How to Get Rid of Squash Bugs and Vine Borers Naturally

[@user-ym5io2ul1o]

My best result is to do surgery. I slit the vine open where the dead vine stops and the healthy vine begins. I remove the white caterpillar with the black head, that's the vine borer. Kill it. Then I cover the vine up with dirt and it continues to grow. It works beautifully.

[@GardensAllSite]

Yes that has worked with us too when we could identify a limited number of SVB's . It was more challenging when the SVB's worked their way up the vine. So good to catch them early. Thanks for writing in!

[@kayakcaster1073]

Hi, heres what ive found ,for the vine boarer, phermone traps work over time. You will catch the males only. Thus reducing fertility rates over time. I additionally spray bacillus thirungus on the first foot the main stem with a small spray bottle keeping tight controll on the target species. The new thing i am trying is mounding dirt on the vine as it gets long. (See james friggioni,s videos) it allows the plant to root and can be cut loose if the first part gets hit For the squash bugs i put a board under the area of the squash. They like to hide under it and can be dealth with when you flip the board or stomp it. Also look for egg masses and scrape them into soapy water. When things get out of hand i wait for evening when the flowers close as squash bees over night in the closed flower, I then carefully use more intense organic like safer insectidal soap . Good luck ,keep growing.

[@georgepainter4840]

I'm trying nematodes this year for the first time. Been gardening over 50 years.

[@MeMe-sy4sb]

I purchased a japanese beetle trap from Home Depot… amazing!!! They were flying in the bag before I even made it to my porch.

[@CitizenKate]

The best remedy for squash bugs I've, uhhh, "used", is one that Mother Nature so graciously provided. (She must have decided I needed a break.) A pair of toads showed up in my garden and set up house. They got their morning showers from my irrigation system and sat under my night time porch light feasting on june bugs and other beetles. They returned the favor by eating all the squash bugs and numerous other species of bugs, keeping the garden relatively free of insect threats. Plus they were good company... almost like pets. "Hiya, Buster, how was your night?" I'd love it if I could repeat this every year. I'm going to check out those SVB moth traps - we have a lot of problems with them and that looks very promising!

[@GardensAllSite]

Nature's way is the BEST!!! Thanks for sharing!

[@robertreed7767]

I live in Missouri, and my neighbors have a stream running through their property, they allowed me to gather the very rough sand mix that accumulates in some areas, and I bring it up and use it as a thick top layer over my mounds for my vines. It is full of Nutrients and it warms quickly and retains heat through the evenings, which I believe really helps get them going. It retains moisture just as well as any other mulch, and I believe it helps deter normal pests from seeking shelter in it.

[@GardensAllSite]

Such a cool amendment! Glad you've had success. Green thumbs up!

[@jackiebishop9574]

You guys are driving me nuts. I can't really rotate my crops in general from where I grow my squash due to the size of my back yard. I work six days a week with an hour drive one way to work, I do not get home until around 7:30 pm, if I don't stop to grocery shop. I research all last winter about vine borers, and determined that last few years my squash growing failures was due to them. This year I put up a moth trap, seen a few caught. kill one or two, been inspecting my plants for eggs when I have any day light while watering. Today I lost every single Squash plant, but one. Watching all these video.....oh just do surgery. Let me tell you about that. the first plant I try the surgery 1 inch slit, 2 inches, three inches ..oh hell I pull the plant up and slit all the way up. Yes! did find the vine borer. There is no way that is going to survive! Yes had to do that to my entire crop of squash except one. I am at the point where it going to get the BT treatment. I am replanting, going to give the new plants the continues BT treatment. If, that does not work I am thinking scorch earth, nuclear destruction.

[@GardensAllSite]

www.gardensall.com/tetsukabuto-squash/ This is what we planted last year as well as spraying a mix of Kaolin clay (Surround WP, Neem oil, and BT liquid) on a routine basis. This was at a garden we only visited 1 or 2 times a week. We're doing the same this year, plus trying out a supposed SVB resistant summer squash-Tromboncino. We've had very similar losses, like you, in the past-but have hopefully found a few solutions. Wishing you the best!

[@lauranilsen8988]

@@GardensAllSite How was your tromboncino? In the spring this year I grew it along with a few other "resistant" varieties of squash (Tatume, Lemon squash, and Buttercup). The Buttercup had little to no resistance. The Tatume lasted longer but is so wild with so many stems and leaves to check daily. I just pulled my last Tromboncino (of 3). The stems get so thick that you can keep cutting the stem and they keep going but they DO still get the vine borers. I still have one lemon squash that rerooted from a healthier part of the stem (then I cut and pulled the very damaged original stem). The stems on all of those were damaged but the plants did produce a little and continued to have healthy leaves for a long time. I have a new Tromboncino about14" tall and just noticed a bunch of eggs on the stem IN AUGUST! I thought by August the SVB was gone. 😫

[@GardensAllSite]

@@lauranilsen8988 Thanks for your comments and question re Trombocino. We lost most of our cucurbits to what we assume is a cucumber beetle virus, and so went this year's squash crop including the Tromboncinos. Once we're able to more carefully attend (next year), we'll definitely be planting more Trombocino. It held up last year right to September in resisting the squash bugs. And the Tetsukabuto's did the same. The Delicata was infested by mid season. If you grow organically like we do, it pays to be vigilant but the ecosystem is full of surprises-just like the cucumber beetle virus. So thanks for the rundown on your season, Lauran. I suppose the lesson is that no squash plant is impervious to attack by SVB's, squash bugs, viruses, etc. Cheers and best wishes for next season!

[@kelliwagner7]

Great video! We’ve had a horrendous time with squash bugs and vin borers. I bought those traps at the end of the season last year and will be trying them out for the first time this year. *fingers crossed*

[@GardensAllSite]

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it. Sorry you had a horrendous time. We've been there too and know the struggle. YES... fingers crossed. We now do it all, injections too, as needed. Wishing you the best of success!

[@GardensAllSite]

Best of luck, Kelli. Please, keep us posted on how they do.

[@andreavandekleut6379]

as soon as I saw blooms coming up i laid down a thick layer of cut straw down around the plant so nothing would touch the dirt . so far so good , i sen 1 bug landing on it and sprayed , water and soap on them and it seemed to work ( for now ) i

[@GardensAllSite]

Good tip!

[@papablueshirt]

I know how they can decimate your plants. I usually plant those types of plants early in the season and will get one picking before the bugs take over. I tried a late season planting last year and it was a disaster LOL. I am now seeing some in my indoor grow room. I do not have any squash in there, but I do have an eggplant that they seem to be attracted to. I was squashing them, but found an easier way. I just take a plastic bottle with a little bit of soap water and they die within minutes. So soap spray seems to affect them fast. Thanks for posting, I will try some of these tips this year.

[@GardensAllSite]

Good luck this season-we'll also experiment with your method for knocking out the visible bugs. Cheers!

[@karensinclair1954]

I squash the adults and take tape to remove eggs. I do that daily and check twice a day at times. As to SVB I may have seen one, I'm not certain. Will check again.

[@GardensAllSite]

It sounds like you're very diligent. That's great! Good luck with the SVB's if you discover any more. Happy gardening!

[@rhondadean5455]

won't the bees get in sticky trap too? I bought 4 of these already. worried for the bees tho

[@GardensAllSite]

Hey Rhonda! Sorry for the late reply. No bees were found there. They're not attracted to whatever pheromones are put into these traps to attract the pests.

[@rhondadean5455]

@@GardensAllSite oh t y. I just put my Viva traps out yesterday around the little squash plants and cantaloupe that's just sprouting. I've worked towards this garden ( beds x3 ) since December. Had 4 yards rich soil delivered. Almost 300.00 maybe more. 260.00 to lawn men to cart it from driveway to beds. Two new beds were little over 200.00. Gardens are not cheap to set up. Ordered lots of seeds too for future. Growing 16 different foods and medicine flowers I've never grown before. I've always used Thomas Jefferson seeds but this year trying seeds from numerous companies. Either plants are very hardy with strong will to thrive or I inherited my maternal grandmother green thumb and learned by watching her without realizing it or just how much it would be with me thru life. Happy growing have a great harvest.

[@GardensAllSite]

@@rhondadean5455 Awesome! Great to hear from you an so GLAD that your garden is thriving. You're right. Starting a garden the best way with healthy soil and all is not cheap but it will reward you many times over in the best produce. Plus, it does get to be less expensive each year, because as the soil and your own compost continue to build up you won't need to import as much. GLAD you found the Viva traps and hoping they serve you well! And hoping the same for you: Great gardens and Happy harvests!

[@Raul28153]

so many people say they are going to do an up date and they never do. I suppose I should demand my money back.

[@GardensAllSite]

Apologies Raul. We've had to move to another county and relocate our garden. We've yet to continue experimenting with traps. The traps mentioned caught some SVB's but the lure didn't last more than 2 months. Thanks for commenting!

[@Raul28153]

@@GardensAllSite So , , , does this mean I won't be getting a refund?

[@CyndiConnard]

I would never thak a chance of lilling any bees that may fly into the sticky trap...its a no for me

[@GardensAllSite]

Understood. The feremone bait didn't seem to attract bees, but it could happen. Good thought !

[@mommaoinnh2674]

Was this 2021? Did the trap work?

[@GardensAllSite]

Hi Donna! Yes, it was 2021 and it worked along with other measures. We answered that in the comment below, which I'm also posting here too, in hopes that you might see it: "Thanks for asking! Indeed we've had pretty good luck with the spraying of kaolin to which we've now added neem oil and bacillus thuringiensis liquid. The traps did catch a few of the SVB's. However, I think the combination of the spray (done regularly and especially after a hard rain) PLUS selecting the Tetsukabuto winter variety has helped us stave off the squash marauders for most of the season so far. Check out out pics in the article linked below and you'll see how vigorous the "Tetsus" can be. www.gardensall.com/tetsukabuto-squash/

[@trishkcmo3683]

For the cost of the deterrent, you could have bought a ton of squash!

[@GardensAllSite]

Always the dilemma with DIY projects.

[@doncook3584]

Bought trap for cucumber beetle Amazon zero beetles but everything else. Gimmick

[@JeremyNiemczyk]

My Dad uses the Japanese beetle traps and those work unbelievably well for those! I don't know about the cucumber beetle though.

[@GardensAllSite]

Sorry to hear that. Keep on experimenting and you'll likely find a solution. Cheers!

[@russellgordon865]

I am in Rockford, IL trying for the first time to grow winter squash for our local food pantry. I did not know what a squash vine borer was and they destroyed the crop. I have replanted with moscata #51 butternut, and only your video showed these. I used traps for other pests in Serbia, but did not know these were available here. Thanks, mates!

[@GardensAllSite]

Ahh... sorry for that loss! Our garden was completely destroyed last week by groundhogs! And yes... the Squash Vine Borer (SVB) is a squash nemesis to be sure. Hoping the Moscata #51 butternut is a winner for you!

[@russellgordon865]

Nope. No such luck. By the time the borers had destroyed the crop, the re-seeding is too late. I will plant more tomatoes and peppers in these containers next year. Live, learn, and die trying anyways ;-) @@GardensAllSite

[@rosaibarra725]

Where do you buy the Viva trap?

[@GardensAllSite]

Sorry to have missed your question earlier, Rosa! We got our Viva trap from Amazon. I'm not seeing any there right now, but there are other brands. [See more below] amzn.to/3PuXGPE #afflink We will continue using these because they do seem to help because we're capturing vine borers in them. However, there's always a question on these traps relative to whether they might also be attracting more of the pest to your area. The BT injections into affected areas of the stems have been the most effective thing we've done to get rid of them, aside from growing SVB resistant squash such as the Tetsukabuto and butternut squash. www.gardensall.com/tetsukabuto-squash/

[@ticktock2383]

No mulch, no cardboard

[@GardensAllSite]

Thanks. We haven't yet gone without mulch but sometimes did not use cardboard as a first layer in the raised bed. What we did was shift from the SVB's favored squash to varieties which were more resistant.

[@danbarnes1948]

you did not say how to get rid of squash bugs

[@GardensAllSite]

Good catch, Dan. Since we use only organic pest control we're limited to mild sprays (neem oil, pyrethrin, soap, etc), crop covers work till the plants grow too big, plant rotations, or skipping a year before planting squash, and hand picking eggs, nymphs, and adults. Plant varieties that are more resistant like butternut, tromboncino, and Tesukabuto. That's all that we've been deploying and still we get some damage from squash bugs and borers. Hope this helps for next year. Cheers!

[@foxawaycottage7272]

I hope you will post an update on your garden. I have lost my winter squash plants every year to the vine borer. I've used diatomaceous earth and that seems to work on the squash bugs, as long as you are diligent. It really did not seem to have any impact on the SVB.

[@GardensAllSite]

Thanks for asking! Indeed we've had pretty good luck with the spraying of kaolin to which we've now added neem oil and bacillus thuringiensis liquid. The traps did catch a few of the SVB's. However, I think the combination of the spray (done regularly and especially after a hard rain) PLUS selecting the Tetsukabuto winter variety has helped us stave off the squash marauders for most of the season so far. Check out out pics on the GardensAll facebook page and you'll see how vigorous the "Tetsus" can be. facebook.com/PilotsPeakCabinRetreat/posts/4174327699325368 Cheers!

[@AH-yr3ge]

Did the traps work real well for you?

[@GardensAllSite]

Hi AH, The traps were marginally effective. They did trap a dozen or so SVB's but we still had issues at about the same level as the year before. It's always a dilemma using pheromones to attract a pest and possible adding to the infestation. So these traps may be more effective in a newer garden setting that doesn't have a history of SVB's. Hope this helps.

[@timmmmmmmmmmy1]

​@@GardensAllSite, you might give thought to the natural pesticide book of jadam. 😊

[@GardensAllSite]

Thank you!@@timmmmmmmmmmy1 We've located these on Amazon and will start with some of his KZbins. Definitely looks good, so really appreciate that tip! Guessing you're using it and it's working for you...?