Hello,
I have read tons of info on this topic but thought all of you brilliant gardeners might have some tips.
Do you think growing squash in raised beds and making sure you practice faithful rotation would help? We really get hit hard by these the last few years. Today we found 2 of our Sunburst plants dead. I have used diatamaceous earth and another organic spray but nothing is touching them. Then I found out there is no pesticide that touches them.
Nasty creatures, I absolutely hate them.
Please help.
Susan
Squash Bug Control
I think you are talking about what I call squash borers. I'm on my third planting of squash and having an awful time of it. The first two plantings, I only got to pick a couple small ones and the plants started dying. I really like squash so I am spraying these new ones with Garden Safe 3 in 1. So far no damage. I spray every other day after sundown and more if it rains. I'm soaking down the stem on all sides until it runs off. I think the smell repels the moths as well as the pollinators.
I've got 3 yellow squash plants that are a bit older than the others and I noticed they were loaded with skinny little fruits about 4" long. They weren't filling out and the plants keep growing and putting on more of the same. I ate them anyway but they didn't have any seeds or flavor. That's when I figured out that I'll have to start pollinating them by hand. I guess that's better than doing without.
I read last year, I can't remember where, that if you put aluminum foil on the ground around the base of your plants you will repel (or confuse) the moths that lay the eggs that become squash borers. I tried it and did not get any squash borers last year, and I usually do get them in my zucchini stems. I did get them in a pumpkin vine, but only after it was quite large and had already started forming roots on it's outer vines. I'm definitely going to try it again this year.
There are two kinds of pests that attack squash: squash vine borers and squash bugs.
You don't see the borers except for their effects, which involve wilted leaves which eventually turn yellow and die, and then the whole plant dies.
The squash bugs are shield-shaped and pale greyish and can cover the leaves in a bad infestation. They suck the juices of the plant and kill it that way.
I have been using silver reflective plastic mulch, which seems to help; I lay it on the row, hold it down with bricks or rocks or staples, and tear holes at intervals to plant my seeds. Nasturtiums are also supposed to be good, I think as a trap crop, as are radishes for repelling.
Once the borers have attacked your plant, some people say that injections of Bt in the stem of the affected part kill them. I've never tried that because in my experience, by the time you start seeing the damage it's too late. I've attempted to slit the stem and remove the borer, then mounding the cut area with earth, as some people recommend, but again that's never worked for me. I have also read that you can patrol your plants and remove the squash bugs, but in my garden the population seems to explode suddenly and simple removal isn't practical.
You may find this useful. Claud
http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/cucs/squabug.htm
And this for squash borers. Claud
http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/CUCS/vinebor.htm
I've also had problems with these little suckers in the past. If you don't have cucumbers available for them, they'll multiply on your squash and build their population for when you do deside to plant cucumbers.
http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/CUCS/scb.htm
I didn't know they are the primary vector for wilt in cucumbers and muskmelons. If you grow either, you'll find the discussion on "trap crops" quite useful.
Claud