then be destroyed by stepping on them.
Tomato.—The tomato-worm, the larva of a Sphinx-moth, sometimes occasions much damage. Hand picking is a good remedy, or the plants may be sprayed with lead arsenate. If the latter course is followed, care must be taken to clean the tomatoes thoroughly before eating them. The tomato is also subject to the same insect pests as the potato.
Watermelon is attacked by the same insects that infest cucumbers.
Practically all vegetable crops are subject to attack by the following insects:
Aphis, or Plant Lice.—These occur in both small and large species in a great variety of color. They injure the plants by sucking their juices, and frequently cause the leaves to become curled and deformed. Usually these insects are to be found on the soft growing tips of the plants or on the under sides of the leaves. Prompt application of remedial measures is necessary. The green-colored forms are usually the easiest to kill, and a simple soap solution is generally effective. The black aphids are more tenacious of life, and a stronger insecticide must be used, such as nicotine solution or kerosene emulsion.
Cutworms are the larvæ of several species of moths. They are especially partial to beans, cabbage, corn, onions, and tomatoes. They are usually dark-colored, greasy-looking caterpillars which spend most of their time, when they are not eating, just underneath the surface of the ground. They cut off the plants by eating through the stems. Several different measures should be in operation at the same time to rid a garden of cutworms. One of the most effective is the use of poisoned bait, but this is not advisable when live stock have access to the garden. The bait should be strewed liberally close to the plants. Shingles or thin boards may be placed on the surface of the soil. The cutworms will congregate under these and can then be killed by any means that suggests itself. Hunting for them at night, when they are feeding, with a lantern or flashlight, is another method of reducing their numbers.
Two very important soil pests are white grubs and wireworms. They attack potatoes and the roots of many garden crops. The former are large, clumsy, white grubs, the larvæ of the June beetle. Wireworms are long, slender, shining grubs, which may be of any color from light yellow to dark brown. They are the larvæ of click-beetles. It is very difficult to control these pests. Frequent, deep tilling of the soil is probably the best remedy. If chickens are allowed access to the garden plot when it is being plowed or spaded they will eat a great many of them. Wireworms may be trapped by attracting them to buried pieces of carrot or potato. These traps must be examined every morning and the insects congregated on them killed.
Following are the formulas for the various insecticides recommended.