Congratulations on removing the pests. I really appreciate that you took the time to remove them by hand and didn't just spray lots of pesticides when you didn't need to. Not that I am against pesticides, I just think it is better if all of us try to avoid using them when possible.

And yes squash leaves really do hurt. Sometimes I walk away from the garden with little cuts all on my arms. Some people recommend coving your arms, but I never get around to doing that. I am pretty sure they make long gloves or you can cut the toe end off of thick, long socks. Then you can use them to protect your arms and regular gloves to save you hands.

Yeah, i'm not much on pesticides either. I prefer hand-picking/squishing all of the pests that I find in my garden. My 2 week bout with tomato hornworms is over also, thankfully. I understand that the various pests are only active for a short period of time. A person just has to keep a watchful eye out for their arrival, kill all of the eggs and bug species, then after a period of time- they are gone. My reward for the hard work is - i've got tons of bees.......Hmmmmm

EG

I'm with you guys on the hand picking of the insects.
I hate picking 'em, but I go on daily squash bug hunts.
More than half of the eggs have been laid on the top of the leaves this year. Strange, but easy to spot! No pesticides = BEES & LADYBUGS! (YAY!) I leave a bucket of soapy water by the gate with dead japanese beetles floating in it for a warning to others not to press their fate...
I may need help :)

Thats what I need to be doing I guess, instead of performing surgery on my poor squash plants ;-( going in with the knife and digging out those nasty grubs ;-( I hate those dudes! And they were everywhere this year;-( DOes Neem oil help deter these little buggers?

The adult moth of the squash vine borers have been particularly easy to catch this year. One three separate instances I found them just resting on top of the leaves. I just got a old plastic water bottle took the lid off and pushed them in. I have never tried dissecting my vines, I just stab the vine a bunch of times with a safety pin in the affected area. It works fairly well.

I go out every night at about 1am and kill a slew of them. They are driving me nuts.

Yay!!!! for jbrinks!!!! You figured it out! That's when everyone should go out there. Night time is when the eggs are laid, and the moths that do it can be seen/killed.

EG

If sounds like some of you are talking about squash bugs and some are talking about squash vine borers. That's ok; I've got a question about each one.

Squash bugs: I read somewhere that you can just rub the eggs off the leaves (if they're not too protected by spines and veins). I assume then that, when they hatch, they won't have the energy to climb up on a nearby leaf? I have been tearing off that part of the leaf and destroying it.

SVB's: I have been having medium success with slitting the stem and digging out the worm. I also got some liquid BT and a garden syringe and have been squirting it in the effected stem. I think I'm winning.

I haven't seen a SVB moth. I go out morning and evening. I haven't seen a moth, frass, or egg. I've unstemmed a few worms, though, and have the characteristic damage.

Summer squash: I've lost a couple of plants, apparently to SVB's. When it became apparent they were lost, I cut them off to kill the worm and prevent babies. I slit the vine open and found nary a worm, and no particular hollow, chewed out spot. So what, then, killed them?