Worm Problem on squash and cucumber

dagrainmaka · October 9, 2011

Can anyone id this guy?

feldon30 · October 10, 2011

Looks like your bog standard fruitworm to me. I've lost more than a few tomatoes to them.

I'd hit your plants with some form of Bacillus Thuringiensis. It is a bacteria which gives all caterpillars and worms a chronic case of indigestion. It is sold as a liquid concentrate (BT Worm Killer) or as a powder (Dipel Dust). By the way it's OMRI organic and completely safe.

semi_lucid · October 10, 2011

Obviously a caterpillar, so its definitely Lepidoptera. I'm almost certain that its a moth, not a butterfly or skipper.

I looked through the pictures on BugGuide and didn't find it.

You can look here:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/57/bgpage

Or you can post your picture here and ask for ID:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage

If you really want to know, you can confine a specimen in an aquarium or something and keep it alive until it goes through the pupal stage, and emerges as an adult. Much easier to ID as an adult.

roper2008 · October 10, 2011

Maybe it's a pickle worm, they eat summer squash too.

semi_lucid · October 10, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by roper2008

Maybe it's a pickle worm, they eat summer squash too.

Hey, I believe you are correct. We don't have them where I live, so I've never seen one before.

If you look at the picture of the mature larva in the link below, its a dead ringer.

http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creat...pickleworm.htm

http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=sear...&search=Search

semi_lucid · October 10, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by feldon30

Looks like your bog standard fruitworm to me. I've lost more than a few tomatoes to them.

I'd hit your plants with some form of Bacillus Thuringiensis. It is a bacteria which gives all caterpillars and worms a chronic case of indigestion. It is sold as a liquid concentrate (BT Worm Killer) or as a powder (Dipel Dust). By the way it's OMRI organic and completely safe.

From the website linked above:

"Bacillus thuringiensis will kill pickleworm, but is usually not recommended because the internal feeding behavior puts the feeding larvae beyond the reach of a stomach-active toxin."

feldon30 · October 10, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by semi_lucid

From the website linked above:

"Bacillus thuringiensis will kill pickleworm, but is usually not recommended because the internal feeding behavior puts the feeding larvae beyond the reach of a stomach-active toxin."

That's a bummer.

From the website you linked, it sounds like there is no organic treatment, except the application of row cover throughout the fruiting season.

b54red · October 10, 2011

Since we get those things every year in squash and cucumbers the only consistent thing that seems to work is Sevin. BT will sometimes get some of them but it is not very effective. When they get really bad they will even be in cucumbers only an inch long and the tiniest squash.

dagrainmaka · October 10, 2011

Thanks for the help yall. The problem with applying anything is that I'm watering from overhead so....plant a lot I guess.

dagrainmaka · October 11, 2011

It's definitely a pickleworm. The picture and description of what it does is unmistakable. Thanks again for the info!

October 10, 2011	#2
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Looks like your bog standard fruitworm to me. I've lost more than a few tomatoes to them. I'd hit your plants with some form of Bacillus Thuringiensis. It is a bacteria which gives all caterpillars and worms a chronic case of indigestion. It is sold as a liquid concentrate (BT Worm Killer) or as a powder (Dipel Dust). By the way it's OMRI organic and completely safe. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

October 10, 2011	#3
semi_lucid Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Texas, zone 6b Posts: 100	Obviously a caterpillar, so its definitely Lepidoptera. I'm almost certain that its a moth, not a butterfly or skipper. I looked through the pictures on BugGuide and didn't find it. You can look here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/57/bgpage Or you can post your picture here and ask for ID: http://bugguide.net/node/view/6/bgimage If you really want to know, you can confine a specimen in an aquarium or something and keep it alive until it goes through the pupal stage, and emerges as an adult. Much easier to ID as an adult.

October 10, 2011	#4
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	Maybe it's a pickle worm, they eat summer squash too.

October 10, 2011	#8
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Since we get those things every year in squash and cucumbers the only consistent thing that seems to work is Sevin. BT will sometimes get some of them but it is not very effective. When they get really bad they will even be in cucumbers only an inch long and the tiniest squash.

October 10, 2011	#9
dagrainmaka Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 15	Thanks for the help yall. The problem with applying anything is that I'm watering from overhead so....plant a lot I guess.

October 11, 2011	#10
dagrainmaka Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 15	It's definitely a pickleworm. The picture and description of what it does is unmistakable. Thanks again for the info!