rainbowgardener wrote:WOW!!
Nonetheless it seems if your plants were under (well battened down) row cover, when the swarm arrives, they would pass on harmlessly to someone else's less protected garden!
That is Life Cycle right there in it's truest form.
Yea rainbowgardener and dono. That first year, I thought they were some kind of wasp swarming. I caught one and discovered what it was. I tried some insecticide on them as they would swarm into and out of the garden. It was their favorite flavor. They seemed to thrive on the insecticide. The really odd thing was the fact that a garden had never been planted where I placed mine and I don't think any kind of plant they typically need to reproduce was growing within a mile of my house. They must travel a long distance.
Last year, I only spotted two of them all season. I did lose a few squash plants to them, but nothing like I expected and I lost them so late in the season, it didn't really concern me.
I will be putting some hoops and floating covers over my beds early this year. I don't really want to because I will have to hand pollinate the squash, but I guess thats okay. I got good at it last year because the bees were really late arriving.
Good luck Ted, I know how it is. I was invaded last year by I think everything but the squash borer probably because I didn't have any squash. The worst of my problems were Tobacco Worms but they are big and easily removed, but they can eat A WHOLE LOT in a short time.
The worst of my problems were Tobacco Worms but they are big and easily removed, but they can eat A WHOLE LOT in a short time. 