First SVB fatality of the year?

Sigh. A rather dubious distinction, but I bet I just suffered the first SVB fatality of this growing season. My most productive plant, of course.

Last spring and fall my squash plants all died from powdery mildew. Never saw a squash vine borer except on the forum. I've been very vigilant with the neem oil to prevent PM this year and have been pruning off the old/damaged leaves to try to keep it nice and airy and clean. Between really keeping on top of things that way and hand-pollinating until recently when the bees arrived in great enough numbers to take over, I've done MUCH better with squash than last year. Just this morning I harvested 7, which is a record number for me.

Well, tonight as I was doing my cleanup routine I noticed that there were a lot of dying leaves on my best plant. Taking a few off, suddenly the whole plant lifted off the stem and there was a big fat larvae inside! Obviously SVB. Tore the rest of the plant apart and didn't find any others. Other plants look ok for now, but I'm sick inside thinking that I could lose them too.

On the bright side, My Tatume squash are doing well and they are supposed to be unlikely to be affected by SVB. And my Tromboncino is finally putting forth female blossoms...oh, my, the fruit is quite large even before the flower opens!

Should I just replant in the spot where one died?

So sorry Elli!!

I am so sorry, I think squashes are one of the most beautiful plants in the garden and I know how I would feel if in your shoes. Only male flowers on my patty pan so far but they are pretty. Heres hoping the rest remain untouched by the SVB.

The yellow crookneck in the same bed has the "sawdust." I tried cutting a slit in it, but I'm not sure if I got anything.

Went ahead and replanted where I pulled the squash yesterday. I figured on having to plant and replant due to PM anyway. At least the squash doesn't seem to mind the heat as long as I keep up with daily watering. And this gave me a chance to dig around some in this bed and I found that it's moist through and through. Yay! I'm keeping up with the watering much better than last year and due to the high gas prices we aren't going anyway, so hopefully I can keep things growing even with the bugs, viruses, fungi, and heat...long growing season, but it isn't for the faint of heart!

Sawdust? What do I look for? My squashes are just maturing; my plants are huge! I've got to try to keep this from happening!

Here's a post with a lot of good info on the evil creatures.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t255-squash-vine-borer