Zucchini make big, beautiful plants in the vegetable garden.
The large palm-shaped leaves activate the plant to produce its bounty of fruits.
T
his guide helps identify the insect pest feeding on the leaves and vines of your zucchini plants.
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Gray in color with faint yellow striping, they look a bit likestink bugsbut bigger with a flatter appearance.
Like stink bugs, they emit a bad smell when crushed.
Round, reddish eggs deposited on zucchini leaves are easily seen.
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Both nymphs and adults feed on leaves and stems leaving yellow spots that eventually turn brown.
Photosynthesis is disrupted and young plants can wilt and die.
Adults hide under garden debris and overwinter in sheltered locations.
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Irregularly shaped holes in leaves, stems and fruit along with a silvery trail are signs of slug damage.
Slugs are most active at night and in cool, damp weather.
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Seedlings and young plants are at greatest risk.
Closely related to slugs, snails carry a shell that protects them from hot summer conditions.
They, too, leave behind a slimy trail that may appear silvery or clear.
Garden snails release mucus to help them move.NooMUboN / Getty Images
Irregular holes with smooth edges in leaves are a sign snails have been at work in your zucchini patch.
They also kill young zucchini plants by girdling stems and chewing ragged holes in leaves.
Adults are about an inch long with beaded antennae and distinct markings.
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The striped beetle is pale yellow with a black head and three black stripes.
Spotted cucumber beetle is bright yellow-green with a black head and 12 black spots.
While a more serious pest of leafy greens and root vegetables, an infestation can reduce the zucchini harvest.
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Immature aphids look like adults only smaller.
As they mature they shed exoskeletons leaving a white shell easily seen against green foliage.
Aphids cause mottling, yellowing, and curling leaves and can stunt plant growth.
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Adults are active in early spring chewing irregular holes and creating shallow pits in leaves.
Pitting is unique to flea beetles.
They congregate in large groups on a leaf and cause wilting and stunting.
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Seedlings are particularly vulnerable.
They feed on the undersides of leaves causing yellow to bronze speckling.
Plants lose vigor, become stunted, and foliage may turn brown and drop prematurely.
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Grayish-white webbing on the undersides of leaves is a sign of severe spider mite activity.
Slugs are most likely to consume whole leaves of young zucchini seedlings.
Place a row cover over seedlings.
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Remove visible eggs from leaves.
Place a board near plants to trap pests that congregate underneath overnight.
A strong spray from a hose knocks down small pests like aphids.
Baccillus Thuringiensis (BT) Fact Sheet.National Pesticide Information Center
