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| Just wondering if anyone has found good ideas for battling the squash vine borers. I just planted my yellow squash and zucchini for this year, and last year the SVB decimated it all. (link below) I’m still feeling the sting (last year was my first try at gardening) and would really like to avoid the same thing. I have planted a whole month earlier than I did last year due to the warm weather. Maybe that will help?
I am an organic gardener, but I would consider a pesticide used only on the stem at the time the SVB moths are out. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. So, anyone? |
Here is a link that might be useful: A Peaceful Dwelling: Scourge of the Squash Vine Borer: R.I.P Yellow and Zucchini Squash
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by TxanGoddess 9a (My Page) on Thu, Mar 22, 12 at 11:45
| The best way I've found to avoid the dreaded SVB is to get the squash out very early, or very late. I planted mine at the end of January. That aside, I wipe the stems and back of the leaves with a rag with BTK once a week, which will kill the worm if it starts to eat in before it can get all fat and clog up the stem. A $15 bottle will last a couple of seasons. If I have even the slightest suspicion my application on the outside was not precise enough, and a worm made it in anyway, I shoot the stem up with diluted BTK, hoping to kill the caterpillar, again before it gets too fat. When I first started using it, I was trying to get worms that had already clogged the intake system of the whole plant ... which is the one situation where BTK is not particularly useful. HTH. |
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| Thanks for the post, and best wishes on solutions. I started gardening last August, and luckily didn't have problems with SVBs on my zucchini leaves. I did have problems though with melonworms and cabbage & soybean loopers. Since it may be a different story being earlier in the year, I'm paying attention to SVBs. The damage from them looks much more severe; killing the whole plant, rather than just focusing on the leaves. I'll try to check the sometimes helpful Texas Bug Book. I remember seeing data in there for SVBs. Good luck, and keep researching. Maybe a Google search would also help? |
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- Posted by wally-1936 Richmond Tx (My Page) on Sat, Mar 31, 12 at 10:14
| I do not know how well it works but I have heard of using blue tinted foil placed at the base of all squash plants. It seems they believe that they think it is the sky and will not light? I know they paint the underside of porch ceilings a light blue color to help keep the mud dabber wasp from building as they seems to think it is the sky. I have never tried this so it is just a thought. |
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- Posted by bigoledude Z9b Chalmette Louisi (My Page) on Tue, Jan 15, 13 at 5:59
| I have had decent success combating the borers. A few years back I found at a fabric store, a really inexpensive gauze-looking material. I firmly anchored the fabric very near the stem of the plant to prevent as many moths from re-emerging inside my row cover. I kinda scratch around 2-3 inches deep into the soil, prior to planting, looking for the cocoons and kill any that I find. I have to loosely sew another layer of the gauze stuff as the plants get taller. If the insipid nasty critters happen to succeed in getting to a plant or two, I harvest as many squash as I can from the affected plant before the borers emerge from the stalk. Then I pull/cut the plant and burn it. I stagger-plant every 10 days or so only about 8 zucchini and yellow crookneck plants so, it's not very labor intensive for me. My neighbor also only plants about 10-12 plants. He goes out every few days with a rag dipped in a BT solution and literally wipes the bottom of the stalks and most of the lower leaves to dislodge and kill the eggs that might be there. He does well with this method. The best idea for us was to also plant the cuccuzi or tromboncino gourd and pick them when they are young and tender(8-12 inches). I've never had one vine attacked by the Squash Vine Borer. They taste fabulous! The vines grow long and they produce very well throughout our long hot summers. |
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| I'm going to try something different this year. Haven't planted squash in years because of those borers. I'm going to mix cayenne pepper with water and a little soap for a surfactant, and spray the undersides of the vines. I hope that will work. |
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| An old timer gave me this idea and it works everytime. Sprinkle a tablespoon of sulphur powder in the soil when you plant the seed. The borers do not like the sulphur and will not get into the root or stem stem. Vicki |
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| Wow, that's a great idea! I'll see how it works. Neem oil sprayed under the leaves might work, too. That or spinosad. |
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| I have a multi-pronged approach here in Houston. Plant as early as possible, given squash's dislike of transplanting and need for warm soil. Next, check for eggs almost daily. They will be everywhere on the plant--on leaves, under leaves, on stems, on base of plant. You won't get them all, but you can make a dent. Next, look for frass and for yellowing leaves. Yellowing mature leaves are almost a sign of a borer for me. Shoot up stem of leaf and of vine with Bt. Lastly, when the plant is established enough to take the trauma, go into vine with knife and gouge out worms. Shoot up with Bt, then use caulk or gorilla glue to repair vine and heap compost on wound. |
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