Damn F*****G Squash Bugs.....Got our Zucchini.

[bvar22]

This is one of the hardest hits to take because it happens so quickly.
In the morning, the Zucchini can look absolutely beautiful... Green, Vibrant, Thriving...
AND,
by afternoon, it can look like this:

...Collapsing.


Whatever climate conditions conspired to give us a Bumper Crop of Strawberries also produced a bumper crop of Squash Bugs.
Over the last 3 seasons, we have adopted several "No Chemical" strategies to deal with these pests.
These methods have been based on more efficient and more effective hand picking,
including this:

We began spotting the Squash Bugs about a month ago, and waged a daily battle, picking off bugs and eliminating eggs, and until yesterday, felt we were winning.
The is hard to accept because the collapse happens so fast, even after all the daily work.

Oh Well.

We DID manage to harvest several good Zucchinis before this happened, and we have one plant still standing, so its not a total loss yet.


We are learning as we go, and still researching ways to deal with this.
It appears that THIS damage could be from the Squash Vine Borer, which is a moth larvae that bores its way into the hollow Zucchini stems, and then grows inside the stem, consuming the Zucchini plant from the inside out.... (Evil Bastards!!!)

One of our friends from this area who also practices "no chemical" gardening told us that he only plants Zucchini AFTER mid-July. He says that by late planting, he avoids the seasonal Larval Stage of the Vine Borer.

That makes sense to us, and we will plant Zucchini again in July along with several other 2nd Plantings, including Tomatoes.

The good news is that almost everything else is doing well, despite the lack of rain and unseasonable high heat.

BTW:
That structure in the background of the top photo is the Tater Tower.

This is our first year growing Potatoes.
We are using the Chicken Wire/Hay method...adding hay in layers and letting the vines grow up through the hay. In theory, potatoes will form under the layers of hay, making them much easier to "dig out". I am excited by the results so far, though Starkraven keeps warning me not to "Count my Taters before they hatch".

The potatoes in the Tater Tower are Yukon Golds.
I also noticed some young potato plants growing in our our Winter compost pile, so we started adding layers of hay to that one too.
I think those are Red Potatoes that got too ripe last Winter. We threw them on the Winter compost pile which we covered with hay in early Spring.
Maybe we will get some Red Potatoes too, though I am heeding Starkraven's advice.

Happy Summer Solstice to all of our friends here!
We will be dancing naked in the Garden Moonlight tonight...

.
.
.
.
well, maybe not Totally Nekked.....but in spirit!
Despite the 105 Heat Index, we picked enough wild Blackberries today to make some preserves.
Starkraven just brought me some of the still hot Jam to sample, ....and YUM!~

[dgibby]

1. You have my most heartfelt sympathy!

The same thing happened to me.

Maybe this will help you:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x13205

I managed to save 3 plants, even ones that had been partially chewed to the ground. You can split the stem, remove the grub, then pile soil around the wound.

Love the pics. They're gorgeous!:hi:

[bvar22]

10. Thanks.

We haven't tried splitting the stems yet, but that sounds effective.
We have one Zucchini still standing, and may try that this afternoon if we can stand the heat.
Forecast 100, no rain.

I've heard of another interesting method along this line.
Last year, I read somewhere that it was possible to inject a small amount of liquid BT into the stems to protect Zucchini from the larvae.
Sounds like it could work.
(BT is a bacteria that kills things like Tomato Hornworms and Cabbage worms. It kills them by disrupting their ability to digest food.)
It is certified Organic.
We have started using BT on some things like Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and grapes.
We prefer to use nothing, but we can't get any of those things here without the BT.
There is simply no way to pick worms off of cabbage.

I found this while looking for the BT method:

"The established controls for the squash vine borer are somewhat deficient. The gardener who goes on the offensive for controlling this pest will: A. Inject Bt into the hollow stems near the base. B. Slit open the stem, remove the borers, then cover the infected stem with soil in order to grow additional roots. C. Cover the plant base with shaving cream or some other barrier. D. Cover the plant with a row cover; then pollinate by hand. These procedures seldom work well because the borers from previous seasons have entered your soil and pupated. In fact, following the above prescriptions will insure that you continue year after year to cultivate the squash vine borer as though they were your pets. The Bt does not work, because the borers work in the solid portion of the plant base, and some always seem to escape. The slitting operation does not work because you always miss one or two borers, and the plant is too weak to save at that point anyway. The barriers and row covers don't work because your pets are already in place, despite your crop rotation efforts. The above are mostly anecdotal remedies, similar to those for slugs and snails; a real waste of time and effort.

With this pest, it is better to operate with defensive tactics. First, minimize your plantings of hollow stemmed cucurbits. Instead of pumpkins or winter squash, grow butternut squash. Limit your summer squash to a single variety or grow a solid stemmed variety such as Zucchetta rampicante (Pinetree Seeds Co.) As soon as your hollow stem summer squash starts to lay down from the weight of the plant, place aluminum foil on the ground underneath the stem at the base to disorient arriving moths. This will result in minimizing the attraction of your garden to the moth from adjacent and removed properties. Second, minimize the number of moths originating on your own property, by not allowing any larvae to reach the ground, ever. We'll discuss how to do that in the next paragraph. The result of this procedure, is that over time you will eliminate the number of moths hatching on your own property. And, in a few years you will have no moths except for the stray one that was blown to your property by the wind. Since you have minimized your hollow stem plantings, the outside incursions will be small, infrequent, and occur in random years if your immediate neighbors are not also growing hollow stemmed cucurbits. If they are, then you need to act in concert. If you live near to commercial growers of cucurbits, the problem may well be insurmountable. You would have to follow all of these suggestions in addition to protecting your plants with row covers. In addition, there may be some sections of the country where the squash vine borer moth is found in great numbers.

As to procedure, here is where I suggest you start: First, plan on succession plantings. Pretend that your zucchini is lettuce or any other veggie that we are accustomed to replant several times. Harvest as much fruit as you can before the stems are invaded. Inspect every day that you harvest, and guess when it is about one week before first leaf wilt, based on the amount of frass and the number of holes in the stem, then pull the entire plant out of the ground. Cut off the lower section containing the larvae, and place in a bucket of water, or soapy water, or no water - whatever it takes to destroy existing larvae, or at least prevent them from ever reaching any soil, so that they can never pupate, or wrap in plastic wrap and send to the landfill with your trash. Put the rest of the plant in your compost pile. Plant one or two (or more, depending upon family size) zucchini seeds every 14 to 21 days, so you will always have fruit all summer. Over the years, your squash vine borer problem will slowly disappear (again, depending upon your immediate neighbors.)

If you minimize the attraction, gradually destroy all those moths originating on your property, and plant successively, you will enjoy plenty of summer squash, and eliminate the need for chemicals on one more garden challenge. If you have but little space for summer squash, then your succession starts will have to be in containers. As you throw each infected plant away, another good sized one will be ready to take its place. Instead of having a continuous supply of squash, you might have to go without squash for a week or two between plants. That will not be hard to take, compared to the alternative."

http://tomclothier.hort.net/page30.html

This gardener does not think too much about the BT method.
I am attracted to the cyclic plantings, and destruction of the infected plants and on-board pests.

We have stopped composting anything that shows any sign of disease, fungus, or pest problems, and instead remove it from the garden and destroy it. We are also much quicker to pull up and destroy any plant that is showing any signs of struggling with a disease or fungus.
We used to try and nurse along sick plants, but that only puts the rest of the garden in jeopardy. This is especially true of Early Blight in tomatoes.

Thanks for the link,
and good luck with the rest of the year.

[dgibby]

14. Interesting article. Thanks.

I think I'm going to try planting some seeds in containers, and not try to replant the area that was affected. At least with the containers, I can keep the plants separated.

The rest of my garden is looking good. Tomatoes, green peppers, spagetti squash, and cukes are in good shape. I have watermelons and cantalopes coming along. The blueberry bushes are small, but thriving, grapes and strawberries are doing well. The kiwis, blackberry and raspberry vines didn't make it(waaahhh!).

Let me know if you have any success with the squash. Good luck!

[Vinca]

2. Squash bugs are far and away the worst bug in the garden.

IMO, of course. I thought I spotted one the other day and reactively grabbed it bare handed and squashed it before it got away. It was a stink bug.:rofl:

[bvar22]

8. I think they are all from that family.

We keep a couple of quart Mason Jars 1/2 filled with water by the Squash Plants. We throw the Squash Bugs in the jars to drown....easy...no mess...and some minor satisfaction watching them struggle as they drown.

[hippywife]

3. Sorry 'bout that, babe.

Even though we moved it to an different part of the garden, ours were wiped out, too. We even tore off whole leaves if they had eggs on them and pitched any we found at any stage to the chickens.

Those little buggers have been horrendous the past couple of years. :hug: :hi:

[bvar22]

9. Hi, neighbor.

Last year wasn't too bad here.
I was patting myself on the back, taking credit for all the things we had started doing to minimize the Squash Bugs...removing mulch and debris in the Winter (Squash Bugs over Winter in this layer), isolating the Squash Plants, clear perimeters around the Zucchini to make spotting and picking bugs easier, daily vigilance...

Some of them probably helped, but I now believe it had more to do with the Spring weather.
In addition to a Bumper Crop of Strawberries (and other berries and fruit), we also have an abundance of moths....hence the Vine Borers.
In addition to larger swarms of moths around lights and on the TV at night,
we also have had these:

An infant Luna Moth which we found drying its wings on the floor of our wood shop in the middle of the day. We carefully transferred it to a box, and set it free at twilight. I missed the shot of it flying off into the twilight. In our 4 Springs here, we have only seen one other Luna Moth.

And then there was this one, as yet unidentified:

Beautiful.
So its been a good year so far for moths.

Some of the suggestions in this thread are great, but the one I'm attracted to is simply planting a Zucchini crop sometime in Mid-July to avoid the larval stage of the Borer.


Check your PM.
:hi:

[hippywife]

15. PM'd back to you.

I think I am going to encourage Bill to go ahead and replant. He really wants those zukes. We were talking about what we wanted to plant next at this stage anyway.

I hope it works out for you to replant.

I'm at work right now so I'll try to catch up with you later. :hi:

[hippywife]

16. Planting again mid-july sounds like a winner.

Bill's all for the idea, too. Do you think we ought to start them inside due to the heat?

:hi:

[noamnety]

4. I'd suggest a different variety next year.

I got tired of doing battle with those bastards. You're right - they are taking advantage of the hollow stems to make their little homes. You can outsmart them by growing squash varieties with solid stems.

For summer squash try Zucchetta rampicante. I switched to it last year because of the bug issues (and because it looks cool). It tastes like zucchini, but it's a little nicer because the seeds are only down in the bulb part and most of it is completely seedless. And it's prolific (moreso than zucchini, if that's possible).

For winter squash, butternut squashes have the solid stems.

[wildeyed]

6. I LOVE rampicante, but I had issues with it last year, too.

The borers didn't totally wipe it out, but it was damaged and low productions, at least by rampicante standards. I have two going this year. I am sprinkling the stems with DE every few days to keep the nasties off. We will see how it goes. The plants are be-yooootiful so far. I have them on a large trellis this year instead of on the ground over running the entire garden. The huge leaves are almost tropical looking.

[bvar22]

11. Thanks.

We have Butternut right next to the Zucchini, and they are soldiering along.
"Zucchetta rampicante" is now on our list of things to plant.

[FedUpWithIt All]

5. I found this about squash vine borers

If you do see signs of squash vine borer:

* In the spring, the first mode of attack should be to monitor for eggs. If you can remove the eggs when they appear, you're half way there.

* The larvae usually bore into the stem where it meets the ground. Wrapping some foil around this area acts as a barrier.

* If you do see a vine wilting or notice a hole at the base, it's still possible to save the plant by making a vertical slit into the stem and removing the larvae by hand. The plant will heal. You can cover the wound with moist soil to promote more roots.

* And finally, you can pile some moist soil over the leaf joints near the in ground stem. They will root. So even if the stem is damaged, the plant won't die.

http://gardening.about.com/od/problemspests/f/Squash_Borer.htm

I figured it is at least good info to file away.

We LOVE you Tater Tower. That design is definitely something we would like to borrow from you when we set up our garden next year. Please, let us know how well it works as the season progresses.

As always, thank you for the lovely pictures.

[bvar22]

12. Thanks!

Good Info.

[wildeyed]

7. The tin foil idea above sounds great.

I am going straight out to try it. Also been using DE and allowing the adolescent chickens to peck around the plants. They are still young enough that they aren't damaging the garden plants (except for eating some of the pepper blossoms), but are good at scratching out the bugs.

[bvar22]

13. Now THERE is a good idea.

We currently have 3 adolescent Blue Coppers that will be perfect, and 11 Wellsummer chicks that will be ready for this in about 3 weeks.
The Coppers are going to LOVE their playtime in the garden this afternoon!

[wildeyed]

17. 11 Welsumers! I am sooooo jealous.

Must have been a very productive hatch for you. I want some ameraucanas and welsumers someday. I'll have the prettiest egg basket in town.

[beac]

18. I'm trying DE for the first time this year too. So far, so good...

I did try wrapping the stems (in cheesecloth, as the site I read recommended), but felt that it was holding in too much moisture against the stems. I removed it about a week ago and since they JUST recovered from a bad case of the pale-droopies (thanks to Lyric's miracle milk bath tip!), I am loathe to agitate them by re-wrapping their stems in tinfoil, but I might just have to and hope for the best. SVBs are nasty beasts!

I have a yellow mini-Frisbee upside down w/water in it near my squash as that is supposed to attract the adults (they fall in the water and die... BONUS!) and let you know when you should step up protection against the boring baby beasties.

I also planted icicle radishes all around the edges of the containers and I THINK I'm seeing fewer Squash Bugs from that as well.

[beac]

19. Tragic. Just tragic. SVBs are even worse than Squash Bugs.

:pals:

Glad you have the climate to try a late-July do-over. :)

[Vinca]

20. Grrrr . . . the "dang" squash bugs have appeared.

Yesterday I checked the squash a half dozen times and picked off adult bugs every time and destroyed eggs every time. I finally put some Rotenone around the base of the plants because I didn't know what else to do. Thanks for the yellow frisbee and aluminum foil tips. I'll also try that. I refuse to cede my squash this year!!