SQUASH VINE BORER MOTH SPOTTED

[Beerme]

Ok last time I grew pumpkins, these boogers destroyed my plants and I had them in EACH VINE. I'm growing squash plants now, and I do NOT want to go through this again. I have spotted the moths, and recognized them. I also looked closely and spotted the eggs throughout several plants. I immediately sprayed a liquid BT application on the whole plants. I then used Dipel Dust (BT) to dust them (just incase)... but the rain came today and im sure it washed it all off. What should I do to prevent the eggs from hatching, or prevent the larvae from entering the plants. Also how long do they take to hatch?

Thanks,

[Pat Kiewicz]

Bt sprays or dust won't control SVBs.

Bt solution injected into the vines after borers have entered them may help.

Pick off any eggs you spot. Spray the base of the vines and the stems of the leaves where they touch the ground with a pyrethrum-based insecticide. DO NOT spray the flowers or leaves, just the areas where the SVB eggs might be laid. (I used to rely entirely on hand-picking the eggs, but then again I used to be much younger, too.)

Do this every 24 - 36 hours until you no longer see signs of SVB moth activity. My experience has been that if you don't hand pick / spray this frequently, you will get some eggs hatching. (Pyrethrum doesn't have a residual effect.)

Once squash vine have really begun to run and root at intervals along the vine, they are able to tolerate a light infestation of borers.

Bush squash, on the other hand, remain quite vulnerable throughout the season. Some areas have more than one generation of SVBs during the growing season.

[OhioGuy]

I HATE those vine borers. I put up a lattice on my front porch so I could grow miniature pumpkins, small squash and gourds. Since the plants grow up into the air, they are very vulerable to the vine borers at the base.

I have read that it can help to wrap the first few feet in nylons (pantihose), but I have not tried that myself.

In the next year or two, some genetically engineered vine crops are supposed to come out that have the genetic capability to automatically kill the larvae when they start to eat.

Another possibility to use ONLY if nobody is going to make pies, or eat any of the pumpkins: you could use something like di-syston systemic insecticide. This is a powder you apply at the base of plants, usually ornamentals. The plant takes the insecticide up into its sap, and any insect that feeds on the plant dies. Trouble is, if you try to feed on the plant, you could get sick or die, too. This would work out fine for you if you are just wanting jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins for fall decorations. However, you would have to make absolutely certain that nobody was going to try to use any of them for food purposes.