Identify the Damage and the Bugs

• Before you can kill squash bugs, you need to know what you're looking for. Damage from squash bugs often resembles damage caused by bacterial wilt, according to A. Genetzky at the University of Minnesota. The primary difference is that the plants will recover from squash bug damage after the threat is removed, but won't recover from wilt. Adult squash bugs are similar in appearance to stink bugs. They have dark gray bodies with orange stripes and are a little more than 1/2 inch long. The eggs of squash bugs are yellow-brown and about 1/16 inch in size.
  
  

Soap and Water

• One organic way to kill squash bugs and their eggs is to drown the bugs in soapy water. Fill a bucket with warm water and a few squirts of dish soap. This method works best when you only have a small squash bug problem. If you need to catch hundreds of squash bugs, it won't work as well. Look under the leaves for unhatched eggs. Remove the leaves and place in the bucket of water. Catch any adults or nymphs with your hands and drop into the bucket to drown.
  
  

Trap and Smash

• Squash bugs like to hide. One way to catch and kill them is to give them a place to hide and then crush them underneath it. At night, set out a flat piece of cardboard or a small piece of wood. The bugs will gather under the cardboard or wood overnight. Early the next morning, lift the cardboard carefully and then smash the bugs with a shoe or a gardening tool.
  
  

Other Organic Methods

• If your area permits it, you may wish to raise guineas, a type of bird that are similar to chickens, to help control the squash bug population. The birds will gladly eat any squash bugs in your garden, according to Harvey Ussery of "Mother Earth News." To keep the squash bug population down, remove any weeds near the squash plants and keep the area clear of decaying plant matter or rocks, which adults can hide under during the winter. Destroy, don't compost, any plants that were infested with the bugs to reduce the risk of infestation next season.