Squash vine Borers!!

I am in the process of pulling up all my squash plants. After 3 years free and clear from these nasty bugs they have arrived. I keep the main stem buried but they are attacking the leaves. Anyone know when these buggers stop breeding in the area 7b? If we could we eat squash daily so losing these in our growing season is a big deal to us. I did trim up one of the White scallop squash plants to get rid of them in the leaves. My Zucchini and yellows are toast along with most of my Buttercups. Also if anyone has any extra rain I would be willing to buy a biweekly rain event! This spring is a dry one here in Caswell County NC .

On a happy note my tomatoes have over 100 tomatoes on 9 plants! This is a big jump from last year when we only got a hand full all year.

Grrrrrrr....

SVB is the bane of my squash growing existence, and ended any dreams I have of growing zucchini and spaghetti squash.  

But there is hope!  This year I'm growing squash that is supposedly unattractive to the SVB as the vines are solid instead of hollow - butternut for winter,  and trombocini in place of zucchini.  I also threw in some delicata since a neighbor had luck with them but I haven't heard that they are supposed to be SVB free.  

Wish me luck.  Btw, there's still time for you to start some more.  I think the borer goes away mid July in my area, not sure about yours but there's a calculator that either boffer or Rooster posted last year that helps find that out.  Don't remember the thread it's in, but maybe someone else does.

Sorry, can't help ya with the rain.   I need every drop I can get.  

CC

Swilliams0416 wrote:I am in the process of pulling up all my squash plants. After 3 years free and clear from these nasty bugs they have arrived. I keep the main stem buried but they are attacking the leaves.  Anyone know when these buggers stop breeding in the area 7b? If we could we eat squash daily so losing these in our growing season is a big deal to us. I did trim up one of the White scallop squash plants to get rid of them in the leaves. My Zucchini and yellows are toast along with most of my Buttercups. Also if anyone has any extra rain I would be willing to buy a biweekly rain event! This spring is a dry one here in Caswell County NC .

On a happy note my tomatoes have over 100 tomatoes on 9 plants! This is a big jump from last year when we only got a hand full all year.

Are you sure the bugs in the leaves are squash vine borers.  We have them here but never see one in the leaves.  The Squash Bugs are the ones that crawl all over the plant here in GA.

CapeCoddess wrote:SVB is the bane of my squash growing existence, and ended any dreams I have of growing zucchini and spaghetti squash.  

But there is hope!  This year I'm growing squash that is supposedly unattractive to the SVB as the vines are solid instead of hollow - butternut for winter,  and trombocini in place of zucchini. ...

CC, when I grew scallopini squash last year, they had solid stems. They were good through a range of sizes and very tender when young. Maybe that could be another alternative for you?

If they are in the leaves, they aren't squash vine borers. I would suspect pickleworm - a light green worm - that can go into any part of the plant when pressure is heavy. I'm already seein gpickleworm here in SC, so it's earlier than usual this year.

Marc Iverson wrote:

CapeCoddess wrote:SVB is the bane of my squash growing existence, and ended any dreams I have of growing zucchini and spaghetti squash.  

But there is hope!  This year I'm growing squash that is supposedly unattractive to the SVB as the vines are solid instead of hollow - butternut for winter,  and trombocini in place of zucchini. ...

CC, when I grew scallopini squash last year, they had solid stems.  They were good through a range of sizes and very tender when young.  Maybe that could be another alternative for you?

I did Peter Pan pattypan one year and it's was not a good performer for me. They were so small and so few. Perhaps I could plant more than one plant with a larger fruit. I think there's one called Sunburst that others grow around here and that does well. Good idea, Marc...thanks.

And yes, Swilliams, the others are right. SVB is in the stems, usually closer to the roots, not the leaves.

CC

Swilliams, those varmints are part of the reason I relocated and started over with SFG!!!  I have had maybe 2 years where I got any scalloped squash, my FAVE, due to the SVBs.  I didn't even know for a couple years why my plants would do great until they and then fell over.  Of course, planted them in the same general vicinity year after year.  Finally figured it out.  

THis year I planted the green variety of scalloped squash, the plants are huge, so we will see.  I would plant again and watch.  Sometimes, you can actually cut the stem open and hand pick the little larvae out and hill MM up next to the cut.....never worked f,or me but some people say to try it.

Feel your pain,

These are what you see around the plants, but they lay their eggs in the dirt and the larvae bore into the tender stems:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/squash-vine-borers/img/squash-vine-borers-1.jpg

Let me share what I tried this year. I was going to give it another go before sharing it. (I usually give an action 3 times before making a connection.) What the heck, here goes.
SVB destroyed every plant just as it was beginning to produce, last year. We replanted and the same thing. Big disappointment.

This year I tried insect barrier over that whole square. The theory being that the moth might not bother to go under the cloth. It did. Then one morning there it was. The telltale holes with the nasty brown stuff around it in the main stems of both plants. Dang!!!

Since I knew the plants were goners, I tried this. I got a fairly large size sewing needle and just guessing how far and which stem the little bugger might be in, I pierced through some of the leaf stems not far from the hole it made several times on each plant in different areas. I knew it couldn't be too far along, because I was checking the plants almost daily for a while.

Then I waited. The piercing did not seem to hurt the plants at all in fact they continued to grow like wildfire. A few weeks later, the plants were finally producing a consistent supply of zucchini and I can't help but wonder. Did it work because I skewered the grub?

I also read that a flashlight held to the stems at night can make the grubs whereabouts known, but I haven't tried that yet.

Oh I love that piercing idea, FeedMe! I may try the PM resistant zuke, Dunja, again and do just that.

CC

Last year I purchased a syringe that I was going to use this year to inject the vine with BT.  I will have to see if I can find the syringe.  3 of my 4 zucchini now are suffering from SVB damage.

SVB resistant squash:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucurbita_moschata

So sorry, Yolos.  It's hard to watch those beautiful majestic plants succumb to that disgusting grub.

CC

FYI. Both years I planted an heirloom - Black Beauty zucchini.
Last year I was cooking cucumbers like squash, because I missed having squash so badly. While it was delicious, I was still determined to grow some real squash!
Didn't know there was a resistant variety. Part of this endeavor is to see if I can save seeds from year to year, however, to grow a good crop of some things successfully seems to require using the hybrids...such as tomatoes.

FeedMeSeeMore wrote:FYI. Both years I planted an heirloom - Black Beauty zucchini.
Last year I was cooking cucumbers like squash, because I missed having squash so badly. While it was delicious, I was still determined to grow some real squash!
Didn't know there was a resistant variety. Part of this endeavor is to see if I can save seeds from year to year, however, to grow a good crop of some things successfully seems to require using the hybrids...such as tomatoes.

FeedMe, the squash I'm growing this year and in the link are all heirlooms.


I just got a giggle out of "FeedMe the squash"...

CapeCoddess wrote:

FeedMeSeeMore wrote:FYI. Both years I planted an heirloom - Black Beauty zucchini.
Last year I was cooking cucumbers like squash, because I missed having squash so badly. While it was delicious, I was still determined to grow some real squash!
Didn't know there was a resistant variety. Part of this endeavor is to see if I can save seeds from year to year, however, to grow a good crop of some things successfully seems to require using the hybrids...such as tomatoes.

FeedMe, the squash I'm growing this year and in the link are all heirlooms.


I just got a giggle out of "FeedMe the squash"...

Oh and an heirloom is even better.
No kidding.... Got some in a pot as we speak.
Ya'll come see us! (We say that a lot in the south.)

I LOVE the piercing deal....makes complete sense.  Will def do that with transilluminating.......bastards!    I hate those SVBers

The only way to keep the SVB away is a row cover, tulle, mosquito netting.  I used tulle last year and all survived but it is a pain to hand pollinate every morning before work.  This year I tried a parthenocarpic variety but never go around to covering it.  Oh Well, there is always next year.

Hey,
I ended up pulling all of my zucchini out of the garden last night.  The dang borers had all but eating through the stems at the bottom and when I lifted them up, they fell apart.  I have been watching them because they didn't look well, but evidently not good enough.  I went to home depot and bought some screen barrier and I am going to have my husband make barriers with it attached to wood sides.  Hopefully that will help to protect my garden from them going forward.  I will try again in the fall garden so we will see what happens.  I bought the charcoal color because it said it helped with shading.  I was so upset last night.  Oh well, live and learn as they say

have a great day

I plant a single zucchini plant every year and just hope for the best.  Some years are a bust.  This year, so far so good.  They are a very beautiful plant.   

Ok folks... I'm trying again. The squash vine borer in my area seems to be finished laying her eggs around mid July. So I planted out spaghetti, zucchini and patty pans yesterday and today in hopes of her being gone by the time they are mature. Not sure if my season is long enough so it's an experiment. But I'll bet you could do it in the south. Anyone else want to join in?

Anyway, I'll report back once this experiment is over. Every year I get my hopes up thinking I'm going to thwart her and every year she beats me. But this time....Wish me luck!

CC

I planted some Zucchini (Partenon) this spring.  Last weekend I had to pull it.  There were at least 3 SVB in each stem.  It is supposed to be pathenocarpic.  I had planned to cover it with tulle but I never got around to covering it. 

Last weekend I planted 4 more plants.  The variety again was Partenon.  Because we have at least two growing seasons of SVB down here, I will still have to cover it if I don't want them eaten by SVB.  I guess this time I will cover.

I actually have some little squashlets on my Green Patty Pans!!!!!  It has been years!  I am burdened by Japanese Betles, worried about pole beans.

I haven't really had a patty pan since we moved.......

I just found frass on some Delicata squash stems of plants that I seeded at the beginning of the season. I was hoping the SVB wouldn't like Delicata because my friend the next town over is able to grow it successfully... so far.

Anyway, using Feed Me's idea, I took out my sewing kit but instead of the largest needle I grabbed the finest. Then I pierced holes all up and down the stem near the entrance hole. Hope I got the little buggers! They hit three out of four plants.

Meanwhile the butternuts have taken off, are fruiting and seem to be totally immune to SVB's antics. And the recently planted Dunja zukes and spaghetti squash seeds have just sprouted. Nothing from the patty pans yet.

I think we can beat her this year! How's everyone else doing?
CC

Glad to see that you are beating those dastardly bugs, Coddess.

We have sprayed and sprayed our organic sprays on these buggers as well as pinched them when we saw them, and still there are a few out there again the next day.

Worse, the darn things are making their way inside our house and getting caught in our curtains.  Do they eat curtains like moths?

RB, I haven't even seen a borer moth yet this year. She sneaks in when I'm not looking. I don't know as one has never come in my house but they probably don't eat curtains. Lol I think having one in my house would be an affront to my sanity.

CC