The secretive nature of squash bugs can be used to your advantage in controlling these pests. Place a small, square piece of old shingle or heavy cardboard under each squash plant. Other control methods include early planting and collecting eggs and nymphs by hand. It causes much trouble where only a few plants are grown in gardens. It rarely attacks cucumbers and melons.
Great variations exist in the susceptibility of squash and pumpkin varieties.
Butternut and Green-Striped Cushaw varieties are practically immune to attack, but Hubbard squash is highly susceptible. This tunneling often kills plants, especially when the larvae feed in the basal portions of vines. Sometimes fruits are also attacked. Sudden wilting of a vine and sawdust-like insect waste coming from holes in the stem are evidence of attack. Hind legs are fringed with black and orange hairs, and markings of similar color occur over much of the abdomen.