Last year we planted squash having been warned of svb's by our next door neighbor who lost her pumpkins to svb's the two previous years. We planted nasturtiums and borage as companion plants and had no svb's. Our neighbor wanted to try Bulls-Eye from Gardens Alive! for her squash and pumpkins. After giving it more thought she decided against using the Bulls-Eye out of concern for bees potentially being hurt by it, and she lost all but two plants to svb's. She gave us the un-opened Bulls-Eye which we have absolutely no use for. If anyone wants it, send me and email and I'll mail it to you. Below is a description. The catalog lists it as a control for svb's. Here is a link that might be useful: bulls-eye

1. Could be a Spiders egg mass. If so they are not pests but are beneficial, although passive. At this time do nothing. 2. Where was this found? 3. Could be eggs of the Imported Cabbageworm or Cabbage Looper. 4. Might be Powdery Mildew. 5. Unidentifiable from that picture. 6. Unidentifiable from that picture. 7. Could be the Imported Cabbageworm or Cabbage Looper. Early control of these cabbage pests involves the use of Bacillus thuringinsis - Kurstaki with Spinosad for later stages. The pyrethrums are very broad spectrum poisons that should be used only as a last resort.

This is the beetle I love to hate. In our climate (Queensland) the adults can overwinter near the base of the trees. It does not get cold enough to kill them. You can trap them by wrapping the trunk with carpet or similar and catching them all napping every month or so. Then it is into the hot soapy water (HSW) with them. In spring they emerge from their hiding places and start chewing on the new green shoots. Hold a bucket with an inch or two of HSW underneath the beetles and blow on them. They drop suddenly to escape, but, oh no! Bad career move, Dude. When the leaves open up, they start mating. Two for the price of one. Sometimes there are others waiting nearby for their turn, so the more the merrier in the HSW. Take care how you hold the bucket, because they can bounce off leaves and escape. Ones higher in the canopy can be tickled into dropping with a bamboo stick, then you need to be quick with the bucket. Or climbing the tree is good exercise, too. Those which are successful at laying eggs leave a circular clutch on either side of a leaf. I carry around a 3/8 or 1/2 inch hole punch. Finger behind, punch above, give it a twist and you cut out a perfect circle with the eggs attached. This should not cut your finger if the punch is not too sharp. Try to keep clear of veins and the leaf should grow on OK. If the grubs manage to elude your scrutiny for a while, you will spot them eventually and then you should roll them off the leaf into the good old HSW. Do not let them fall to the ground as there is evidence they may be able to live for several days and may manage to pupate even though starving. They are better off drowned quickly I think. Good luck with your beetle control!

Leaf miners are doing the tunneling on the top photo, they are a minor nuisance and wont kill the plant. I believe the other pest is spider mites, they suck the juice out of any plant and can kill the entire plant if not controlled. Also look for light spider type webbing anywhere on the plant, it will indicate an infestation and it may not be worth saving.