Squash vine borers

[fishboy1]

Lost 2 more zucchini plants today. Autopsy on the plants revealed several grubs munching away on the vines.

They now sleep with the chickens.

Dusted all the remaining stems with seven dust. Im hoping that the adult borers will get a dose when they lay their eggs and die.

Then when the egg hatches it will die from the dust before it can bore into the stem and start killing the plants.

Anybody else have a preventative method for these little monsters?

 

[catman529]

I tried growing atlantic giant pumpkins once. Had good seed stock coming from 800-1000+ pound pumpkins. Then the vine borers got the plants while they were still young.

 

[fishboy1]

Yeah, they got all our pumpkins last year.
Then the squash,
Then the cantaloupes and honeydews last.

 

[catman529]

That's pretty bad... luckily I haven't had it happen to my winter squash or melons. I got some pumpkins growing this year and they look great right now, hope they produce well. It was only the atlantic giants that got it, a couple years ago.