Grandma99
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Location: Oregon Zone 8b

Neem on squash blossoms

My butternut squash are being attacked - from ants and aphids! My plan was to spray them with neem mixture early in the morning but the ants are focusing on the insides of all my squash blossoms. Can I spray the neem mix inside the blossoms? I also see a white butterfly swarming my squash. It flies in a crazy fashion, like it's psychotic or something! I read somewhere (can't remember where because I study constantly) that it might lay eggs which turn into caterpillars and can devastate my plants so I hope the neem kills them as well.

I finally learned I need to pollinate butternut and I pollinate them by taking male and rubbing all over insides of the female but the male blossoms are CRAWLING with ants! COVERED in ants. Are the ants eating the male pollen so I can't use it to pollinate the female flowers? On two plants, I currently only have 9 pollinated fruits so far. The squash plant's leaves are turning yellow on the lower half of each plant so I end up cutting them off. They'll be bald soon!

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applestar
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I think best way to deal with ants is to use ant bait, especially if they are shepherding the aphids. Killing the workers won’t solve the problem. If the aphids were not present, I would say ants are pollinators, too.

Cabbage whites will not use squash for host plant. They are either nectarine from the blossoms or are laying eggs on something else in the mustard family (cabbage, radish, also nasturtiums, too) They might be flying crazy because by this time they are egg dumping — laying as many as they can.

I’m not sure if using need inside squash blossoms is a good idea — oil-based spray might clump up or damage the pollen, or interfere with the pollen receptor sites.... and BESIDES, any (rare/last of the) bees in the area would be sure to visit the sprayed blossom.

Grandma99
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OH, so many good points. Thank you so much. I had read that neem is okay on leaves because it would only hurt leaf-eating insects and not bees but I forgot that they'll gather the nectar, right? Or pollen? Anyway, I will avoid the blossoms.

These white butterflies are landing on the squash or the sweet peppers which are between the two squash plants so maybe they're not cabbage whites (?). The trellis alongside the trailer when they are landing holds Carmen sweet peppers, butternut squash, Goliath bush tomato and pineapple heirloom indeterminate tomato - nothing you've mentioned. They fly away when I get close. But they fly to the squash (or maybe peppers) and stay there for a few minutes before leaving again. They also focus on yellow wild daisy-like weeds in the area. They are fanatic and working hard at something right now!

I will spray on the leaves which have signs of aphids. The ants are going up the side of the trailer to get onto the trellis where the squash is attached and they bypass the traps I'm using. I've placed borax with sugar in the pots below (in pop bottles). They are certainly sugar ants but maybe I'll try peanut butter also. It catches quite a few of them but not enough. I have one trap in all 7 pots. And now I see slug trails on the squash leaves too. I don't see any slugs but 3 leaves have those slimy trails. I will put out dishes with beer in them to try to kill them as soon as I can get to the store to get beer (not something I keep on hand and getting to the store isn't easy for me). I sure appreciate the help! If I don't do something, my squash plants won't have any leaves left. :shock:

Grandma99
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Location: Oregon Zone 8b

Also, I wanted to mention, that I have ordered lady bugs which will be here tomorrow. Supposedly neem doesn't hurt them because they eat aphids and not leaves. But this is one of the reasons I've avoided using diatomaceous earth - I didn't want to hurt any good insects. Gardening ... handling pests, fertilizers and fungus is much more difficult than I ever imagined! I thought, plant them, water them then eat their fruit ... how simple! :wink:

UPDATED: Maybe I'll wait and see if the lady bugs dispatch the aphids quickly. I'm unsure how quickly 300 of them will get to work. Hopefully they will be famished from their trip. And I have no idea if I'm supposed to provide them with housing, recreation, pool tables or liquor, LOL, nor whether they'll stick around on MY small patch of patio instead of heading elsewhere in this country environment.

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applestar
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If you want them to stay long enough to get rid of the pests, you could loosely cover the plants with something like tulle (or sheer curtain). You could securely cover if you are hand pollinating exclusively.

If you are not covering, put the package of ladybugs in the warm part of the fridge until ready to release at sunset so they will stay for the night. It’s a good idea to mist the plants lightly first because they will be thirsty. Did yours come with ladybug food? This is a sort of pollen protein supplement they need for laying eggs, which normally they get from visiting flowers.

— I don’t know what they will do outdoors, but in my Winter Indoor Garden, when I’ve made surprise spot inspection of the Indoor Garden Patrol at night, the released ladybeetles were tirelessly roaming the plants in the pools of light from the flashlight.

...according to this wiki article, there are species of moths (in addition to squash vine borer) that use cucurbita as host plants:
Cucurbita - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucurbita

Cucurbita species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae), Hypercompe indecisa, and the turnip moth (Agrotis segetum).

Grandma99
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I had to look up tulle AND cucurbita :D I haven't received the lady bugs yet. I shall do what you suggest until ready to release at night. I had read about watering the leaves first. I don't have any tulle but I just ordered from Amazon and it guarantees delivery by 9pm tomorrow night so I should be able to pull it off. I'm also trying to set up some branches and wood for 'homes' for them.

In case it doesn't come with lady bug food, I will also put out a few cotton balls with some honey (recommended by something I read). BTW, I found a video of the white butterflies - it is Pieris for sure, flying in that fast fanatical fashion! I guess they're sucking nectar from the squash flowers. I don't understand the difference between nectar and pollen. I hope they're not eating the pollen on the males because I need it to pollinate the females! I am only counting on hand pollination. I've only seen 3-4 bees in my garden this year. I sit on my porch all day every day and I watch it. Next year, I'll try to grow some borage, nasturtiums and maybe something else to encourage them into my garden. I have so much to learn yet. Thank you again for all your help; I appreciate it a great deal. :P

imafan26
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Squash blossoms only last for a day. A few ants are not anything I bother with. You can eat the male blossoms after you use them to pollinate the female flowers. Aphids are easy to control by controlling the ants and neem will work on them. They will more likely be on the leaves. A bigger problem for me are fruit flies. It is better to put the plant under insect netting before the pests find them. To protect the fruit, I bag the fruit to keep the snails and fruit flies from attacking them. Pollination is an issue in the heat, more male flowers are produced than female ones. I get around that by growing parthenocarpic varieties that do not require pollination like Parthenon, Venus, Cavilli, Dundoo. Pollination is undesirable since it will cause fruit to be oddly shaped and develop seeds.

Grandma99
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Location: Oregon Zone 8b

Fascinating! The seeds seem expensive but I plan to give it a go - for sure the parthenon. I really wanted to grow some yellow straight zucchini so I might try the Glory Gold which several people have indicated that it's 'actually' a parthenocarpic variety too - it's sure pretty! The parthenon zucchini is said to be very resistant as well.

I still plan to try again growing butternut - they're my all-time favorite winter squash. I'm unsure if this crop will survive long enough to ripen. I have two fruits which are approx. 8" long but still green. I'll tie them up in insect net for protection but I worry about the plant itself - it's looking stressed, a bit pale, and has yellow around the edges of the leaves - not blotchy or brown or anything ... just ringed with very thin line of yellow. I still haven't found example of what is causing THAT but I keep at it. I tie pink ribbon on the baby females so I can find them easily to check them several times a day. Then I switch to blue ribbon once I pollinate them so later I'll see if I'm doing it right. I found out the ladybugs won't be here for another two days. I'm a worrisome plant-parent. :-/

Thank you SO MUCH, Imafan26, I appreciate the input. You've helped me before also along with Applestar and it means a lot knowing someone who has in-depth experience took their time for me.



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