Ah, welcome to the club. They are the worst. There are nopesticides I'm comfortable with that work. Nasturtiums don't help. I'm having some luck killing adults and crushing all the eggs, but there's always some that survived. You have to do that weekly at a minimum. The only time I had any real luck was by skipping a year. But they'll come back the year after you grow more squash.
this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2025
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Will diatomaceous earth work on them?
Not in my experience. Even if you coat the eggs and them directly.
I believe that diatomaceous earth works on all insects. It's not poison; it's finely ground silica, and it essentially wrecks their insect lungs. It will also wreck your lungs if you aren't careful with it (silicosis is super-bad, m'kay?). The issue will be getting it where it needs to be to affect them, and you'll have to re-apply after rain.
I hunt the adults and squish them when I water. It draws them out. Then I check every leaf for eggs. It is an effort to keep them out