Sounds like a good plan, did not know about Hubbard's cucurbitacin being supercharged. My local SUVs kill off yellow and zukes here equally, bad, but we do get enough squash for 2+ before the almost instant plant death. If one is short on garden space maybe the Hubbard vines can be trimmed back into a 5'x5' trap plot? I wouldn't expect to harvest any Hubbards anyways. The 5x5 plot is just my available size.

The problem with trap crops is that you just breed more of the pest you're trying to avoid.

It might not work for you, but my solution to SVBs is to plant out later, after they've gone through their yearly cycle. For me, there are ZERO SVBs after mid-June, and I have a very long growing season after that. That worked wonderfully for me this year with Butternuts. Up north, the SVBs aren't done until August, wherein you don't have much of a growing season left. This year, I'll also be growing Tatume, which is a summer/winter squash that is allegedly not just "SVB-resistant", which is usually pretty meaningless, but virtually SVB-proof. So it is said. I have not yet dared plant regular zukes, but might just dare to do so next year.

BTW, that's interesting about SVBs being attracted to cucurbitacin. I had not heard that. Now, cucurbitacin is what makes for burps in cukes, so in principle, one might think that burpless cukes (which have much lower levels of cucurbitacin) would be less attacked by SVBs. Is that in fact the case? Now, SVBs are not a major pest for cukes, but they can do damage to them.

Hello @vgkg Z-7 Va! You know, the article above, or maybe it was another one I read, describes that the Hubbard squash may even be grown in large but transportable pots (growbags?). You can have several of these potted Hubbard squashes placed strategically in your garden/squash growing space, usually in the periphery. What is very important is that you get the Hubbards outside and growing before your main squash are set out to grow. Secondly, you have to keep the Hubbard squash growing. To do that you have to spray it with a systemic insecticide from the beginning so that what ever insect infects it will die but the Hubbard can keep on growing and not succumb. Spraying a systemic insecticide is heretical for many I know. For me too. But in this case its the lesser of two evils. If you dont use the systemic insecticide the Hubbard becomes a cushy nursery and not a trap. By spraying the Hubbard you dont spray your other squashes, reduce the bug population and then you must discard/burn the Hubbard. God, I hope it works for you and me!

@daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa) I wrote above how not to breed the target bug by using a trap plant, but in fact kill those pests. You have to use a systemic insecticide from the very beginning.

Something about how the borers grow in my New York zone 7a area no matter when I plant summer squash they get infected and die very rapidly. Planting late has not worked for me.

Hubbard squash plants also attract cucumber beetles and can be eliminated by the insecticide.

@daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa) I meant to add I am going to pull off all the flowers before they bloom on the hubbard and take whatever benefits hubbard minus flowers provide. I am very aware and have planted a bee/pollinator garden. Thanks for the link.

Ah, that's smart to pull the flowers off of the Hubbards if you're planning to spray them and use them as a trap crop

I don't think that would really work if you have a lot of squash vine borers. I have grown squash and pumpkins in SVB infested situations for many years. Your best bet is to either plant your plants very early or very late In the season. Last year I had tons of zucchini just because I planted my plants later in the season and covered them with tulle netting until they had flowers and then I uncovered them and by that time the SVB were already gone. Likewise you can plant them really early in pots and put them out Early, and cover them with tarps if you have a freeze or frost. That way you will get a head start on the SVB and have plenty before your plants go down.

@Christian thank you for your comment. I have not been able to keep my squash plants safe from SVBs. But I will try again. Which zone are you in and what is very early and very late?

I am afraid the ground temperature may be too cold for summer squash when planted very early but I am eager to hear what your conditions are.

I've looked at the life cycle of SVBs with some care. In northern states, spring SVBs are still active in August. If you plant out then, you have maybe one or two months of growing season. That's not enough. But it works well for me in Texas, where the SVBs are done in mid-June and our first frost is in December. So it very much depends on where you are. Also, I can plant out in May and just protect with tulle to get an extra month of growth. That's feasible because the plants are small so protection is easy, and they aren't yet flowering, so manual pollination isn't needed. Early spring planting may not work well because although you can protect from frost, it's pretty cold, and the plants won't grow fast.

I just planted some summer squash seedlings and there are a few more I want to plant. Early in June I planted a few Blue Hubbard and Baby Blue Hubbard seedlings. I put some yellow and blue sticky traps close to the ground around these. And sprayed the Blue Hubbards with a systemic insecticide about a week ago.

I caught a squash vine borer on the yellow sticky trap:

Two days in a row I saw 2 more SVB adults and they were hovering over the Hubbards trying to land. I did not see any eggs on any plants. (But that maybe just me.) And I did not catch anymore on the sticky traps.

The Hubbards really are very attractive to these moths. I see them inextricably drawn to the Hubbards. I dont think they are in my garden because of the hubbards. I think they would have passed by and got to my other squash. Once here, they find the hubbards irresistible.

So far so good. I dont have any damage yet. Its a lot of vigilance I put up though.

And I am removing any flower buds that appear from the trap crops because they have been sprayed with an insecticide.

As an aside I want to mention that the sticky traps have been like magic for me. First I was getting leaf miners on my chard that were just decimating every leaf. I put up these at each end of the rows and the leaf miners have gone down by 90%. They are also catching mosquitoes and flies. The yellow ones catch the most insects. The blue catches fewer but different insects. These may be worth a try if you are getting riddled by noxious insects.

This may seems like some grotesque trophy hunting but I am trying to report in detail if trap cropping against squash vine borers is working (for me, in my garden).

This morning I found another SVB stuck on a yellow sticky trap that I placed next to a Hubbard. I did not find eggs on that Hubbard or other squashes in the yard.

It looks like the Hubbard squashes and the yellow sticky traps are working as a trap for the svb so far.

I have the yellow sticky traps in other positions in the yard but they have not caught any squash bugs or borers.

@daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa) If you are still reading this thread: How long does a systemic insecticide last in a squash plant? I imagine it varies with type of pdt you are using. I am applying Bifenthrin. It may also become more complicated because the plants are growing very fast now.

I would greatly appreciate any pointers.

Thank you!

I may be mistaken, but I believe Bifenthrin (a Pyrethroid) is non-systemic. That being said, Bifenthrin is not water soluble, and has long half-life in soil. It is highly toxic to bees.

This reference says that systemics are good for 12 months.

https://bioadvanced.com/spring-insects-fall-strategies-control

The persistence of systemic insecticides in both soil and plant matter is making them look somewhat threatening to the ecosystem.

Thank you @daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa). When I bought this pdt

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ARKSC4E/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

I remember finding out that it does become systemic and that it kills squash vine borer when I bought it. But I did not verify the information.

I used it as a foliar spray and nothing in the soil. So that it will be gone when I pull out the plants. I am sure some will enter the roots and I will remove those too. And I am removing all buds that form.

I am trying all this to ward off SVBs. Maybe its not worth it. I will know better soon.

Yes Bifenthrin is not absorbed but the emulsion, which this pdt maybe different.