I was told at the end of last summer - so I have no direct experience as yet - that mixing cedar shavings in the seed starting soil, whether inside or in the garden, for both squashes and cucumbers, would stop the borers and the squash bugs. It might work, and I will report back on whether it does. In the mean time, I offer it out for you all to try. Certainly, it sounds logical. Seemingly, it won't work added to the soil of seedlings as you plant them out - it HAS to be added to the seed starting soil so the "whatever" is there from the get-go. I don't know HOW much to add, but will add what seems right..., another basis for experimentation.

I used bt for the past 2 years with incredible success. Prior to that I had a serious borer infestation.

tony, I've heard of good results with Bt, also, but the timing must be precise. You've got to get it sprayed before the borers begin to infest the vines....but not TOO much before. Call your extension office, maybe they'll have some good local information about the timing of Bt applications. When (time of year) do you usually see the adults begin to fly in your location?

Interesting about the cedar shavings. Has anyone tried DE in the soil?

If the problem is really serious and you are already using row covers - one of the most successful methods as it prevents the moth from ever laying eggs - then don't remove the cvers. Instead, learn to hand polliate as many of us do. It is easy to do, goes quickly, and can increase production 10 fold as results are much more dependable.

Simply ID male (stem only at base) from female blossoms (see link below) keeping in mind that there will be many more male than females. Pick 1 male and strip the petals away. You can easily pollinate 4-5 females with 1 male. Good luck. :)

FAQ on Hand Pollination

Here is a link that might be useful: Squash Flowers

thanks to all who responded. I've never seen the adults flying, only the after results. I try to keep an eye on things but usually seem to get caught off guard. I'll try a combination of suggestions and that should help out a lot. With 150,000 bees in the backyard, I hadn't given a thought to hand pollination! I will also check out that link. you guys and gals are great

What you really want is a control method before Ma lays the eggs that result in the larva that are the borers. Floating row covers can help, planting an icycle radish next to the plant seed is also supposed to help. Intercropping can help by confusing Ma so she does not know where the plants she is looking for are.

Attached is an image of the adult, just in case you aren't familiar with it. It's not particularly moth-like, in the usual sense of the word.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:138669}}

A bottle of slurry or a bag of dry Bt powder goes a Loooong way. I apply early season and after most any rain. However- I don't have acres of vines to protect, just a reasonable home garden.

I've had success by applying beneficial nematodes. These parasitic critters kill over 250 species of bad bugs that have some part of their life cycle in the soil.

Beneficial nematodes are naturally occuring in all soils. However, over the years we have been killing them off through the use of pesticides. I seeded my gardens with three applications of three years. The last application was three years ago. They should last forever in your soils without pesticides.

Your local independent gardening center should carry them.

I wasn't sure what to put on the squash vines so I put cheese cloth doubled up all around each plant, making sure it's sealed. I hope this helps. The plants are now flowering. Do I need to hand pollinate if they are covered? If so, do I pollinate the flowers from one plant to another or just on the same plant? The photos on hand pollinating are excellent. Thanks.

SVB are really a bugger to control. The adult looks like a wasp and is easily overlooked. She comes around during the day a little before the flowers bloom so covers do work. I suspect they find your plants by sight. Uncover at night, during blooming, and the pollinators (bees) will be there early in the morning. It is said that nasturtiums help if planted around the squash hills. I've tried it last year and it seemed to work but I've no real proof yet. Looks pretty though. SVB is the only pest that has tempted me to stray from strictly organic practices. It's very discouraging to see squash plants fail just when they really start to produce. I've found that planting them in a half whiskey barrel allows me to examine the plants easier. It keeps the leaves off the ground too. You can also wrap aluminum foil around the base of the stem with some of it buried by piling dirt up around it. Gotta do this early though. Last year, along with the nasturtiums, I built a four foot square mezzanine around the top of the whiskey barrel out of furring strips. Then screened it. It gave a flat platform for the vine to rest on. No vine borers last year even though I saw a couple lurking around. Eventually powdery mildew got 'em. But what a harvest! Best of luck.

Once a vine is infested, you can get pretty good results one on one if you catch the borer early. Cut a vertical slit in the vine (does little damage to vine) and haul him/her outta there by the ear. What you do after you've humiliated the SVB is between you and your maker. They seem to respond well to a good talkin to.

rangier

Here's an odd thing, it wasn't until I read this thread that I realized I have not planted any zucchini or cucumbers yet. More importantly, I haven't allocated any space in my garden for them. Oops. Maybe if I just skip zucchini one year the SVB will give up and go someplace else? I went hogwild on tomatoes this year, growing dozens, so of course I forgot something else. Doh!

Marcia