Early Signs of Squash Vine Borer?

If I lived in that community and knew enough people there, I'd do that. Problem is, I'm driving in from another community just because I wanted to help them with the project.

I'm just too wiped out from all the commuting I'm doing this summer (which is my fault, not theirs) to organize a coup. :o)

Aaah, but I'm heading out now to tend to my own garden. Hopefully, I can get up there before nap time and watch my nephew grab the pumpkins and giggle and help me pick the cucumbers. Looking foward to it!


This message was edited Aug 2, 2009 11:48 AM

dividedsky,

Your plots look nice and green. Starting about 6 miles south of me they have had rains this summer. Here I had about 1¼ inches for July and have watered much! Sqush and pumpkins are doing great this year, but melons and cukes have been rather poor this year.

Tomatoes, corn, green and lima beans, onions, and sweetpotoes are excellent.

I have a daughter that lives in Fishers. When she lived up in White county, her little watermelon patch grew such large melons. That was on the edge of the prairie and the soil was very rich up there.

My garden's just north of Fishers in Noblesville, out in the farmland, not the subdivisions where they scrape off all the topsoil, I've heard. I didn't even have a chance to test the soil but it turned out like jack and the beanstalk - drop a seed and stand back!

I got spoiled by the summer rains. It's slowed down quite a bit and my garden was a little droopy today. Gave everything a good drink.

Glad to hear you're having a good harvest out there. I planted those sugar crunch cukes and they are very prolific. Taste is good too, but I'm curious about the ones I picked today, since they didn't get consistent water. I'm close to harvesting my very first watermelon, so we'll see how that goes. Just gave it a splash of water today as they say not to water it too much right before harvest. Tomatoes are coming along but I started the seeds late and knew I'd have to wait a while to harvest. Hoping the 80s we get this week gets them started turning red.

Turns out that the sloppy surgery I did at the base of the pumpkin vines paid off. I have three turning orange. The largest is 26" circumference, 21" from stem to blossom end.

Lots of evidence of the squash vine borer throughout the garden, though. I pulled the zucchinis today and the vine bases were riddled with borer holes. (Couldn't really see that before I pulled them up because I stuffed them in really close together.) I'll give the yellow squash another week and it's outta there, too. Inspected the pumpkin vines and did some hacking. Found a large borer larvae in a leaf stem, which was easy enough to cut off. But they aren't sticking with just the base of the vine, so that makes it even more difficult to keep an eye on. I've had pretty good luck so far, but next year, I'll be prepared to deal with them before they show up.

That's great that surgery saved your pumpkin vine! It's never worked for me but I figured it must work for someone because I keep reading about it. A lot of my summer squash is going, too, as did my Musquée de Provence, which was a shame because I had a nice big squash there that I planned to store for winter.

Glad you were able to salvage your pumpkin vine. That's a gorgeous pumpkin!

Great looking pumpkin. My plants are too small for vine borers (I think) since they are only a few weeks old but the leaf miners seem to like my acorn squash (as evidenced by all the visible random, squiggly-lines "inside" the leaves.)

You think they could have waited for the plants to grow-up a little???

I have leaf miners on my nasturtium leaves. Interesting little marks they leave. I have some sort of equivalent of that on some of my cucumbers as well. On the actual cucumbers. Produce miners? heh.

I don't know much about them, but hopefully they won't do more than aesthetic damage to your leaves. Weird little critters.

*sigh*

I went out to my garden this evening, and my brother had sprinkled sevin all over the pumpkin leaves. @$&^&*%*&!!! They've declined quite a bit in the past couple of days, but the pumpkins are almost all the way orange.

I don't know what he was thinking. He's barely even touched anything out there this summer, totally respecting that it's my space. I've shown him this and that bug and explained what it is and he seemed to be "getting" what I'm saying. I explained why I didn't want to put sevin on the japanese beetles on the pole beans. And I cut open a pumpkin leaf's stem and showed him the squash vine borer, so he know's it's INSIDE the vine, not on the leaves. The only thing I can think of was that he was afraid that the pumpkins would die and disappoint his little son. Or else this is some sort of passive-aggressive behavior.

He did say that he thought they'd eat it, so I guess he thought maybe he was doing the right thing. Hopefully, some squash bugs went down in the snafu. Aaagghgghh, I dunno.

I would be absolutely furious! Does he know how upset you are and how wrong that was? Do you share a property or was he just wandering around your place? I guess you have to lock up the pesticides from now on, huh?

I garden at his house because I don't have anywhere else to do it. So . . .

Definitely going to have a talk with him. Seems like I'm dealing with a lot of whacky people this week. Full moon coincidence? I don't know.

My squash are finally about done, having fallen prey to the SVBs but mostly to the squash bugs. I discovered that my chickens love to eat the latter, so I have been heaving long-tentacled squash plants over the fence so that they'll take care of them for me. Unfortunately that still left a mess of them on the ground in the garden, so I tethered a likely-looking chicken to a piece of twine and tried to interest her in doing some out-of-poultry-yard snacking. Alas, it didn't work. She was too unhappy at being restricted. She did nibble on some chicken feed that we threw in front of her, but she totally ignored the tasty grey morsels creeping around at her feet. DH was very sorry he didn't have a video camera - he was threatening to put my experiment up on Youtube....

I ended up squishing whatever bugs I could find with my shoes and fingers.

ha haaaaaa!! I would've liked to see that.

I think that was a great idea. It's a shame it didn't work. I have a neighbor about 4 houses down that has a wild flock of guineas that roam the neighborhood. They stop next door for some reason when if they'd just come a little further, they could really feast here. They don't scratch, they just hunt.

I just pulled out my zukes today. They went into a decline from the SVB. I had the good sense to start new plants already and will set them out this week. This routine is getting tiresome since if they bear at all it is only for a 2 week period max. I seem to remember when I was a kid that borers weren't nearly the problem they are now. I really need to find a good solution. I had hoped to have a supply in the freezer by now but nooo.... This will be the last round for the year because it will be time to make room for the fall crops.

The SVB have attacked my pumpkins. Out of 6 plants, 4 have suffered SVB damage. One will definitely have to be pulled, the other 3 might make it.

Dorothy, I've tried planting successively with squash, but once the SVBs are done the squash bugs take over. Still, I did better this year than last and have lots of squash in my freezer, plus we've had lots of squash for meals. You should really try the silver mulch; I think that's made a huge difference. Any ideas about what to do about the squash bugs, though? I guess you don't have those?

We never had any problems with SVBs until maybe seven to ten years ago, and then it became almost impossible to grow squash. We did manage to get some by using zucchette rampicante (I think it's called.) It tastes like zucchini but grows long and twisting, and has a solid stem so SVBs don't bother it. Before I was using the silver mulch, though, the squash bugs would do it in.

Stephanie, good luck with your pumpkins! I hope those three pull through. That's so disappointing when they fail!

By the way, we have used guineas and found them to do more harm than good. They picked all my bean blossoms and ran roughshod over my garden. A friend says her peacocks do a good job with potato beetles and other pests, but since she was the one who recommended guineas, I'm not going to try it. Those critters seem to work well at her house but not at mine!

This message was edited Aug 10, 2009 8:11 AM

DH went to the feed store today and got a syringe. Come home and shot up the affected pumpkin plants with Bt. Now we'll wait and see if it works.

Stephanie please keep us updated as I'm extremely interested in knowing if it's successful. They've been so bad this year that had I have known, I'd probably not even bothered to plant them at all. This is so crazy because I've gone to having an enormous surplus to not even getting enough for fresh use, let alone the freezer.

Cool! A "live" syringe application. Err, you know what I mean. Get 'em!

I just know I'll have to do this one day. It sounds like everyone has struggled with these pests so it is wait and see for me.

Here's a pic of my precious babies. I should have put more soil in the bed but at least I broke-up the underlying soil pretty well. This pic is a couple of days old but it's funny how much they've grown since.

good luck, stephanie!

nice bed, john.

I planted buckwheat to attract tachinid flies (a squash bug predator) and they came! They are all over the place. Between them, and going out with hemostats and a roll of tape for the adults & eggs, the squash bugs have not been any real threat this year.

I even use the tape on freshly hatched nymphs- they're not very quick.

Too bad nearly all the non butternut squash are on borrowed time from SVB. I sprayed, injected, and even caught adults with my net- and they still won. Next year I've covering the stems and trying the tin foil trick. Now I understand why the pumpkin farmer at the other end of town grows his pumpkins under tobacco netting.

Tobacco netting???

You know, I saw what I thought were flies at the base of a pumpkin vine, but maybe they were actually tachinid flies. I guess I need to do some research on the little critters.

Tin foil trick?? Please, do tell more!! LOL

Yes, buckwheat/ trachinid flies are also on my list of things to research, thanks nedweenie.

Aluminum foil wrapped around the base of the plant and a little beyond. That didn't work for me, but silver plastic mulch seems to. Same principle but the mulch covers more area so it probably has more effect.

Supposedly the reflected light off the tin foil disorients or repels the SVB moth. And maybe the covering of the stem works as a barrier against the worm. Or maybe the moth can't get a decent foothold to lay the egg to begin with... who knows? But the word out on the tubes is that it's something worth trying...

I've watched the moths lay their eggs; they arch their abdomens to reach way underneath the stem, depositing the egg out of sight. Not consistently, but since that's where the worst damage happens, next year I'm adding a small magnifying mirror to my pest arsenal. And some manner of all around wrap.

I'm in the Tobacco Valley. At one time growing cigar tobacco wrappers was a huge money making pursuit here. Tobacco netting is just row covers on a really big scale- 7 or 8 foot high pole fencing with dense netting draped to completely enclose the row.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/denejfelt/3076344302/ Not my picture, but a perfect example.

Buckwheat is great- it doesn't get too high, is kinda pretty, and it attracts beneficial bugs. Alot of parasitic wasps are pollen eaters, and they show up too, along with the tachinid flies. Last year I had a bad squash bug invasion- this season, between crushing adults and collecting the eggs with the tape & the buckwheat, it hasn't been that bad at all. I also mulched with black plastic and kept the area cleaned up as best I could. Visibility & capture was greatly improved with that.

When I grab a squash bug with the hemostats, I dig a quick hole with my heel, then crush the bug and quickly drop it in, and bury it. I read somewhere that their stink attracts other squash bugs. I think that has helped keep the numbers down too.

Good tip on where they lay their eggs. That might be why I didn't see them.

Squash bugs run fast! I don't know that I have the dexterity to catch them with hemostats. Caught two at once, though, yesterday while they were mating. Small victories.

That netting doesn't seem to let in much light.

It's very gratifying to watch chickens munch those squash bugs. I can crush them, but by the time I saw them there were way too many to control that way. The leaves of my plants were gigantic and hid a lot of the stem and other leaves.

LTilton, I was thinking the same thing. Of course down here we may not need as much light! LOL

The pic is of true tobacco netting. The pumpkin farmer's are much lighter weight, but set up the same way.

I'm so totally outraged that I could spit nails! I had a six pack of Tatume squash that's been on my patio waiting to be planted. Yesterday I noticed some yellow leaves and this morning when I went to plant them 2 were dead and 3 more looked half dead. I found borer holes in their little stems that aren't even as big as a pencil.

That is just evil. I ordered that seed because somebody posted that it was not attractive to SVB. That was obviously BS. I'm just not meant to have ANY squash this year.

Oh, Dorothy, how absolutely infuriating! And I thought that SVBs were done for the year, too. Are you sure that that's what did it - although they're just as dead, regardless.

Tatume have hollow stems and I don't see why they'd be resistant to SVBs. It's usually the solid-stemmed varieties that are touted as having some resistance.

Anyway, I'm so sorry about your squash. My chickens just dined on the last of mine, but at least I got plenty before they succumbed. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not having any luck with peppers. The Marconis are just starting to bud and some of the others aren't even showing signs of it. Only my Cubanelles are producing a little, and they got stunted because I planted them next to my squash, which almost overran them before they finally gave up the ghost.

Leslie I wish I could unload some peppers on you. I probably have enough to last the rest of this life. The Giant Aconcaguas, Marconies and cubanells have really worked hard this year. Actually they've all done well and are loading up again.

I'm going to be ready for the SVBs (when I say it, it sounds more like SOBs) next year. There seems no end to the pestilence around here. This morning I found 2 of my small tomato plants had been stripped. They were next to an old plant that looks promising and there was the biggest horn worm I've ever seen. I'm going out to hit them with the BT and I hear thunder so it's probably a waste of time.

I just feed hornworms to the chickens, but I have only seen one so far this year. On the other hand my tomatoes are cracking badly; I think it's the weather. We had over four inches of rain a couple of days ago. I don't know if I'll have my usual bumper crop this year, but there's plenty to eat in salads.

I wish you could send me some peppers! I have a friend whose garden is doing very well and they gave me some of theirs, but although they say they don't spray I can't see how they could do so well without a bit of chemical assistance so I'm always slightly wary of their stuff. I like to stay organic....

Are you ordering silver mulch for next year? I also planted nasturtiums and radishes in my squash beds, but I really think the mulch is what helps the most.

The hornworms are mysteriously absent this year. I've seen their poop, but no worms. I suspect that since I've planted a variety of plants besides just tomatoes, either wasps or birds have carried them off. But I've found a few tomatoes with big holes bored into them, and I don't think it's from birds. Another mystery.

Leslie your hens might have been afraid of my monster horn worm. I was. I clipped his head off with the shears.

Now that you mention it, I haven't had anywhere near the usual # of them this year. On the other hand, I've had plenty of the corn ear worms although nobody near me is growing any corn. Also some other kind that is black and white striped with a reddish orange head. Those latter 2 both bore holes in the green tomatoes but BT gets them.

I saw 2 woolly caterpillars last week which is supposed to mean an early frost but I sure hope not. The weather has been crazy everywhere this year so no telling what we'll have.

Funny that the topic of hornworms came up...I've got these two pepper plants in pots on my deck right now (amongst other plants) and, no kidding, in the span of just two days it seemed like all the leaves were stripped. Since they're on the deck I see them every day and I know exactly how they're doing, right? But during this two-day span I worked late and didn't venture out onto my deck except once at night with a flashlight and I noticed something was amiss. The next day I observed that plants were ravaged by something...then I noticed lots of little "rabbit pellets" around the pots. Then I found two of the biggest horn worms I had ever seen, one on each plant. Luckily, the plants were going to pulled anyway but I was pretty intrigued how the horn worms didn't attack my peppers until this late in the game (I got them in March.)

Anyway, several of my squash vines are getting to the 4' - 5' range and I don't know what to expect from the SVB at this time of the year and in my part of TX. I will water them well tonight, then douse with insecticidal soap and then just think happy thoughts I guess...

Maybe that's what I have in the tomatoes. It's my first year growing them and I didn't prune, so they're thick bushes. Naturally, it's hard to see what's in there. Plus, I found out I get a rash from handling them. So I'm not about to go poking around in there looking for worms at this point.

State fair this year has a bug petting zoo. Giant cockroaches, a huge millipede . . . a puny-looking hornworm. ha! I petted it just to be polite.