please tell me there is an organic pesticide for squash vine bore

[GoDawgs]

I just set out two more squash plants yesterday (one crookneck, one zuke) and put a row cover tunnel over them not only to deter borers but also to give a bit of shade in this hot sun.





They'll eventually will outgrow the row cover but by then hopefully there won't be any more borers out and about. Yeah, there's a small gap between the bottom edge of the cover and the ground but it will have to do. I can't lower the hoops anymore and the width of the cloth is what it is.

[greenthumbomaha]

GoDawgs, that is a nice set up and I hope it outsmarts the borers for you.


Are those homemade hoops or purchased? They are so expensive to buy from Gardeners Supply.



- Lisa

[GoDawgs]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

GoDawgs, that is a nice set up and I hope it outsmarts the borers for you.

Are those homemade hoops or purchased? They are so expensive to buy from Gardeners Supply.

Thanks! Just a product of experimenting. The hoops are regular 1/2" black irrigation pipe from Ace Hardware or Tractor Supply. It comes in a roll and you can easily cut it to whatever length you want.

The anchors are 3/4" pvc pipe that the hoops easily slip into. You can get nine 17" pieces from a standard 10' length. I like that length because the pipe can be pushed/pounded into the ground deeply enough so it isn't wobbly yet leaves enough above ground to hold the hoops.

These hoops are about 6' long. I have shorter ones for smaller tunnels.

[TigrikT]

I've done the covers for a few years. It worked pretty good.
This year i was lazy and decided to dust the main stems with BT alternating with spraying Spinosad. Once a week Spinosad, BT after rain.
So far, so good.

[brownrexx]

I would not expect that dusting the stems or spraying with Spinosad will work because the borers (caterpillars) are inside of the stem where they will not contact what is on the outside. .

[TigrikT]

SVB is a moth that starts flying here around mid June or when chicory is blooming or at 900 DD. The moth lays single eggs anywhere on the plant. The eggs hatch in 8-10 days depending on temps. As soon as they hatch they crawling to the central stem, and start burrowing into it by chewing. If at that point they ingest Spinosad or BT, they die. So the timing is important. It is enough to apply once a week, and reapply after rain.
For a while i was spraying the whole plant, then only the first 5-6 inches of the main stem.
If i see frass (and i check for it daily), i simply use a needle with spinosad or bt on it and do several puncture above and below the frass. The moths are gone in 3-4 weeks. By the end of July the damage should be obvious.
Injection never worked for me as the stem is pretty hard.
So far, so good.
Maybe because my neighbor using sevin on hers....

[greenthumbomaha]

GoDawgs, I'm going to try the pvc next year. Thank you for the simple instructions. I am not a handy nor creative person building things.



I've lost 4 squash vines to to the borer in the past week. The melons are so crowded out by weeds that they don't even want to get in there!

I grew a few regular green zucchini and interesting hybrid Gold Rush and Orangeti. The Orangeti was the last to get hit this week, but Gold Rush and one similar yellow hybrid is still healthy. The white lebanese that I grow every year (suggested by Jeanne Ann?) is also still healthy.


You may want to try a few varieties that claim some resistance to the borer.


- Lsia

[fonseca]

I did Agribon covers the last few years, with boards over the edges of the fabric for a complete seal. Zero plants lost to borers and almost no bacterial wilt! Least disease pressure I have ever experienced on cucurbits.

The hassle of constantly removing and replacing the row cover to get to ripe cukes, however, was a major annoyance and time waster. I'd like to build a PVC hoop house with a base frame and clip the row cover to it, which could be easily lifted off the plants.

Edit: H-19 Littleleaf is a fantastic cultivar, parthenocarpic so perfect for growing without pollinator access. It's also the hardiest cucumber I have grown in my hot, humid weather.

[brownrexx]

Originally Posted by TigrikT

SVB is a moth that starts flying here around mid June or when chicory is blooming or at 900 DD. The moth lays single eggs anywhere on the plant. The eggs hatch in 8-10 days depending on temps. As soon as they hatch they crawling to the central stem, and start burrowing into it by chewing. If at that point they ingest Spinosad or BT, they die. So the timing is important. It is enough to apply once a week, and reapply after rain.
For a while i was spraying the whole plant, then only the first 5-6 inches of the main stem.
If i see frass (and i check for it daily), i simply use a needle with spinosad or bt on it and do several puncture above and below the frass. The moths are gone in 3-4 weeks. By the end of July the damage should be obvious.
Injection never worked for me as the stem is pretty hard.
So far, so good.
Maybe because my neighbor using sevin on hers....

I guess that you are right about them chewing into a treated stem. I was thinking of ones already inside of the stem. I have had good luck with injecting a bt solution (Thuricide) into the stems.

According to Penn State the moths appear in mid to late June and will lay eggs all through July and August so the moths are present all summer in my area and planting late is not going to help. The eggs may take 8-10 days to hatch but then the larvae will feed for 4 weeks so the plant does not die for about a month. For this reason I plant a second crop so that it is producing when the first crop wilts and dies.

I also remove any wilted vines to the trash so that any borers inside can not complete their life cycle and pupate into the ground.

[TigrikT]

Interesting statement from Penn State about laying eggs through July and August.
According to Rutgers it is about one month from mid June. And that's what my observations are.
Sometimes, if summers were hot, I've seen the moths in mid-August. But this is considered 2nd generation.

Anyway, need to be on alert.

Here is a captivating reading on life cycle of SVB
http://scentsoc.org/Volumes/JAUE/v23/1.pdf

And a great summary of different research on SVB for different regions
http://articles.extension.org/pages/...arming-systems

[SueCT]

Like I said, here in CT I did not have any SVB for the first time in many years planting late. It is odd because it doesn't seem like we are that far from Penn, or our weather that different. I will have to see what happens over several years. Maybe they are present in much lower numbers later in the summer. Maybe they don't lay eggs that late, or maybe they just pass over the small late planted squash in favor of the fully grown plants in other gardens. No idea. But since it worked, and it is such little effort, I think I will try anyway. I stuck a few seeds in the ground and then forgot about them so haven't been watering them and they didn't germinate but we have been having a lot of rain this week so I will see if they are still there, if they come up now. Might be too late for a crop, or maybe a short one, but will still be able to see if they get SVB next month or in Sept.

[brownrexx]

I think that there is some discrepancy between recommendations from PA, MD, NJ universities or extension services. I read several of them this morning. Rutgers agrees that there is only one generation UNLESS weather conditions are favorable and that USUALLY plants grown after July 1 will not be infested.

PA says that there is only one generation and MD says 1-2. MD suggests planting either very early or late. Now that's helpful isn't it? So in other words plants may be attacked either early or late and it's a matter of luck whether you get a harvest or not.

I am sticking with planting both early and late and I always get summer squash. Yes, the early ones always get infected but not until after I have harvested a lot of squash and by then the second crop is usually growing well. However a late crop is susceptible to powdery mildew so it does not usually produce as well as the first crop.


Here is the Penn State link.
https://ento.psu.edu/extension/facts...ash-vine-borer

[greenthumbomaha]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

GoDawgs, I'm going to try the pvc next year. Thank you for the simple instructions. I am not a handy nor creative person building things.



I've lost 4 squash vines to to the borer in the past week. The melons are so crowded out by weeds that they don't even want to get in there!

I grew a few regular green zucchini and interesting hybrid Gold Rush and Orangeti. The Orangeti was the last to get hit this week, but Gold Rush and one similar yellow hybrid is still healthy. The white lebanese that I grow every year (suggested by Jeanne Ann?) is also still healthy.


You may want to try a few varieties that claim some resistance to the borer.


- Lisa

[tryno12]

did you ever read the label on Thuricide - it says if you get it on your skin "call a poison control center" that kinda bothers me

[greenthumbomaha]

Burpee is selling a "new" SVB trap, $$$costly imho.

Other traps available:


https://www.vegedge.umn.edu/pest-pro...sh-vine-borers

scroll down to references


Since it's "new" I doubt many consumer reviews are available. If anyone finds research related to this product, I would appreciate hearing of the studies.


- Lisa