On my daily walk through the garden I took a closer look at my remaining zucchini vines. All but the youngest (in another section of the garden) had evidence of squash vine borer infestation. This is what the larva looks like. Not a great picture but you get the idea. It is an immature form of a moth. As I was inspecting an adult moth flew right past me. I wasn’t able to get a picture but you can see one and get more info at the Univ. of Ky Entomology site.
I decided to break down and treat with Bt. This is one of the few times in the past three years I’ve had to use anything. Usually I am able to remove the infested vines and go about my business. This year though they seem to be worse than normal. Perhaps it is the lack of rain. Perhaps fewer gardens in the area.
I mixed up the Bt according to the directions on the lable. I picked mine up at Worms Way earlier this year just in case. A syringe would have worked better but all I had was an eye dropper left over from the baby rabbits so I made due. I injected some Bt into the holes I could find and applied the remaining to the one uninfested plant. More than likely I’ll need to treat again as per the directions. I am also going to mound some soil over the base of the vines of the infested plants.
I hate those evil creatures!! One of the best things (among many) about living in Maine is that we don’t have SVB. In NJ, they used to attach us relentlessly. The down side (I think) is ending up with WAAAY too many zucchs because everybody lives.
Thanks for your comments on my blog. I have no idea what kind of spider made that web, only that there were literally hundreds in the tall grass. Love your spider pic a few posts back! 🙂
Liz, welcome. Yes I could do without SVB but am not sure this California born girl could live through a Maine winter. It took me years to get used to Kentucky winters and they are really not that bad.
LOL Imagine going from CA to indiana winters…thats ME. LOL. Kentuky is not so bad 😛 I would probebly die in maine. I dont know how I am going to survive another winter here as it is. BTW, that grub photo is nasty. glad I wasnt eatting LOL
I get these each year in Late June and through July on Long Island. The trick is to get them early before they chew up the vine.
Do this by inspecting the underside of leaves for dark-red to brown eggs about the size of a grain of sugar. Remove them and brush Sevin insecticide on the underside of the leaves and the entire vine to protect against eggs that may be missed.
If you see brown mushy spots your are too late. Clip the leaf from the base and cut open. You will see the larvae which have a distinctive black dot on their heads. Disgard the entire leaf in the trash. If you see mushy areas on the vine, cut open with a knife and remove borers.
Repeat inspection daily until no sign of pest.
There are also sex-lure traps that can be used to reduce adult population.
Great point. It it much easier to treat before the larva gets into the stem. I dont use Sevin but I will spray some Bt at weekly intervals to try to keep them at bay.
It is possible but more difficult to eradicate SVB at the point where they have entered the vine but it can be done.