tips for combatting the dreaded pickle worm - pleeze!

stormymater · January 7, 2009

Am going to try cukes again down here on Pleasure Island. Last year planted dual-purpose & Armenian cukes. Planted late - around Meorial day & got 8 or 9 wonderful 6 to 9 inch crisp dual purpose cukes (the Armenian cukes had little finger sized furry cukelets) when we got a the wimpy blow, Tropical Storm Cristobal. My vines were trellised a la Conestoga wagon style over & across my raised beds. The next day the ends of all the vines looked withered - beat up. Upon examination I found little green worms in the withered vines & all my beautiful cukes had little holes exuding...FRASS! Yep, that's what it's called. I figured it was worm poo as they were in my cukes munching away. I harvested all the edible cukes & tried to trim back the vines to below the affected areas but they were goners within days.
This year I am going to plant earlier, use fast maturing types & am thinking of sticking with bush types to be able to cover them. I am not opposed to insecticides other than I have to kill a pollinator & wonder a bit about eating them. Any advice for combatting the pickle worm would be appreciated.
Same plea applies to those unbelievably gross alien-like big worms in my zucchini - I tried surgical excision but the plants never recovered their vigor. I have grown zucchini in WA, MT, NJ, piedmont & western NC & NEVER had problems other than sharing the bounty & last year had a total of 2 zucchini for the whole season. Seriously. Anyway thanks in advance - I am poring vegie selections & thought y'all might be able to help me out. (No problems with the maters, peppers, beans & basil though...knock wood, LOL). TIA, Stormy

January 7, 2009	#1
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	tips for combatting the dreaded pickle worm - pleeze! Am going to try cukes again down here on Pleasure Island. Last year planted dual-purpose & Armenian cukes. Planted late - around Meorial day & got 8 or 9 wonderful 6 to 9 inch crisp dual purpose cukes (the Armenian cukes had little finger sized furry cukelets) when we got a the wimpy blow, Tropical Storm Cristobal. My vines were trellised a la Conestoga wagon style over & across my raised beds. The next day the ends of all the vines looked withered - beat up. Upon examination I found little green worms in the withered vines & all my beautiful cukes had little holes exuding...FRASS! Yep, that's what it's called. I figured it was worm poo as they were in my cukes munching away. I harvested all the edible cukes & tried to trim back the vines to below the affected areas but they were goners within days. This year I am going to plant earlier, use fast maturing types & am thinking of sticking with bush types to be able to cover them. I am not opposed to insecticides other than I have to kill a pollinator & wonder a bit about eating them. Any advice for combatting the pickle worm would be appreciated. Same plea applies to those unbelievably gross alien-like big worms in my zucchini - I tried surgical excision but the plants never recovered their vigor. I have grown zucchini in WA, MT, NJ, piedmont & western NC & NEVER had problems other than sharing the bounty & last year had a total of 2 zucchini for the whole season. Seriously. Anyway thanks in advance - I am poring vegie selections & thought y'all might be able to help me out. (No problems with the maters, peppers, beans & basil though...knock wood, LOL). TIA, Stormy