Black Kat Pumpkin

Sugar Pie Pumpkin

Jarrahdale Pumpkin

Encourage natural predators like birds and beneficial insects. Foraging chickens are great at getting rid of these pumpkin pests. Trap boards are an effective way to trap them overnight, and then you can collect and destroy them in the morning.

Check the undersides of leaves for eggs and destroy them when you find them. You can simply scrape them off and smash them. Handpicking works for adults and nymphs when you see them. Drop them in a bucket of soapy water.

You can target the nymphs with organic sprays like neem oil or pyrethrin-based sprays. Use this one sparingly, as it can also harm beneficial insects that are important to the garden.

Adult vine borers are moths and are about a half inch long. They have a black body with orange markings and resemble wasps. They have two sets of wings. The front wings are metallic green, and the back wings are clear.

Squash vine borers lay single eggs rather than clusters, so they can be easy to miss. They are small, oval, and reddish-brown. You’ll find them near the base of plants.

The larvae are the damaging stage. These white, wrinkled caterpillars have brown heads and are about an inch long at maturity. These live inside the stems, out of view. Look for holes at the base of stems with their sawdust-like frass around the entry area; this is the clearest early warning sign.

Once the larvae get inside the stems, they are difficult to deal with, so stopping them before they get to that stage is helpful. The strategy is to monitor early and prevent them as much as possible.

Floating row covers are helpful to keep adults from laying eggs on your pumpkin vines. Once your plants flower, remove the row cover for pollinators to do their work. You can also wrap the base of stems with foil or fabric to block egg-laying.

Crop rotation, of course, is a good prevention practice. If you remember to check daily, you will often be able to find the eggs at the base of vines and leaf stalks.

Once they are inside the stems, it’s difficult to treat these pests. Remove any egg masses as you locate them. Sprays won’t reach them, so you’ll have to use mechanical methods. Look for the entry hole where the larva entered.

Make a clean cut along the length of the stem. You can use tweezers or a thin wire to either remove or kill the larva. After you remove the offender, bury that portion of the stem to protect it.

Aphids are visible and slow-moving, soft-bodied insects. They are small, but usually feed in groups, so they are easy to identify. The adults are small, about 1/16 of an inch long, and pear-shaped. Their bodies are soft, and they can be yellow, green, brown, black, or pink.

You’ll find them in groups, commonly on stems or the undersides of leaves. They have small black legs and long antennae relative to their body size.

Look for curling or deformed new growth, as this is their preferred foliage for feeding on. Tender tissues are their favorite. You may also see them on blossoms.

Aphids have lots of natural predators. If you provide nectar plants, you’ll have a good chance of attracting ladybugs, lace wings, and predatory wasps. These are great controls.

You can spray them off or wipe them off with an alcohol soaked cotton ball. Row covers help to prevent them, and many plants act as a repellent. Think about planting repellent companions like garlic, onions, and chives.

Removing cutworms is about catching them while they are active. Go out at dusk or dawn with a flashlight, and you may see them on stems or at the base of pumpkin seedlings. If you notice damage from these pests, you can dig around the stem during the day and pull them out of the soil. Drop them in soapy water to kill them.

Disturbing the soil in general is effective, as that is where they spend their days. Lightly cultivating the soil exposes them to predators. They have plenty of natural predators in the garden.

Cucumber beetles are small insects. There are two primary types to keep an eye out for. The striped cucumber beetle is about 1/4 inch long and yellow with three black stripes. The stripes run lengthwise.

The second type of this pumpkin pest is the spotted cucumber beetle. These are the same size and yellow as well. Instead of stripes, they have 12 black spots on their wings. They are most active during warm weather.

Cucumber beetles prefer to feed on young pumpkin plants. You can avoid some of their damage by transplanting older plants. These will also withstand any feeding better than young sprouts. Row covers are also a good preventative action while your plants are young.

Mulching around your plants makes it harder for beetles to find the vines. Crop rotation also acts as a deterrent. These beetles have natural predators like birds, soldier beetles, and ground beetles. Encourage these with dill, fennel, and sweet alyssum.

Removing these pumpkin pests is tricky, as they are good at hiding. Early in the morning, they move slowly and are easier to knock off into a bowl of soapy water. Inspect the flowers, as this is a common place to hide.

Yellow sticky traps are a great resource. Place these around the bottom of the plant. Beetles are highly attracted to the color yellow and will stick to the traps. However, other beneficial insects can get caught in these.

Neem oil is a good deterrent, so you can spray it on your pumpkin plants. Make sure to dilute properly, or you’ll risk burning the foliage. Insecticidal soap is effective for larvae, but less so for adults.

Avoid late plantings to avoid these pests. They prefer young fruits, so early planted pumpkins are less likely to be a target. Floating row covers are a good protectant, especially at night when the moths are active.

Neem oil spray can be an effective deterrent, though it’s not effective later on. Keep a close eye out for the holes they leave and remove and destroy affected tissue.

Once they move in, it’s difficult to eradicate pickleworms. If you see their holes and excrement, remove the affected foliage or fruits right away and destroy them. Remove pumpkins with entry holes as they are unlikely to recover.

Sometimes you can remove these manually, in a similar fashion to vine borers. It’s rarely practical, however. Encourage natural predators like birds and wasps to help control these pests. Always keep the area around your pumpkin vines clear of debris.

Generally, good sanitation is the best prevention. Cleaning up debris, removing weeds, and rotating crops will help prevent them to a degree. Floating row covers are also effective at deterring the adults.