squash emergency!

[scot29]

Noticed something killing my buttercup squash today. What is this & how do I stop it!?

[img]https://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy82/scot_29/other%20pics/proofbuttercup005.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy82/scot_29/other%20pics/proofbuttercup006.jpg[/img]

[rainbowgardener]

most likely squash vine borer. Type that into the Search the Forum Keyword Box (that comes up when you click on Search the Forum above) and you will find a ton of information about them. They are also sometimes known as zucchini root borers, so you could put that in also.

[FieldofFlowers]

If it is any consolidation, I'm having the same problem. I had to uproot my spaghetti squash, slice it up into pieces, and harvest the single and only fruit it produced; while still immature.

Inside the sliced up stems were the dreaded white squash vine borer grubs. I killed all that I could find. Sadly some looked like they escaped long before I got there.

I'm not sure what to do with the remaining stem chunks. I may plant them, but I doubt our season will last long enough for them to produce even if they do take new roots. I'll have to focus on what I have and find something else to plant next year.

[gumbo2176]

Definitely squash borers. Those things are a PITA and got to my squash early in the season before I could even manage to pick a single fruit. I just planted some new seeds a week or so and the new plants are now up and growing like mad. Each morning I look at them and it looks like they've grown an inch or more overnight.

I inquired at the local nursery about squash borers and the lady there told me about a product by ferti-lome that contains Spinosad, classified an organic product by the USDA National Organic Standards Board that really works on borers. I got a bottle of it to try this time around. It mixes at a rate of 4 tbs. per gallon of water and can be sprayed on the plants in any variety of methods. It claims to work on boreres, bagworms, tent caterpillars and leaf miners while not having a significant impact on predatory beneficial insects like mites and spiders. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully with some luck I'll be able to harvest lots of zukes, yellow and green squash over the next few months.

[rainbowgardener]

Let us know how the Spinosad works. It is an organic product, a bacterial exudate. However, it can be harmful to honeybees, if they contact the spray when wet. To avoid this, use the spray at dusk, after the honeybees have gone home for the day. Once it is dried, it is no longer harmful to them, but still effective for the target populations.

[gumbo2176]

I did mix enough to lightly hit my new squash plants that are only about 5-6 inches tall right now. It may be a bit of overkill, but I lost all my squash plants from the spring planting before they could set any fruit to the dreaded borers.

The info booklet claims you can spray up to 6 times a growing season with a minimum of a 5 day wait between each spraying. I'll likely spray in 10-12 day intervals or as needed. It will be several weeks before I will see if this stuff really works like the lady claimed, but I will update with a follow-up post as to results.

[BrianSkilton]

Yeah thats why I just plant SVB resist varieties...try musque de provence