Squash Vine Borer

Discussion in 'The Green Patch' started by Dovey, Jun 7, 2011.


  1. Dovey

    Dovey Monkey++

    Hello everyone, I'm new here and I have a question for the gardeners. Although I have gardened for many years now, I gave up trying to grow squash because the vine borers in this area make it nearly impossible.

    This year I am growing squash in self watering containers and they are looking very good, but again vine boreres have attacked.

    This time I took some Dipel, mixed it with water and injected it into the plant stems. I started at the top near the leaves and let it run down the insides to the base of the plant.

    My question is, have any of you done anything like this and did it work in the long run? TIA
     
  2. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    I had the same problem with them and cucumber beetles.

    I tried a lot of stuff...clove oil with Seven mixed in in condiment cups worked for the beetles and pyrethrins worked on the borers. That was a lot of work though (trying to be as "organic" as possible.)

    I'm going back to just Seven. If they are already in the stem, sprays won't work. You'll have to get them out (longitudinal slit, dig, extract, cover with dirt, cross fingers).
     
  3. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    use a bucket with a yellow bottom filled with water... when you start finding the beetles... start wiping sown the stems on a daily basis with a cloth it will remove the eggs... pyrethyns and seven dust will kill your bees....
     
  4. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    My favorite of all time creepy crawly insect substance is Diatomatious Earth. Basically crushed fossilized sea shells. Very sharp to insects. Death by a thousand cuts. Ask for it at your farm/feed store especially if you have chickens. Get food/feed grade. If no animals. you can get it at pool supply stores.

    No chemicals.
     
    Brokor likes this.
  5. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    I tried that and didn't find that it worked very well. I put that stuff all through my garden and saw critters crawl right through it. I thought it worked on anything, but it definitely didn't work on bugs with exo-skeletons. I didn't use the kind for pools either...got it at a nursery.
     
  6. Dovey

    Dovey Monkey++

    If I got Diatomatious Earth and mixed it with enough water to be able to inject in the stems, do you think that would do away with the need to slice open the stems. I've tried the slice and tape back together method before. That's why I quit trying to grow it.
     
  7. VisuTrac

    VisuTrac Ваша мать носит военные ботинки Site Supporter+++

    DE is to be used dry. You can put it in a puffer bottle or sprinkle it on. but it becomes immediately ineffective when it is moistened.

    DO NOT BREATH THIS STUFF IN! It's not that it's toxic but it will wreak all kinds of havoc on your bronchial system.

    it does not kill instantly, what it does is cut up the legs and abdomen of the insect so that they leak body fluids and die.

    I've had success with Ants,Earwigs,Spiders, Slugs, them freaking PITA Box Elder Beetles, and all kinds of caterpillars and aphids. Some of them have hard exo-skeletons well maybe not as hard as a borer? I've not seen one. sounds like i should be glad i haven't.

    Keep it a way from amphibians like frogs / salamanders. it will kill them too :(
     
  8. BAT1

    BAT1 Cowboys know no fear

    The vine borer insect flies and lights on the plant and lays an egg on the bottom of the stem.
    It hatches and bores into the stem. It eats the inner pulp thus killing the plant.
    You must cover the plants by put netting like window screen around the plants to keep this from happening. I start mine from seed, many come from live bought plants.
     
  9. Dovey

    Dovey Monkey++

    I've started another box so I'll go ahead and screen it in now before they even sprout. Thanks all.
     
  10. iboya

    iboya Monkey+

    I feel your pain. I lost a great vine last year. I ended up waiting for the bugger to come back to the vine in the late afternoon, I sat there with a can of hairspray as soon as he lighted on the vine I doused him with hairspray (coats them with the sticky stuff so they can't fly away) which caused him to fall to the ground where I squarely planted him in the ground with my foot, did the same with a raspberry crown borer. Hairspray is most effective and safe around plants when you've got one prime target and don't want to hurt the good guys. I'm using DE as a preventative on my vines this year, reapplying as needed.
     
  11. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    [axe]Chase them rascals outta your garden until they [whiteflag].

    Make 'em pay dearly for every inch they take! [stayback]

    This is a WAR. [gasmask] Not a picnic party dance recreation thingy [grlft]

    [ghrit] Hey, this is Ghrit by the way. [booze]That's Melbo on the weekends.
    :rolleyes: This is Al every time he reads one of my conspiracy posts.

    [drooling] This is me when I do my Scooby Doo impersonation.
     
  12. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    I check the plants daily or more and squash the stink bugs (squash bugs). Watch the leaves and stems for the tiny dots (eggs) and remove them. You get tiny holes in the leaves but the plant survives. I just mash them in place very well. Check under the stems and main stalks very well as the stink bugs will hide from you. So far we are borer free this year but have killed dozens of bugs and mashed a lot of eggs. Sure wish there was an easier way.
     
    chelloveck likes this.
  13. chelloveck

    chelloveck Diabolus Causidicus

    Don't waste those bugs!

    If your produce is being attacked by bugs, blend the bugs up into a solution (add a drop or two of detergent to help the solution adhere to plant surfaces) and spray the plants under threat.

    Depending on the particular species of bug, the solution may:


    Make the plant unpalatable to the offending bugs,

    Spread any pathogens that the bugs are susceptible to from the unhealthgy bugs to the healthy bugs, thus reducing the pest burden on your plants.

    Other options might be to use Neem Oil, which interupts the bugs growth cycle. Neem oil is not a knock down type of pest control, so some damage to your vege crop may be evident until the Neem oil takes effect.

    Caterpillars - TM Organics

    Some additional suggestions for combatting squash vine borer can be found at:

    Squash Vine Borers - Signs of Squash Vine Borer Damage and How to Control It.


    Another Biological control that may be useful is [FONT=Swis721BT,BoldItalic][FONT=Swis721BT,BoldItalic]Bacillus thuringiensis,[/FONT][/FONT]
    sold under the proprietary name DiPel DF....further information can be found on the following link.

    http://www.herbiguide.com.au/Labels/BTGRAN_53431-1201.PDF
     
  14. Hulka73

    Hulka73 Monkey+++

    They got me! This year was my first ever garden, so I'm pretty much flying by the seat of my pants. I've been enjoying squash for the past month or so, and this past weekend I noticed something vile happening. By the time I got around to taking care of it they were all infested. I had 3 plants in rough shape, and the other 4 were just starting to show signs. I pulled them all last night and tilled them up.
    photobucket-1995-1312979986090.
    photobucket-4663-1312980133056.
    photobucket-2007-1312980033158.
    photobucket-4345-1312980088345.
     
  15. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    OK, if you check your garden daily, and you should, and you see the signs of the borer, you can potentially SAVE the squash vine.

    Step one: find the area being attacked and eaten from the inside. It has a sawdust looking crust on it, and is bulged slightly. This is usually located near ground level.

    Step two: with a very sharp knife, scrape and/or cut the crust away, exposing the grub, making VERY sure not to cut through the vine. Take same knife and kill the grub or scrape it out of the vine and kill it. Examine the entire length of the vine and make sure there re no other infestation sites.

    Step 3: If you find only one near the ground, once the grub is killed and removed, bury the damaged section of vine. If the damage is not too bad, the section will root and heal in the earth, and your squash vine will be saved.

    I lost 2 entire crops to squash vine borer before a very kind lady explained this to me at the grocery store. I figured "What can it hurt?" This season, I tried it and it worked. I have saved this years crop using this method.
     
    Sapper John and Cephus like this.
  16. Hulka73

    Hulka73 Monkey+++

    Thanks for the info Falcon. I normally check the garden every day, and I noticed the first plant that looked bad. I read to check them for eggs and I could never see any. I thought maybe since it was the smallest plant out there it just wasn't cutting it so I didn't bother. But then over the next week I saw all my plants start to show signs of the same thing. Finally, I picked a couple squash the other day and when I was washing them off I saw this nasty little bugger on the end. About the size of a small maggot with a black head on him. I probably could have saved 3 or 4 plants, but I got a little carried away with pulling them. I didn't know what else these would hurt so I figured I'd better just get them all out of there.
     
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