YOU da man!!!
;-)

NO, she da girl!

No, I didn't use row covers.

But I sprayed 1/2 strength Rotenone on the stems from mid-June to late-July and, even though I saw the SVB moths and swatted a few, I didn't lose a single plant from my 12 plants total. First time in 15 seasons.

Mawkhawk - that is interesting. I am glad it worked for you, and I am sure many on this forum will be intrigued by your success with rotenone. I would not have even tried that, however, because I have seen SVB eggs on every conceivable part of squash plants in past seasons, not just stems, and treating stems alone would not cut it. That would be my thinking anyway. Plus, at the rate these things grow who can be sure they have adequately treated all parts of the darned thing? But hey, I am very glad you have succeeded!

I am by no means prepared to declare victory over the SVB because I have not done any of the things I planned, well except to rotate to a different bed. I bought a row cover intending to cover the bed, just never did.

My plan was to wrap the row cover around the 4 corner poles, allowing the bees access from the top. The aggie guy says the SVB comes in low and recommended this method. You can see the tape on the poles, I used the tape to remove the squash bug eggs. Except for the litte bite marks the plants look healthier than years gone by. NO powdery mildew either, Yahoo. Some pumpkins (in front & back [not pictured]) have the PM while others don't. ALL pumpkins are volunteers from last years plants, so go figure.

This bed has grown potatoes for the last few years but with the neighbors Scotts Lawn treatments the Ph has risen. It is on the East side of the house and only gets mid-morning sun.
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Note with the shadow on the North side, the plant is soo much smaller. This view is from the east looking west. There are 2 plants about 6in apart in an N to S pattern (mistake). The bed is 4x6ft and would have worked better if I planted them in an E to W pattern. There are 3 nasturtiums behind the squash and 2 Arikara Squash just in front of the 3 Jerusalem Artichokes (far rear) with 2 Butternuts squeezed in. The trellis poles are 4ft high.

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Oh with a volunteer red potato in front right, another behind the bed.

Here is a closeup of the plant on the South side. Much more fruit than on the North side.
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ooops, didn't see that big squash there, pics were taken this morning, have to run out.
BRB,
Gumby_CT

Gumby - very nice fruits there! You da man! Time to make some bread, my friend. I have never heard about that "coming in low" theory on the SVB. Really, you should try it out next season, leaving the top open, and report back to us. I nominate you to be the one, seeing as you have the posts all set up for it and everything. Personally, I think the little frigger will swoop right in there, undeterred. But your plants look good in the picture, so I am not sure how you escaped unscathed this late in the seaason. Would you care to elaborate?

You da man!
::Thinking I have heard that somewhere before::

Would you care to elaborate?
Well I don't think I have a "magic recipe" by any means but I can tell you what I did and didn't do.

This was the 2006 Squash bed 4x13ft. the horizontal support 3ftHigh
Left to right - 3Zukes, 2acorn, 3cukes, 1pattypan in front Rt. of cukes, 2Arikara, and 3Yellow Summer Squash on right. 1 of the zukes got tunneled by voles later.
You are looking towards the East. A 6ft white fence blocks early morning sun.
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That grew into this. The white board is 4ft. File date: 2006:08:03
You can see how much bigger they were compared to the current bed/location.
I think both the soil & sun made the difference.
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Like you I had a plan. My plan was to move to another bed (barricaded with a row cover), knowing that I would not hand pollinate if I covered the entire bed. Also to plant nasturtiums, to see if they repelled as claimed. (I am still not sure they do). Thinking if I did that, might as well put all the squash plants in the same bed again.

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I started all the plants in this bed (except the Jerusalem Artichokes ;-) in a temporary cold frame made when I put an extra 4x4 frame on top of an existing bed and covered with windows that were once disposed of.

So maybe that's the secret. Gumby Sown Seeds (GSS) followed by GLC (Gumby Loving Care)? Or maybe it's the roofing shingles around the bed? Or maybe, just maybe, they are on their way? I won't believe it's over until the plants are killed by frost!

I did have squash bugs but tried to stay right on them, focusing on this bed rather than the pumpkin (volunteers) to the north & south side of the house. I used the tape seen on the left & right uprights to remove the eggs (and newborns) found, keeping them somewhat in check.

I don't use insecticide.

I did use rain water and compost tea, both aerated & unaerated. Oh, and leaf mulch (contrary to some beliefs) to keep some weeds in check.

Well, I have rambled on & on. Hope that answered some questions. If I didn't, just get me focused ;-)

HTH,
Gumby_CT

raisemybeds, I had a chance to actually watch the moths this year and the bugs, around here at least, were landing on the ground near the stems then backing into them to lay their eggs. The Rotenone does not kill the moths but the larvae ingest it when they attempt to bore into the plant.

I've heard other people say that the SVB's lay their eggs all over the plant but that has not been my experience so maybe I'm just "lucky", if you can call it that....

I just put row cover over the bed when the seeds went in. And left it there (with the edges weighted down with stones and dirt) until July 5th. Up to then the plants were producing male flowers only but shortly after I took off the cover, they started producing zukes. Vine borer departs these premises around July 1st so it's Ok to remove the cover after that.
Now have big healthy plants cranking out more squash than I need. I tried the romanesco zukes last year and SVB got them all.
Row cover is now stored, waiting for next year. Important to leave lots of slack so the plants can push it up as they grow.

I was affected by the SVB this year and so I have done alot of reading. From the research I have read, covering the squash plants only helps if you have never had SVB problems. Once you have them, they can overwinter in the soil as pupae and emerge next year to infect your plants, even if cover the plants.

And that is why "rotation" to a "new bed" is critical.

EXCELLENT. WOW. BEST THEAD AWARD.

{{gwi:100714}}

Best Gardener Award

This is good no doubt, but I think raise has yet another post that also deserves an award. I will have to see if I can find it. If GW hasn't deleted it that is.

So you thought I forgot? I may be slow, old, and forgetful but this did jog my memory. I am just sooo glad it wasn't deleted. So here is the extremely well written post by Raise I mentioned before.

It is titled "I met the man ......."
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0721272331085.html

Enjoy,
Gumby_CT

Here is a link that might be useful: I met the man .......

We need to figure out how to make SVB and cuc beetles fight it out.

Great thread. I hope my 100 feet of row covers will be enough as I am now going to cover my sqaush and cantaloupes as well as my cukes.

CrAzY LaRrY