Squash Bugs and Squash Vine Borers - What I Learned This Year

[JerryHaskins]

I USED to grow yellow summer squash by the tub full. But for the last few years, I have had abysmal luck.

Squash vine borers killed some plants, lack of honey bees resulted in almost no pollination even though I had lots of blossoms.

I tried manual pollination, but that didn't do much better and it was hard to do.

This year I kind of figured out a solution to the squash vine borers problem: I dusted the stems with BT using a hand crank duster like this:

https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...QqLABQQ8wII5wE

The vine borers lay eggs in the ground near the plant, and the larvae hatch out and bore into the stem. I figured the BT would kill the larvae when they eat into the stem. It seems to have worked.

I have seen no (not one) honey bees this year. I have had lots of bumble bees buzzing in my squash blossoms, but apparently bumble bees do not make good pollinators. I've only gotten a few squash to eat.

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

I invested in about 300.00 worth of nematodes a couple years ago for the garden. I didn't see much in the way of an impact last year but this year I didn't see, to see many squashbug or SVB. I have had the same patch of squash for the first time ever in my garden. I did have a couple die off and we did spray a couple times but nothing regularly this Summer. i have to take that back... Kevin just said he sprayed Mustang Max 5 times this Summer which is a 1 day wait to reenter . it is a major insecticide group needing a pesticide license as it takes very little to be effective but with a one day wait to re enter the bugs can be back in in a moment.

so, since we did that a couple years ago... I wasn't expecting anything but was willing to spend the money on them to see if it helped any. This year we haven't replanted ONE zucchini plant since the beginning of the season.I have not seen any squash bugs on the plants. several years ago we were planting new seeds almost daily trying to get a few zucchinis to produce a few fruits before they died. We do spray once at the beginning of the season after we plant and only again if we see a squash bug...with a restricted spray called mustang max. it stinks to high heaven! we don't use but 1/4 of a teaspoon in 4 gallons of water. it is a 1 day phi so we can spray the stems one day and harvest the next if we were to see a colony.. I have so many zukes i am tossing them over the fence for the chickens at least once a week.

[GoDawgs]

I did lose my first several plants to SVBs but after that I dusted the plant bases with Sevin (forgot about that) and was diligent about reapplying after rains. That has seemed to work. Then I tried staking the plants to poles for the first time and that has worked marvelously well. There's no real place for egg masses to hide as it's so easy to check the leaf undersides and the better air flow sure has kept mildew and fungus at bay.

By now I'm hoping we're out of SVB time of the year and have started another two straightnecks for fall. They'll get staked too.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by JerryHaskins

I USED to grow yellow summer squash by the tub full. But for the last few years, I have had abysmal luck.

Squash vine borers killed some plants, lack of honey bees resulted in almost no pollination even though I had lots of blossoms.

I tried manual pollination, but that didn't do much better and it was hard to do.

This year I kind of figured out a solution to the squash vine borers problem: I dusted the stems with BT using a hand crank duster like this:

https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...QqLABQQ8wII5wE

The vine borers lay eggs in the ground near the plant, and the larvae hatch out and bore into the stem. I figured the BT would kill the larvae when they eat into the stem. It seems to have worked.

I have seen no (not one) honey bees this year. I have had lots of bumble bees buzzing in my squash blossoms, but apparently bumble bees do not make good pollinators. I've only gotten a few squash to eat.

Unlike you I have had a growing honey bee population for the last 5 or 6 years. I enjoyed going out in the early morning as soon as the blossoms opened the bees would start working the open blooms. Although I would see some on cucumbers they are more partial to squash. The only precaution I take is I try to spray any kind of pesticide very late in the day when possible so that the impact is minimal on honey bees. I do have some large holly bushes that are very attractive to bees and have noticed loads of honey bees around them when they are blooming as well as a large, no longer bearing, peach tree that is always attractive to honey bees when blooming. Maybe someone has a bee hive nearby that I am unaware of and that has caused the population surge in my garden.

I hope your honey bee population comes back because it does seem to make a huge difference in the production of squash plants. I can remember when we went through a period of hardly seeing any honey bees in the spring and how slow and poorly my squash set fruit during those few years.

Bill

[JCessna]

I recommend you plant a main crop of Moschata with a Maxima "trap crop" off to the side. Moschata's are hard stemmed and also drop roots off the vines. The trap crop will take the heat off your main crop; borers prefer Maxima's because they have softer, hollow stems.