Deterrent for Terrible Squash Borers?

Every year my squash crops starts out great and then gets destroyed by Squash Borers and those pseudo-lady bugs that eat the leaves. I want to stay away from chemicals, so I am avoiding Sevin dust for now. I have been examining the undersides of leaves and removing eggs, killing the flying bugs that I know lay the eggs, and checking the vines for worm infestation. If found, I slit the stem and remove the worm, but they always get ahead of me. Please share whatever natural remedy you have to keep these buggers off my many squash plants! Thank you.

I had a couple of years with bad squash vine borer issues, and read elsewhere on this site about "beneficial nematodes". You receive them in a sort of sponge, which you then activate with water, and pour over your garden area early in the season; it releases lots of happy little microbes to combat the emerging nasty bug larvae (or something like that). I tried it last year, and I didn't have any issues with my squash or peppers (which had been riddled with corn borers (?) the previous year). I did ease up on the quantities of those plants, as well, to try and deny the bugs a food source for the season, so it may not have been the most controlled experiment. Anyway, I feel like it made a definite difference, but I don't think it will help this far into the season. See what info you can get with Garden's Alive or Gardener's Supply. (I know GA doesn't have great reviews, but I think that's where I ordered the nematodes from because of the price, and a great coupon that I had.)
Good luck!

I've had horrible problems with these too. I can't understand why the "easiest" veggies to grow are the toughest for me!

This year I went in swinging. I read up on companion planting from the Carrots Love Tomatoes book, and it suggested planting icicle radishes at the same time as you plant the squash, and surround your squash plants with them. Let them grow and even go to seed, and apparently the smell deters the SVB's. I'd also read about wrapping the bottoms of the stems with tin foil so that the moths cant lay their eggs there, so I did that too.

So far both these methods have been working for me, and I'm in the stage of lots of flowers which will hopefully set fruit. I'll make sure to update and see if these methods continue to work, but for me so far they are.

"I want to stay away from chemicals, so I am avoiding Sevin dust for now."
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Well, that's your choice - and it's your garden. Personally, I avoid spraying as much as I can - but when it comes down to it I use pyrethrin for bugs I can see, and Sevin for chewing bugs. The alternative is to stand by, doing nothing, while they eat my garden.

Seems to me that the real choice is between modern agricultural practices and the agriculture of the Middle Ages - with predictable results in both cases. Sorry, but I think most home-remedy eco-friendly cures are about as effective as throwing chicken bones and chanting. Using them may make you feel good, but they make the bugs feel better. lol

Protecting the environment is vital but insecticide technology has come a long way - it's much, much better than it used to be. I wish I had a nickel for every gallon of DDT my grandpa sprayed, and we're no longer doing that. Anyway, if I stand by and let the bugs eat my veggies I can think about all the farmers who on that same day are spraying thousands of acres with commercial insecticides far stronger than the ones I'm refusing to use. Just my $.02 worth.

Well, I planted the icicle radishes around my squash, and the vine borers got them anyway.. I sprinkled either black pepper or wood ashes on my squash plants, and the vine borers got them anyway. I wrapped the stems with foil and the vine borers got them anyway. I ran the sprinkler all night when the vine borers are active, and they got my squash plants anyway. I have two plants left, and I am using an old gauze window curtain as a cover every night. I uncover during the day so bees can pollinate. We'll see... I am determined to beat those buggers at their game. What frustrates me is that there are two houses across the street that both have gardens full of squash/zucchini plants and NO problem with vine borers.

Dear milesdt,

Please ask your neighbors THEIR tactics......IF they will share, that is.... (Bet it isn't organic!)

I've just yanked up three squash plants up AFTER having dug out the wretched, wriggling masses of destruction and covering vine with dirt. Apparently I missed something!

GrammyLK

Well said Ozark. I agree completely anything grown at home has got to be better for you then store bought. Organic Chemicals and Synthetic Chemicals both kill beneficial pests. I agree with Grammy, miles, find out what the people across the street do, then share the info with us. Just Grow It.

I kind of liked this article I found.....After identifying "such a pretty bug" I saw just a couple of days ago. When I discovered it was a squash vine borer I dashed out to see if it was still there, and hoping the damage had not been done, promptly set out the yellow beakers. Time will tell :)

....You can also use yellow trap pans to detect squash vine borer adults. This can be any container (e.g. pan, pail, bowl) colored yellow and filled with water. Because squash vine borer adults are attracted to yellow, they will fly to the container and be trapped when they fall into the water. Place traps by late June, checking your traps at least once a day. When you notice squash vine borer adults in your traps you know they are active and it is time to take further action.......
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/M1209.html

Yeah, I've used the yellow containers filled with water for the past two summers. The vine borers got my squash anyway. Good luck with that.

Miles - sounds like you definitely should ask your neighbors what they are doing and share it here! I have a lot of leaves yellowing on my squash plants, but haven't seen the "sawdust" of a borer yet, so I'm still crossing my fingers. At least I've gotten further than I did last year.....

I haven't gotten hit by borers yet, but the squash beetles (the orange and black ladybug looking guys - see the attached pic) have started nibbling on my leaves. I started using Neem a few weeks ago, and I've seen a reduction in damage, but I still see a few beetles here and there. I think I just need spray a bit more often, since I was only spraying every 7-10 days or so. Will keep you posted.

My squash were destroyed by borers and beetles. Is it too late to plant another set of squash?

Nope. As a matter of fact, Madison, I have squash seeds on my table now about to be started in cell packs/pots this week. In three weeks you can set them out and have a fine later summer/fall crop. And in our area we might be past the point of the majority of squash bugs by then.

Shoe

wow horshshoe, thats great news. Can I do the same with my cukes? they were torn up by something but I never figured out what.

You may want to start your cukes asap. Many varieties (mostly hybrids) are daylength sensitive and do best when daylight is at a premium. As the days get shorter you'll see a loss of female flowers so less production. Some of the OP varieties do much better as well as some of the parthenocarpic ones. I'd also go with some that have an early maturity date.

Hope this helps.
Shoe

Horseshoe, thanks so much for your help!!

Here's another article from my area about why planting late to avoid the SVB's may be your best hope:

http://groweat.blogspot.com/2010/06/for-squash-sometimes-late-is-better.html

Just yesterday, I pulled up my 3 zucchini plants. Just before getting on this site, I read that (and please excuse the spelling) bacterium thurengiensis (bt) is the natural thing to use on those horrible borers. I had not had them when planting squash in the compost pile ground but, this year, I planted them in holes in the yard and look what I got for that! Well, it's back to the compost pile for me. I stopped using that area because of the squash bugs (angular gray things) that over-winter in the compost.