Squash Vine Borers (SVB)(Melittia cucurbitae)

[ducks4you]

I posted about this last year. For at LEAST 3 years straight I got
--NO cucumbers
--NO pumpkins (yes, Virginia, I have the room for them)
--NO zucchini squash
I have been at my wit's end until I heard something on "MidAmerican Gardener" last week. Somebody called in and asked how to defeat them. The bug guy gave ME a "V-8 Moment." He said, why don't you wait to put your plants out until after they've left?
=/
No WONDER I got great squash crops when I started my garden in late June/July.
Here's a little research.
"The complete life cycle of the squash bug requires 6-8 weeks."
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/veg/leaf/squash_bug.htm
and control...
...clean up all curcubit debrie from your garden...
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74144.html
I'm putting mine out late this year.
I hope this helps anybody who loves zucchini and cucumbers and hubbard squash and pumpkins as much as me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Ducks, are you mixing your metaphors?

The title of the thread is Squash Vine Borers while your links are Squash Bugs. Both are really really nasty. I suspect what you are talking about is the bugs, not the borers, since you probably are looking at the pictures.

I haven't tried what you are talking about, planting them early. I totally skipped planting anything the bugs eat two years ago, hoping if they din't get a chance to eat and reproduce there would not be many of them this past year. Wrong! Within a week or so of starting to bear the zucchini and summer squash were dead from the bugs. I crushed a lot of squash bug eggs and adults too.

Supposedly in the north the borers only have one generation each year but in the south they can have two. I think those darn bugs can have three generations in the south.

Planting them late is worth a try. Good luck!

 

[ducks4you]

Maybe I am mixing. I often mix drinks, at home, when I am not driving.
Anyway, I have BOTH--UGLY, NASTY BEASTIES.
And, it is true, several years ago, when I planted late, I never saw either of them.
Dang it, I want more pickles this year!!!!!

 

[journey11]

Ducks, I have noticed that before too, when I set out a late crop of cukes they did much better than one I hurried to put in right after my last frost.

ETA: They will bring powdery mildew to your plants too. Nasty buggies.

 

[catjac1975]

I believe in consecutive planting so that you might hit it right to avoid pests. I let my chickens into the veggie garden all winter and I think they help by eating overwintering larva. The winter squash Rumbo seems to hold up against squash pests. Also grow vine type of squash. That way you can put soil every few feet along the vine. If the base gets attacked by the borer the rest of the vine should continue to grow as roots form where you have buried it. Control yellow cucumber beetles in the spring with rotenone (organic). This way the plants aren't already compromised in their health and strength.