# Squash borers...Dangit!



## Pocboy (Aug 12, 2004)

Put DE on the stems but still getting them. What are your solutions please?


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## chumy (Jul 13, 2012)

my dad keeps a bug zapper on at night to kill the wasps that lay the eggs.


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## homebrew (Jun 14, 2011)

razor blade....cut the stem lenghtwise and pull the larve out

or punch a whole in the stem and shoot w/ malithon into stem?

i hate those things


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## homebrew (Jun 14, 2011)

or lay out yellow plastic dish of water


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## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

homebrew said:


> or lay out yellow plastic dish of water


I was told about this but could explain. why does it have to be yellow? I just didn't plant squash/zuc's because I got tired of deal with the borers last year.


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

Fungoil will take care of the borers, but as stated above you can pull them out n >>squash<< m....WW


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## chumy (Jul 13, 2012)

homebrew said:


> razor blade....cut the stem lenghtwise and pull the larve out
> 
> or punch a whole in the stem and *shoot w/ malithon into stem?*
> 
> i hate those things


What does your malathion squash taste like? just sayin.


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## Pocboy (Aug 12, 2004)

thanks for the info! I guess part of the problem is we plant them in the same place every year. I know there is a period in the summer when they go away so maybe we will replant then.


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## homebrew (Jun 14, 2011)

chumy said:


> What does your malathion squash taste like? just sayin.


LOL it was kinda a joke, i would never do this


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## Texasgirl44 (May 18, 2012)

Would these borers cause the squash and zucchini plants to start wilting and turn the leaves yellow and make the inside of the stem look "saw dusty"? We've been having this problem with our squash and zucchini plants (they were growing and producing awesomely) and I'm wondering if these are what the problem is? Or could something else be causing this?


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## jm423 (Sep 18, 2011)

Texasgirl44, welcome to the squash borer club! You are now a charter member. So far, knock on wood, they haven't hit us this year. I have tried several remedies, so far spraying Bt at base of stems works as well as anything else but still nothing to brag on. IMHO, works just as well to pull first generation plants up,replant in a month or so. If you can keep plants from burning up, generally no more borer problems till next yr. YMMV, good luck.


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## homebrew (Jun 14, 2011)

Texasgirl44 said:


> Would these borers cause the squash and zucchini plants to start wilting and turn the leaves yellow and make the inside of the stem look "saw dusty"? We've been having this problem with our squash and zucchini plants (they were growing and producing awesomely) and I'm wondering if these are what the problem is? Or could something else be causing this?


yep u got em cut open a stem and find the maggot looking larve

look for these things...look like wasps when flying, actually a moth


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## finkikin (Jul 8, 2011)

I have them too. Going to pull the plants and replant in the next month or so.


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## bigbarr (Mar 9, 2010)

I have had pretty good sucess covering them with garden fabric, I get it from garderners supply, its fairly reasonable and you can use it for more than one season.

http://www.gardeners.com/Summerweig...t,pd.html?start=3&cgid=GardenPestControls_Cat


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## wish2fish (Mar 1, 2005)

Count me in as well. Just pulled two and they are there. I guess all of them are goners now. ****, just started getting good production. I am not too sure about this gardening thing.


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## MesquiteMan (Jun 28, 2008)

I have seen the moth in my garden and have found the eggs on my leaves but so far, they have not actually bored into the squash. When I first saw a moth a number of weeks ago, I mixed up some Monterey LG6135 Garden Insect Spray that contains spinosad and soaked the base of each plant real well as well as the soil around the plant. Today, I took it a step further and injected each plan with the same stuff using a hypodermic needle. I read about the injection method on an organic gardening forum as well as a number of other sources that says it works so we will see. 

I killed one of the darn things today on my zucchini. I could never get close enough to it to smash it so I got after it with a rubber band in the same manner that I used to shoot grasshoppers when I was a kid!

Spinosad is an organic bug killer that is supposed to work really well. I guess time will tell!


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## txjustin (Jun 3, 2009)

Add me to the squash borers club...

I guess I'll replant today and hopefully get some squash by the end of the summer


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## Texasgirl44 (May 18, 2012)

Having squash borers sucks!! We had a really good crop of squash and zucchini and now it's pretty much depleted. Thanks so much for the help, suggestions and picture. This is my first big garden and it's disappointing to see this kind of thing happen.


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## cajunautoxer (Aug 10, 2011)

This is my first yr with a garden and now I know what happened to my squash


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

Squash bugs killed mine again this year,but still made enough to work my butt off finding enough people to take the squash.Pulled all mine up last weekend.


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