So are you going to give it a try? I am glad you posted the names of the poison as I am about ready to plant my winter squash. I am not to worried about the butternut, but I want to plant some others as well and I know from what they did to my Zukes that they are here.
Good luck
OneEyedJack and the Dawg

I had limited success last year planting after July 4 and picking the little guys out of the stems as soon as I saw signs of frass. This wasn't too bad since the plants were still young and hadn't started to run yet. Unfortunately, the bigger pumpkins didn't have time to develop color by October! (ie what's the point?)
This year I didn't wait so long. I don't like to use chemicals in the food garden if I can help it, but the kids just love growing their own pumpkins so I may try the spray. I'll post back results if I do.

-Julie K

This may be a truly silly question, but are there any SVB or squash bugs in California? The only things that ever attack my squashes are pill bugs and cucumber beetles, but it sounds like everyone else in the country has a serious problem with these squash pests. I should probably knock on wood (knock, knock).

They are supposedly only east of the Rockies...

I was referring to SVB's... not sure about Squash bugs but think they may be everywhere in 48 states

Will the poison address the eggs? I was looking at the bottom of the leaves on my Zuchinni and they are alot of eggs there. I was wondering if I sprayed them with soap if it would cause them to suffocate?

Lelia,

Regionality
The results of the Iowa and West Virginia pest management trials are preliminary and regional. For instance, squash vine borer is not a significant problem in the West (west of Interstate 35). In general, organic growers need to be guided primarily by research done in their own regions. The University of California IPM Web site, however, presents very similar recommendations to what these research studies suggest: field sanitation and crop rotation to break pest cycles in the field, and use of rowcovers to prevent infestation from nearby pest hatching sites. Research remains to be doneregion by region and under weather conditions that may differ markedly from year to yearÂon the best organic methods to control insect pests on all varieties and market types of Cucurbita.

Will the poison address the eggs?

Read here.

I was wondering if I sprayed them with soap if it would cause them to suffocate? I have a feeling if it were that simple, it would show up on all the fact sheets discussing control.

Pest management is complex, if you wish to use chemical products, do so responsibly which goes further than reading the label. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here:

Integrated Pest Management
This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist.

Education:
B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis
Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley

Appointment:
100% Cooperative Extension

Research Interests:
Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information.

Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture:

* IPM references and resources
* Preventing pest problems
* Natural common enemies
* Making less toxic pesticide choices
* Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects.

You can watch the programs now online:

Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free.

Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes

Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes

You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on:
Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons

I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals.

;)

The eggs on the underside of your zucchini leaves are more likely squash bugs. SVB eggs are laid individually at the base of the stem. Since they are not clustered, they are very hard to detect. I don't know if the above controls are effective on eggs, but I did read somewhere that insecticidal soap will smother them - just make sure you aim the spray at the base of the plant.

-Julie K

That "base of the plant" strategy is hooey if you ask me. Those eggs get deposited ALL OVER the plant with respect to NOTHING. I have found them in the past on every conceivable part of my squash plants, no rhyme or reason whatsoever, which is why this year my plants are under row cover material and will remain so until the end of July, when I will do a second planting of new young plants that I am trying to germinate inside right now. So far the hand-pollination that I am having to do has produced ONE marrow squash. It is slow going. If not for the addition of tromboncino and cucuzzi to my garden I would be crying a river. SVB is a %$#!!#@!*?##!!! son of a gun.