Squash Borers , again ...
 

I've been watching for eggs , and looks like they slipped past me again .
I was checking my acorns and zukes last night , and found frass ... and I
was ****ed . I'm pretty sure I got 'em all , all 3 zukes and both acorns had
the little *******s , but the worms were small , only about a half inch long
..
I was a bit surprised to find none on the cantalopes or pumpkins , but
I'll be keeping an eye out for signs . I really don't want to use chemicals
, but DE poses another set of problems . If it gets wet , it does no good
anymore . That means I'll have to change the way I water , and will have ro
reapply after every rainstorm or heavy dew .

Suggestions are welcome ...
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Squash Borers , again ...
 

On Thu, 7 Jun 2012 14:03:40 -0500, "Snag" wrote:

I was a bit surprised to find none on the cantalopes or pumpkins

What region are you located in?

Last year, I had really good luck just going out in the mornings and
plucking the adults ("shield bugs") and scraping off any egg clusters
that were found (not many). Thus far this year, I haven't seen any,
and I've got a couple dozen squash plants going already. A good pair
of tweezers is handy.

, but DE poses another set of problems . If it gets wet , it does no good
anymore . That means I'll have to change the way I water , and will have ro
reapply after every rainstorm or heavy dew .

Yea, I use DE for spot treatment in dry weather. I sprinkle it
through an old flour sifter. had a bunch of earwigs messing with
ornamentals in a planter, and not so much of a problem now.

Squash Borers , again ...
 

Sean Straw wrote:
On Thu, 7 Jun 2012 14:03:40 -0500, "Snag" wrote:

I was a bit surprised to find none on the cantalopes or pumpkins

What region are you located in?

I'm in Memphis Tn .

Last year, I had really good luck just going out in the mornings and
plucking the adults ("shield bugs") and scraping off any egg clusters
that were found (not many). Thus far this year, I haven't seen any,
and I've got a couple dozen squash plants going already. A good pair
of tweezers is handy.

I've been watching for the eggs , didn't see any , so I was a bit
surprised when I saw signs of the little buggers on the stems . I'll be
watching more closely from now on .
Last year they killed all my zucchini plants , but didn't touch the cants
.. I've already got a nice little zuke on one plant , and we're really
looking forward to slicing some up and grilling them .

, but DE poses another set of problems . If it gets wet , it does no
good anymore . That means I'll have to change the way I water , and
will have ro reapply after every rainstorm or heavy dew .

Yea, I use DE for spot treatment in dry weather. I sprinkle it
through an old flour sifter. had a bunch of earwigs messing with
ornamentals in a planter, and not so much of a problem now.

The only problem here is that we often get a heavy dew in the mornings .
I'd be out there re-applying every day ... I may have to resort to a
chemical solution to actually get some fruit this year , though that'll be
a last resort .
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Squash Borers , again ...
 

Snag wrote:
I've been watching for eggs , and looks like they slipped past me
again . I was checking my acorns and zukes last night , and found
frass ... and I was ****ed . I'm pretty sure I got 'em all , all 3
zukes and both acorns had the little *******s , but the worms were
small , only about a half inch long .
I was a bit surprised to find none on the cantalopes or pumpkins ,
but I'll be keeping an eye out for signs . I really don't want to use
chemicals , but DE poses another set of problems . If it gets wet ,
it does no good anymore . That means I'll have to change the way I
water , and will have ro reapply after every rainstorm or heavy dew .

Suggestions are welcome ...


It appears that I got all the little buggers , all five plants affected
are doing OK - though the one acorn squash that had 3 of them is still
stressed a bit . All the plants are flowering nicely , and one of the zukes
has a fruit just about ready for harvest . That one's getting sliced
lengthwise into quarter-inch ~9mm thicknesses and grilled over mesquite
charcoal .
Tomatoes are also doing well , lots of 'maters growing now and almost
every plant has multiple blossoms . Altogether I'm much happier with my
garden over last year , with the exception of the spinach - it never did
really get leafy and we like it a lot for salads .
--
Snag
Next year
I'm planting
my seedlings
earlier ...

Squash Borers , again ...
 

It seems you're confusing the OPs problem with another pest. "Squash bugs" are not the same as Squash vine borers, the larvae of a diurnal moth that resembles a wasp in flight.

On Thursday, June 7, 2012 2:18:53 PM UTC-5, Sean Straw wrote:
On Thu, 7 Jun 2012 14:03:40 -0500, "Snag" > wrote:

> I was a bit surprised to find none on the cantalopes or pumpkins

What region are you located in?

Last year, I had really good luck just going out in the mornings and
plucking the adults ("shield bugs") and scraping off any egg clusters
that were found (not many). Thus far this year, I haven't seen any,
and I've got a couple dozen squash plants going already. A good pair
of tweezers is handy.

>, but DE poses another set of problems . If it gets wet , it does no good
>anymore . That means I'll have to change the way I water , and will have ro
>reapply after every rainstorm or heavy dew .

Yea, I use DE for spot treatment in dry weather. I sprinkle it
through an old flour sifter. had a bunch of earwigs messing with
ornamentals in a planter, and not so much of a problem now.