Re: Squash Vine Bore attack from the top

Pollinator 6/24/2014, 3:08 pm

walshevak wrote:Salt solution would definately kill the plant and I suspect so would alcohol. Not sure about insecticide soap. Don't like to use sevin, but I wonder if the liquid form could be injected. Kay

That would be using it as a systemic - and it would be in to the fruit as well. Would you want to eat Sevin?

Maybe it wouldn't get that far, because it would likely be in the nectar and pollen as well, so it could kill off the pollinators.

Pollinator 6/24/2014, 3:13 pm

walshevak wrote:@Pepper Thanks for doing that bit of research and posting what you learned. I'm thinking pickle worms are so bad this year because of the mild winter and the hot temps on the East Coast this year. Worms moved faster and farther north. Kay

Pickle worm populations have exploded in the Southeast because the bats -their primary predator - have died off. The moths come out at dusk to lay their eggs, and they used to get picked off by the bats, so very few got to lay eggs. Now all of them do.

Take a flashlight into your cucumber patch as it's getting dark - and watch the moths fly, as you disturb them.

A heavy infestation of pickle worms can easily be confused with borers, as they will eat out stems, as well as fruit, causing quick death of the plant.

Pollinator 6/24/2014, 3:25 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:Right now my original SFG style squash beds containing zucchini, summer & spaghetti, are covered with tulle, but the SVB still GOT IN! :evil:I squooshed him.

So I just watched a YouTube vid and the gal said that SVB won't attack Butternut & Acorn squashes and also Patty Pan (which I have in my ANSFG).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEDUHoA7ilY

I know what'll be in MY garden next year.

I also saw somewhere about a guy who injects insecticidal soap. I looked up how to make it and it looks like all I need is Ivory bar soap and water.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/homemade-insecticidal-soap.html

Don't have a syringe but I guess I could make a little hole and use a turkey baster, right.

CC

They are starting after my Patty Pan. Pressure is extremely high this year. I have fended them off - but not stopped them entirely - by a preemptive strike, consisting of a mix of Bt and DE powder dusted on the stems, as soon as they began to bud. I've been careful to keep this mix off the blossoms. I use a half liter water bottle with 8 tiny holes drilled in the cap. Squeezing this puts the right amount of dust placed right where I want it.

I find myself amused by the constant reference to the borers "attacking" squash plants. They aren't attacking, they are eating a meal. All in a point of view...

A turkey baster wouldn't work. Syringes are cheap. I think I paid 18 cents apiece for some at the local pharmacy.

yolos 6/24/2014, 4:08 pm

Pollinator wrote:

They are starting after my Patty Pan. Pressure is extremely high this year. I have fended them off - but not stopped them entirely - by a preemptive strike, consisting of a mix of Bt and DE powder dusted on the stems, as soon as they began to bud. I've been careful to keep this mix off the blossoms. I use a half liter water bottle with 8 tiny holes drilled in the cap. Squeezing this puts the right amount of dust placed right where I want it.

I assume BT comes in a powder ??? I have only seen it in stores in liquid form.

They went after my pumpkin but could not get to my squash because I cover it with tulle. Think I will stop at the pharmacy on the way home and get a syringe to try to treat them on my surviving pumpkin and cantelope. I don't think they go after the watermelon. ??

GloriaG 6/24/2014, 6:42 pm

You might try spraying your plants with Surround (kaolin clay). It's a deterrent and won't kill anything, but it really seems to keep the squash vine borer moth as well as the squash bugs away from the plants.

It's made of superfine clay powder that you mix with water. The spray covers the leaves, stems and fruit with a powdery residue that I believe confuses the insects as well as makes them uncomfortable. If squash bugs are present, you can also add a little BT or AzaMax to the spray to get the population under control. The downside is you have to re-apply after a rain.

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Squash Vine Bore attack from the top