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Squash vine borer - anything to do to rid them from plants?

9 years ago

one of my four zucchini plants has been attacked by squash vine borers. Is there anything I can do? I pulled that plant, with it's rotting stems, out of the ground. But I'm afraid my other plants will be affected. What can I do?

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Comments (6)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
9 years ago
I've been very happy using a kaolin clay product called 'Surround'. I use it for more than just the SVB, but when sprayed on the stems, it does a great job of deterring those pests.

It doesn't kill the moth or any of the other critters, but really prevents them from doing their damage or laying eggs.
StephanieHS
9 years ago
Hi, I'm on my 2nd round of pumpkin plants for the year because I lost all of the first round to vine borers - I feel your pain!! Someone gave me some great advice on here on another thread to cover the young plants with tulle. It lets the light and water through but the bugs can't get to it. They said to bunch up the tulle so the plant had room to grow and to remove it later when it is flowering so bees can pollinate. Another gardener suggested using tuille but burying the edges a little so pests can't climb under. So far, it's working great!
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Update that marigolds and nasturtiums without flowers did not repel the svb,neither did my homemade concoction of tobacco, redpeppers, black pepper, vegetable oil, and dish soap. It rained a few hours after I applied it, today new eggs all over them. I'm giving up organic at least with the svb, trying stuff with methoxychor, or best I've heard yet is this: "A second planting of summer squash made in early July will mature after adult borers have finished laying eggs. " Another nice suggestion: "Mulches are known to harbor squash bugs" http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/squash_pest.html "Iowa State University Organics Research Program conducted trials of various control methods for squash bug and squash vine borer. Researchers found that mulching with newspaper and hay, combined with tightly secured row covers on the plots (a level 2 control), provided very effective control of both weeds and squash bugs in pumpkin (C. pepo)Âespecially in the wet season of 2002.(4, 5) The row covers apparently excluded squash bugs, preventing them from entering to lay eggs. Gauze row covers (e.g., ReemayÂ, AgriforceÂ, AgribonÂ, TufbellÂ) [Section 205.206(b)(1),(2),(3)] physically exclude pests and prevent them from reaching the plants in large numbers. Preventive strategies have become more important with recognition of A. tristis as a probable disease vector. Hand picking and trapping of A. tristis, or slitting each vine to remove the larva, in the case of M. satyriniformis, represent attempts to control pests after they have begun rearing another generation in numbers sufficient to cause economic damage and pest buildup. Such labor-intensive controls may be uneconomical for large plantings." "Some products acceptable in organic vegetable production that are effective against squash bugs include diatomaceous earth, sabodilla, and neem oil. Growers that anticipate using materials to control heavy pest infestations must list these materials and the circumstances for their use in their organic systems plan. This plan must be submitted to and approved by the organic certifier before the producer uses any material." What is a sabodilla? I found a tree by that name, is it the same thing? Here is a link that might be useful: svb info
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Sevin, carbaryl, is a very broad spectrum pesticide that will kill any insect in contacts and is not something people should be using because of the adverse health affects on people. Squash vine borers can be a problem but the can be discouraged from attacking your plants. Start the season with floating row covers as soon as the plants germinate and by the time you need to remove them for pollination the moth that is the adult and lays the eggs will be gone. Covering the soil around the plants stem with something hard so Ma Moth cannot lay eggs in the soil also helps and I am told that planting an icycle radish next to the squash will also deter Ma. Should Ma get through those defenses Neem oil sprays and pyrethrin based sprays or dusts are better alternatives to Sevin although these are also broad spectrum poisons that need to be used very carfully. Last year if you had put the stem of the plant you rooted out the larva from into the soil it could have rooted again and continued growing. There are nemetodes that are reputed to be effective at helping control the squash vine borer, but they probably are not the Grub Away species.
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OK Arizona explains it as SVB are considered an east of the Rockies pest only. That doesn't mean you don't have any that wander in, just that they aren't regarded as a significant pest in AZ and each state IMP focuses on primary pest problems for their state. Below I linked the U of AZ IPM website - all sorts of info on what are considered your dominant pests. And they offer a Monthly Calendar of Pest Activity you can explore. Click on each month for a list of pests associated with that month. May seems to be your grub hatch so SVB pupae would likely hatch about the same time. June brings out your "All summer bugs alert". etc. Hope this helps. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: U of AZ IPM website
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Where I am, SVBs are a "spring thing". I plant in May, plant out in June, and cover the plants until ... yesterday. My plants should be more or less safe here on out. You might research what their schedule is in your locale. The pupa are in the soil. The pupa will wait there until next year. If you have hard freezes, turning the soil in the fall before winter will expose the pupa to the cold, and they will die. In fact, just turning the soil disrupts them. I don't think there are any chemicals residential gardeners can use that will kill them. Those were the days when residential gardeners could use soil fumigants!
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butchfomby
9 years ago
one gardner suggested wrapping tin foil around plant stem like for a cutworm....another said to plant a few radishes close to plant...i know for a fact dish soap spray kill squash bugs...might try spraying stem and soil around stem with soap for vine borer...i wait and plant late to miss bug outbreak in june...the indian
yolos - 8a Ga. Brooks
9 years ago
I use tulle on my squash bed. Where I live (south of Atlanta, Ga) if you do not cover your squash and zucchini you will definitely get squash vine borers. I just lift the sides every morning and pollinate the squash before I go to work.

I have pumpkin plants that are too big to cover. Everyone of them has squash vine borers. I bought some syringes and BT and am going to try to operate on them to see if I can keep them alive. Never tried it but I have read about it so we shall see.
StephanieHS
9 years ago
Hi Yolos, I too live down south (outside new orleans) and I too have a pumpkin plant getting too big for its tulle. I'm worried the dang borers will find it now. I'm going to try Rhizo's advice to prevent but in case it doesn't work, will you update on here how the BT goes?
I would appreciate it so much. I watched a youtube video of someone injecting it in pumpkin vines but I'd love to know if it works!!
Kimmsr
9 years ago
The Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacterium and you need to get the right strain for it to work, and then you need to get it into the plants stem where the borer is ahead of the borer, and before the borer is too big for the BtK to work.
If the vines do have borers in them there is no reason to rip out the affected plants, just squish the stem where the borer is and bury that stem which will root.
Surround, a Kaolin clay product, is sprayed on the plant and disguises the plant so the moths do not recognize them and the stay away.

Here is a link that might be useful: Squash Vine Borer Control

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