Could catnip defeat squash bugs? Looks like it!
Julie writes:
Update on my companion planting.
This is the third year to plant catnip with the squash—yellow, zucchini, and butternut. Each year I have had less squash bugs. This year I found a total of two bugs in the yellow straight necks, a few little “egg farms” which I removed. That was it. Usually the butternuts are just covered with squash bugs by now. I have not seen a single one in the butternuts. You have to be careful to not get too much, or the pollinators can’t find the blossoms. If they don’t seem to be pollinating, just cut off the catnip and haul it away from the squash patch. It will regrow, but the bees will have found the blossoms by then.
I just transplant catnip from where it comes up wild under my yard bushes.
Happy gardening.
Julie
Good experiment, Julie. The aromatic catnip was an interesting choice, but it makes sense. So long as the cats don’t spend all their time rolling through the garden!
We’ve had good luck mixing a bunch of different plants together, but haven’t concentrated on exact companion planting pairs. Maybe this information will be useful for other gardeners fighting with squash bugs.
