plagued by squash borers?

[mopinko]

if every time you try to grow cukes, melons, or squashes, and just as they seem to be going good they wither, you have squash borers (but you knew that). this was a plague in my garden, and so annoying. just as your mouth started watering, boom.
well last year i inadvertently found a solution. DH bought plants at the local great garden center without me. i would have poo pooed potted cuke seedlings, since i never did that, and thought it a waste of money. well, as it happened that little bit of greenhouse growing kept them safe from the squash borers. we had cukes up to our eyeballs.

so, i plan to make this a habit. i have tomatoes and peppers started now. i think i will try a melon of some sort. some sugar babies or something. i think probably a month or so will be enough. just have to get them past the first couple of leaves to get past the point where the little bastards lay their eggs.
not sure how many garden places offer these, but i would try the old timey ones.

[Dover]

1. Other options for worm problems...

for anyone without a greenhouse - everyone seems to have their favorite recipes for various pest and/or fungal problems that include neem or orange oils, garlic, peppers, etc.. Or have ya tried companion planting and/or hungry chickens? Perhaps the most reliable and fastest way is to use the biological insecticide called BT Worm Killer which is considered organic.

Another good one has SPINOSAD and is approved for organics in a product called Entrust. Spinosad is also found in Green Light's Lawn and Garden Spray and other brands. Some organic growers alternate the use of BT and spinosad products. For others these products are still controversial regardless of their approval for organics.

Spinosad products are used to control a variety of insect pests, including fruit flies, caterpillars, leafminers, thrips, sawflies, spider mites, fire ants, and leaf beetle larvae. Spinosad is recommended for use in an Integrated Pest Management program for commercial greenhouses since it will not harm most beneficial insects or predatory mites. Spinosad does not significantly affect beneficial organisms including ladybugs, green lacewings, minute pirate bugs, and predatory mites.

Spinosad is also used in yards to kill fleas (and other bloodsucking insects). And it's used in an oral tablet given to dogs (not cats) which is called Comfortis.


But I like the greenhouse solution best, and many are using tunnels and hoop houses to help mitigate the extremes we've been experiencing with weather and insect issues due, probably, to global warming.
In Texas more and more people are using hoop houses covered in shade cloth to mitigate the harsh sun and warmer springs. Then they'll cover them with the white cloth in the cooler seasons to grow things year round. Very few bug problems, more efficient water use and generally much more control over the environment.

...sigh. Makes me sad though that all this is needed.

[mopinko]

2. you can't kill the larvae. you have to kill the beetle. or

keep them off the plants. they lay their eggs in the stem when the plant has only 2-4 true leaves. then they chew their way out, hollowing out the stem, and rupturing the veins. some people put little caps over the seedlings made of screen.

it doesn't have to be a greenhouse, just start them in the window. or find a greenhouse that sells them. i find that the garden industry has changed a lot since i was a kid. you don't have to know stuff like planting bulbs in the fall. so i think these type of things are easier to find than they used to be. he also bought green bean plants.

[beac]

3. Not sure the 2-4 leaves rule always applies.

I've bought zucchini and squash transplants two years in a row. Both times, the plants were well past 2-4 leaves. Here in Virginia it seems like a very EARLY planting and a very LATE second planting is the best strategy to avoid the egg-laying period.

I'll probably have to start some from seed and beg a friend w/ a greenhouse to keep the plants for a late planting this year, as no garden centers seem to have zucchini plants in stock after early June.

[kurtzapril4]

4. I wrap the lower stems

of my squash with a layer or two of old pantyhose. Works like a charm.

[beac]

5. I tried that with cheesecloth last year.

Sadly, it didn't work for me. I have VERY determined borers. :(