Squash Borers , again ...

[Snag]

I've been watching for eggs , and looks like they slipped past me again . I was checking my acorns and zukes last night , and found frass ... and I was pissed . I'm pretty sure I got 'em all , all 3 zukes and both acorns had the little bastards , but the worms were small , only about a half inch long . I was a bit surprised to find none on the cantalopes or pumpkins , but I'll be keeping an eye out for signs . I really don't want to use chemicals , but DE poses another set of problems . If it gets wet , it does no good anymore . That means I'll have to change the way I water , and will have ro reapply after every rainstorm or heavy dew .

Suggestions are welcome ...

[Sean Straw]

What region are you located in?

Last year, I had really good luck just going out in the mornings and plucking the adults ("shield bugs") and scraping off any egg clusters that were found (not many). Thus far this year, I haven't seen any, and I've got a couple dozen squash plants going already. A good pair of tweezers is handy.

Yea, I use DE for spot treatment in dry weather. I sprinkle it through an old flour sifter. had a bunch of earwigs messing with ornamentals in a planter, and not so much of a problem now.

[Snag]

I'm in Memphis Tn .

I've been watching for the eggs , didn't see any , so I was a bit surprised when I saw signs of the little buggers on the stems . I'll be watching more closely from now on . Last year they killed all my zucchini plants , but didn't touch the cants . I've already got a nice little zuke on one plant , and we're really looking forward to slicing some up and grilling them .

The only problem here is that we often get a heavy dew in the mornings . I'd be out there re-applying every day ... I may have to resort to a chemical solution to actually get some fruit this year , though that'll be a last resort .

[Snag]

It appears that I got all the little buggers , all five plants affected are doing OK - though the one acorn squash that had 3 of them is still stressed a bit . All the plants are flowering nicely , and one of the zukes has a fruit just about ready for harvest . That one's getting sliced lengthwise into quarter-inch thicknesses and grilled over mesquite charcoal . Tomatoes are also doing well , lots of 'maters growing now and almost every plant has multiple blossoms . Altogether I'm much happier with my garden over last year , with the exception of the spinach - it never did really get leafy and we like it a lot for salads .

[reh2660]