Garden Dust Sprayer.

[John3]

Maybe this will help
Squash vine borer
"Organic controls include wrapping the lower stem with nylon stockings or aluminum foil to prevent egg laying, which generally occurs within a couple inches from the point where the stem emerges from the soil. Row covers can be used up until bloom. An old gardener trick for vining squash and pumpkin is to cover the vine with earth at various points along its length, inducing rooting at several points, thereby continuing to feed the developing fruit despite the loss of the original stem. It may be noted that after the vine has taken root at multiple points, the infected portion of the plant can be cut off, along with another inch where the larvae is eating into healthy tissue, without significant damage to the plant. Once larvae are present within the stems control must be quick. Often the first noticed sign of the problem is wilting of the vine, and it is too late for control efforts at that point. Experienced gardeners watch the stems for signs of frass protruding from small holes, which is a giveaway to the presence of the larva inside. Some gardeners carefully cut the stem along its axis and remove the caterpillar before it does too much damage. Others use a stiff wire, a needle, or a toothpick to kill the borer without too much damage."

[John3]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

Thanks for the links Durgan and B54Red!

@Robin,
I have been using DE for years. Over those years I have found that DE works quite well against some things and is completely useless against other things. Unfortunately one of the things DE is nearly useless against is Squash bugs (Anasa tristis) or squash vine borers (Melittia cucurbitae). At least in my experience. I haven't used the products in the links, but I suspect Durgan is correct.

I love DE. I have found many creative uses for it. But unfortunately I haven't found a successful way to use it in my cucurbits.

Redbaron do you have any links that tell what the different stages the bugs are made of. Any stages where they have chitin?

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by John3

Redbaron do you have any links that tell what the different stages the bugs are made of. Any stages where they have chitin?

As far as I know all bugs have chitin? At least I don't know of any bugs without it. I wouldn't pretend to be an expert on all bugs everywhere, but I always thought chitin was the exoskeleton of all bugs in all stages of life. Just that some forms of chitin are leathery and thin while other forms of chitin are hard brittle and thick.

DE can work to puncture leathery thin chitin, but is nearly useless against a thick hard shell. It was explained to me that if DE gets into a softer part of a bug, it will puncture and cause the bug to dry out and die. Or in some cases it could also enter the breathing pores and choke it to death. (if the DE is fine enough and the pores big enough)

[John3]

Maybe attract it's predators
Several natural enemies of squash bug are known, principally wasp egg parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae and Scelionidae). Up to 30% parasitism among eggs collected in Florida, USA has been reported. Cannibalism among nymphs is common, but this mortality factor has never been quantified. The bugs emit a strong odor when crushed, a fact that may account for low levels of predation. The best known natural enemy is a common parasitoid of several hemipterans, Trichopoda pennipes (Fabricius) (Diptera: Tachinidae). The brightly colored adult fly is easy to recognize, having a gold and black thorax and an orange abdomen, with a prominent fringe of feather-like hairs on the outer side of the hind tibia. Flies develop principally in the adult bug, initially castrating the female, and then killing her when the fly emerges. In Connecticut, USA about 20% of the squash bugs have been found to be parasitized in late summer.

[John3]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

As far as I know all bugs have chitin? At least I don't know of any bugs without it. I wouldn't pretend to be an expert on all bugs everywhere, but I always thought chitin was the exoskeleton of all bugs in all stages of life. Just that some forms of chitin are leathery and thin while other forms of chitin are hard brittle and thick.

DE can work to puncture leathery thin chitin, but is nearly useless against a thick hard shell. It was explained to me that if DE gets into a softer part of a bug, it will puncture and cause the bug to dry out and die. Or in some cases it could also enter the breathing pores and choke it to death. (if the DE is fine enough and the pores big enough)

OK I was wondering if there is some way to add chitin eating bacteria to the DE or would the DE kill the chitin eating bacteria?

[John3]

Melittia cucurbitae
Natural Enemies. The natural enemies of squash vine borer are not well-studied. General predators such as robber flies (Diptera: Asilidae) are reported to prey upon adults, and a wasp egg parasitoid, Tele-nomus sp. (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is known. Larvae seem to be relatively free of natural enemies (Friend, 1931).
and
Natural Enemies - The stage most susceptible to natural enemies is the egg stage, which is attacked by parasitic wasps. Larval and adult ground beetles (Family Carabidae) can attack larvae of squash vine borer, but do not appear to cause significant mortality.

[Got Worms?]

John3, thank you for drawing my attention to the dross/frass thing. I have no idea how I got dross out of frass, I wasn't thinking about casting any metal. Must have been a crossed synaptic circuit in my archaic retrieval system. That happens every once in a while. Anyway, I've corrected my error. Thanks again.
Charlie

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by John3

OK I was wondering if there is some way to add chitin eating bacteria to the DE or would the DE kill the chitin eating bacteria?

I have no idea. Sorry, haven't studied that one. The only additive I have seen in DE is Pyrethrin (Chrysanthemum extract) so that just one poke is enough to kill the bug instead of completely choking it and drying it out. That is usually found in the DE used against bedbugs or roaches.

[Got Worms?]

Getting back to the subject of the garden dust sprayer; Durgan, just how much DE can that plunger type sprayer hold, and how do you load it?
Charlie

[John3]

Thanks Redbaron - I'll keep searching also.


BTW has anyone tried using Paw Paw Tree leaves (about 4 or 5 leaves ground to about a tea spoonful added to water) I understand this works on many bugs - all I can find is it is used on ornamentals and suppose to work better than neem oil. If you just want the leaves need only one need two for fruit - they don't need much space. "The natural insecticides in the leaves, twigs, and bark of pawpaw trees can be used to make an organic pesticide" also

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by Got Worms?

Getting back to the subject of the garden dust sprayer; Durgan, just how much DE can that plunger type sprayer hold, and how do you load it?
Charlie

I suppose the container tube holds about a litre of powder. I load the tube by hand over an open five gallon bucket wearing a mask avoiding the powder. Loading only takes a few minutes and the quantity covers a fairly large area, backyard garden size. Before the duster I used a jar with holes made in the lid, which gave poor coverage. Also once I used the old fashioned pump fly sprayer venturi type, which is no longer available. The newer type are all pressure which don't dispense powder.

[Got Worms?]

The Mizer holds probably about the same. I know the coverage is real good and one fill seems to last forever.

Don't give up on the DE it has lots of uses. I always keep some around.
Charlie

[Garden/Arborist]

Originally Posted by MikeInCypress

i Had a DustinMizer back in the '90s and it was excellent. It is about the same price today as it was 20 years ago. I recommend it highly.

MikeInCypress

It's a great duster!

Originally Posted by Durgan

Elaborate. I haven't found where diatomaceous earth works on anything.

I dusted Mexican bean beetles last evening and again this morning with DE using a Dustin Miser. It seem to have zero effect.