You can also squirt the opening full with BT and/or Spinosad mixture and that’ll kill the sucker too. That will actually help kill any other worms inside of there that you didn’t see or that make their way to that point a little later on. But actually the best practice is avoidance by covering the stems with foil and the plant with a row cover fabric to keep bugs out until after the brood dates. Also, removing male flowers until a female flower is ready to be pollinated is a good way to attract less of them.
BT works well, i'm not a fan of Spinosad myself but if it works for you thebn that's what matters most. We don't have to many other squash worms here other than the borers so BT would probably be sufficient for that anyway. I agree though, a multi-pronged approach including row cover or foil or both combined with pheromone traps and hand removal of eggs and adults and even some trap cropping would be the best approach. Thanks for checking out the video!
and you can really get in there and cut deep too. I have found 3-6 of these little bastashes in my plants. I have opened up my vine for about a 5 inch split and opened vine completely up and once you get all the little suckers out pack with finished compost and the plant wont even miss a beat. I also suggest growing them in a tomato cage or trellis them to grow vertical makes keeping an eye for them much easier. Good Luck fellow gardeners.
I also set out yellow plastic lids with several drops of dishsoap and olive oil, mixed in water..attracts the moths and they can't fly out drowning them before (hopefully) laying their eggs.. larva... Borers!
We have had several zucchini plants fall over. I just found this video and I wish that I would have known sooner. I went outside to my last remaining plant and sliced at the stalk just like you suggested and there were three grubs destroying the plant. I think I may be too late, but hopefully it will recover. I went to the other plant that just completely broke off at the ground with a mushy mess and there were 6 grubs in it. I am glad to learn this. I only got 3 zuchini the whole summer. I thought that it was due to too much water, but it was for sure this little grub. Thank you!
what about the other 2 or 3 borers that were probably inside that plant? i've found as many as 4 borers inside 1 squash vine. a better way is to take a thin knife and slice several inches along the vine so you can pry it open and remove ALL of the borers. then close the gash and cover the damaged stem with soil so it can heal itself.
I actually found 5 in mine, and I live in Canada, AND I am the only squash grower for 5 blocks... my neighbors grew squash last year though. I mean they have 1 zuchinni but it is very healthy so it isnt a culprit.
My zucchini are usually dead by july 4th. my garden was shaded quite a bit. Recently my neighbor knocked down quite a few shade trees and my zucchinis are still healthy. Not sure , but I think the bugs like the shade they had before and don't like the sun now pouring in on the garden.
First time harder ers this season I planted zucchini until mid August I noticed the root rotted out so I pulled the whole thing thinking it was dead next year I will be much more educated for these lil critters thanks
Sometimes I would find my plants slightly torn up out of the soil and I would put them back with extra soil around them and they would be fine. I always wondered if mice or some creature like that was pulling them up and getting grubs out for me. Never noticed any poo, but I wasn't looking.
The best thing to do is plant as early as possible for your area, so that the plants have time to mature before the borers become active. Also, any squash in the "Moschata" family will be naturally resistant to borers, these include butternut and acorn squashes as well as a few types of pumpkins. Avoid Squash in the Maxima family as they are more susceptible, especially the Hubbard types. You can also try pheromone traps if you can find them.
Curious. Couldn't you start preemptively spraying BT to kill the eggs and larva with no damage to the plant? Would require spraying about every three days for a while.
Bt. works great for sure at preventing the worms from getting in in the first place, this is more of a method for how to deal with any that get past your first line of defense. oftentimes with organic gardening we have to use an "all of the above" strategy in dealing with pests so it's good to have multiple tools in your arsenal, I always say, there is no silver bullet in organic gardening, you have to use silver buckshot. Happy gardening!
Zone 9 here lost my entire winter garden going to pull it up next week it’s dead. Ewe squishy. How can I treat my ground . I’ve raised pumpkins and squash never saw one of these
Squash is a summer plant so it's possible your plants died from cold weather. You can also use pheromone traps in addition to weekly Bt. treatments. Some say beneficial nematodes can help but you can only treat your own yard and garden space so if the moths fly in from elsewhere that treatment won't be effective. Good luck!
@@gofigure4920 gosh Thankyou ! BT? That’s a hoot. Already fighting cancer. I am very sad that it’s being sold like round up. I had no idea it was sprayed on the hay to dry it out. Fed it to my cows and then I ate the beef. I do use DE I will do this starting today I have fifty lbs out there. Thanks for taking time to help.
I've done surgery on my squash plants like this too with limited success.My problem this year was a gopher that took up residence in my squash row going one after another,think I may have got him no more signs of it.They chew the roots right off the bottoms of the mature plants.You go out in the morning and the plant is flat as a pancake.
Please tell me how you got rid of the gopher. I think mine are gophers or voles, moles or some such little demons. I have tried the juicy fruit gum liberally and it did nothing to stop them so it was basically an old wives tale with no value.
@@fishnlady Open up the burro and set a gopher trap, set and gently put it in the hole. You can get traps on line or at most feed stores. Make sure you stake the trap, I've lost 3 because I didn't. They can be elusive little rodents. Cover the hole with a piece of plywood or anything that's flat and rigid so no light gets in, they hate light. You may have to try this 2 or 3 times as they will try to cover up the trap. You can also try gopher pellets (Tractor Supply has them) using the same method. Wait 24 hours between checks, good luck!
put aluminum foil around the stem on tomatoes and other plants to prevent the cut worm from cutting the plant off at the base, it also works to prevent the moth from laying eggs of the vine borer
Plants are pretty resilient and can withstand a lot of messing with. In this plant there was just one worm but there could be many more, you just have to fish around in there and make sure they all are out of there. Good luck!
Thanks for uploading this but I must say, I think you cut in the wrong direction. By cutting as you did you unnecessarily cut through too much vascular tissue. It would have been better to cut parallel to the vascular tissue and use a tool to pry it open. That might split the vine open a bit more but the vascular tissue will be intact.
SVB These pests have plagued me for many years, I have SURVIVERS, this year! I planted cucumbers! and ran them up an old yard umbrella, circled with my yellow straight neck squash, the cucumber vines grew up and over making a beautiful ☔ of vines over the squash, which are producing huge fruits and NO BORERS!!! might be a fluke but I'll take it!
Lisa's World on You Tube has a video talking about planting cucumber plants then a little later the squash plants. She believes the cucumbers protect her zucchini from the borer moths. She did it two years in a row and no borers. ruclips.net/video/cEOrcPcJ_Bc/видео.html
They killed my zucchini before i knew what they were and now Ive been killing them off my cucumbers, acorn squash, and spaghetti squash. They are targeting all the flowers and fruits however and only a few in the actual plant stems.
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens neem oil is organic. It is cold pressed from the Neem tree seeds. Generally it only affects plant eating insects unless you direct hit one with the stuff. Use as directed and it won't contaminate anything.
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens OECD says: "Beta-exotoxins are known to be toxic to humans and almost all other forms of life and its presence is prohibited in B. thuringiensis microbial products" Hmmm....Seems I can't catch a break....
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens it is only toxic to honeybees if you spray them with it or it is still went when they arrive. Instructions say to spray very late afternoon or evening so it dries. What is BT?
I have given ip in squash so man6 times but every year someone gives a plant . I do better in fall but have had then grow 4 ft wide and 1 fruit way too much real estate for 1 fruit lol
I just cut about 30 out of my 3 zucchini plants. Should I spray them with neem oil and wrap them with foil to save them? I’m so upset. This happened last year too. This year i used new containers, new dirt...is it too late to replant and would it be okay to plant on the same spot?
I've not had borer problems with Butternut squash (the best kind as it has more meat than seeds). But they did attack my pumpkins. How does one prevent the borer from getting in? I've noticed the borers in pumpkin and some squash. I don't have this problem with Butternut Squash. Here is an idea that may or may not work: Some videos claim that insects and other pests are repelled by the smell of vinegar and/or tea leaves (leaves left over from your tea breaks). How about covering the stems and the area around the stems of the young squash and pumpkin plants with tea leaves? I plan to try this next Spring as it is now August. It may take a long time to accumulated old tea leaves. If you can get a coffee shop or restaurant to save the tea and coffee grounds for you, that would be great. I got the help at our HyVee Deli to save these for me for my garden soil. Earthworms like coffee grounds. Out of 20 pumpkin plants this year, only one survived. I did get a good pumpkin crop, and no borers in the Butternut squash.
Took a photo of the actual moth, did not know what it was at the time. Found the grubs recently, nestled inside the young zucchini, so at least I know what to do. Thank you.
What do the borers feed on when there is no squash I the area because I am one of few in my neighborhood that gardens but there are still plenty of these things to kill every squash plant
I saw the moth on my kidney beans. Now they are dying. So I am go in to see what is really going on with my beans. It was my first time seeing that bug.
You can also squirt the opening full with BT and/or Spinosad mixture and that’ll kill the sucker too. That will actually help kill any other worms inside of there that you didn’t see or that make their way to that point a little later on. But actually the best practice is avoidance by covering the stems with foil and the plant with a row cover fabric to keep bugs out until after the brood dates. Also, removing male flowers until a female flower is ready to be pollinated is a good way to attract less of them.
BT works well, i'm not a fan of Spinosad myself but if it works for you thebn that's what matters most. We don't have to many other squash worms here other than the borers so BT would probably be sufficient for that anyway. I agree though, a multi-pronged approach including row cover or foil or both combined with pheromone traps and hand removal of eggs and adults and even some trap cropping would be the best approach. Thanks for checking out the video!
and you can really get in there and cut deep too. I have found 3-6 of these little bastashes in my plants. I have opened up my vine for about a 5 inch split and opened vine completely up and once you get all the little suckers out pack with finished compost and the plant wont even miss a beat. I also suggest growing them in a tomato cage or trellis them to grow vertical makes keeping an eye for them much easier. Good Luck fellow gardeners.
When you say pack with compost, what do you mean?
Shamwell15 To fill the hole where the worm was with compost
I also set out yellow plastic lids with several drops of dishsoap and olive oil, mixed in water..attracts the moths and they can't fly out drowning them before (hopefully) laying their eggs.. larva... Borers!
We have had several zucchini plants fall over. I just found this video and I wish that I would have known sooner. I went outside to my last remaining plant and sliced at the stalk just like you suggested and there were three grubs destroying the plant. I think I may be too late, but hopefully it will recover. I went to the other plant that just completely broke off at the ground with a mushy mess and there were 6 grubs in it. I am glad to learn this. I only got 3 zuchini the whole summer. I thought that it was due to too much water, but it was for sure this little grub. Thank you!
Thanks for very important information.
God Bless you👍🌷
That was awesome. They took out three of my four plants. Hoping I could save the last one.
Wow, what an informational video. I now know how to get them little suckers. I enjoyed your video.
what about the other 2 or 3 borers that were probably inside that plant? i've found as many as 4 borers inside 1 squash vine. a better way is to take a thin knife and slice several inches along the vine so you can pry it open and remove ALL of the borers. then close the gash and cover the damaged stem with soil so it can heal itself.
I actually found 5 in mine, and I live in Canada, AND I am the only squash grower for 5 blocks... my neighbors grew squash last year though. I mean they have 1 zuchinni but it is very healthy so it isnt a culprit.
I never had luck with that - the plant always floundered and never produced much.
Great Video! These nasty things are my WOST ENEMY!!!!
Thank you. Very helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
My zucchini are usually dead by july 4th. my garden was shaded quite a bit. Recently my neighbor knocked down quite a few shade trees and my zucchinis are still healthy. Not sure , but I think the bugs like the shade they had before and don't like the sun now pouring in on the garden.
First time harder ers this season I planted zucchini until mid August I noticed the root rotted out so I pulled the whole thing thinking it was dead next year I will be much more educated for these lil critters thanks
Wonderful information to know! Thanks!!
Awesome. Thank you!
Sometimes I would find my plants slightly torn up out of the soil and I would put them back with extra soil around them and they would be fine. I always wondered if mice or some creature like that was pulling them up and getting grubs out for me. Never noticed any poo, but I wasn't looking.
To the point!
You did it !
Do you have any advice on how to prevent the attack in the first place?
The best thing to do is plant as early as possible for your area, so that the plants have time to mature before the borers become active. Also, any squash in the "Moschata" family will be naturally resistant to borers, these include butternut and acorn squashes as well as a few types of pumpkins. Avoid Squash in the Maxima family as they are more susceptible, especially the Hubbard types. You can also try pheromone traps if you can find them.
Curious. Couldn't you start preemptively spraying BT to kill the eggs and larva with no damage to the plant? Would require spraying about every three days for a while.
Bt. works great for sure at preventing the worms from getting in in the first place, this is more of a method for how to deal with any that get past your first line of defense. oftentimes with organic gardening we have to use an "all of the above" strategy in dealing with pests so it's good to have multiple tools in your arsenal, I always say, there is no silver bullet in organic gardening, you have to use silver buckshot. Happy gardening!
Zone 9 here lost my entire winter garden going to pull it up next week it’s dead. Ewe squishy. How can I treat my ground . I’ve raised pumpkins and squash never saw one of these
Squash is a summer plant so it's possible your plants died from cold weather. You can also use pheromone traps in addition to weekly Bt. treatments. Some say beneficial nematodes can help but you can only treat your own yard and garden space so if the moths fly in from elsewhere that treatment won't be effective. Good luck!
@@gofigure4920 gosh Thankyou ! BT? That’s a hoot. Already fighting cancer. I am very sad that it’s being sold like round up. I had no idea it was sprayed on the hay to dry it out. Fed it to my cows and then I ate the beef. I do use DE I will do this starting today I have fifty lbs out there. Thanks for taking time to help.
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens I have parakeets and brought in moths w some seed I purchased on line. The pheromone traps work good
I've done surgery on my squash plants like this too with limited success.My problem this year was a gopher that took up residence in my squash row going one after another,think I may have got him no more signs of it.They chew the roots right off the bottoms of the mature plants.You go out in the morning and the plant is flat as a pancake.
Please tell me how you got rid of the gopher. I think mine are gophers or voles, moles or some such little demons. I have tried the juicy fruit gum liberally and it did nothing to stop them so it was basically an old wives tale with no value.
@@fishnlady Open up the burro and set a gopher trap, set and gently put it in the hole. You can get traps on line or at most feed stores. Make sure you stake the trap, I've lost 3 because I didn't. They can be elusive little rodents. Cover the hole with a piece of plywood or anything that's flat and rigid so no light gets in, they hate light. You may have to try this 2 or 3 times as they will try to cover up the trap. You can also try gopher pellets (Tractor Supply has them) using the same method. Wait 24 hours between checks, good luck!
DesertDigger1 Thank you. I will go tomorrow and get some traps and poison.
@@fishnlady No problem Gail, glad to help. Just keep any pets away from the area.
Wow...I've heard of old farmers using aluminum foil around stem when planting
put aluminum foil around the stem on tomatoes and other plants to prevent the cut worm from cutting the plant off at the base, it also works to prevent the moth from laying eggs of the vine borer
How does that not kill the stem is there only one that is in there
Plants are pretty resilient and can withstand a lot of messing with. In this plant there was just one worm but there could be many more, you just have to fish around in there and make sure they all are out of there. Good luck!
I just pulled 6 plants bc of this! Wish I would have known this!
Thanks for uploading this but I must say, I think you cut in the wrong direction. By cutting as you did you unnecessarily cut through too much vascular tissue. It would have been better to cut parallel to the vascular tissue and use a tool to pry it open. That might split the vine open a bit more but the vascular tissue will be intact.
Correct, make the cut vertical.
SVB These pests have plagued me for many years, I have SURVIVERS, this year! I planted cucumbers! and ran them up an old yard umbrella, circled with my yellow straight neck squash, the cucumber vines grew up and over making a beautiful ☔ of vines over the squash, which are producing huge fruits and NO BORERS!!! might be a fluke but I'll take it!
Lisa's World on You Tube has a video talking about planting cucumber plants then a little later the squash plants. She believes the cucumbers protect her zucchini from the borer moths. She did it two years in a row and no borers.
ruclips.net/video/cEOrcPcJ_Bc/видео.html
Awesome who doesn’t hate these creatures whose purpose is to threaten my veggies. I do a dance when I squish one
They killed my zucchini before i knew what they were and now Ive been killing them off my cucumbers, acorn squash, and spaghetti squash. They are targeting all the flowers and fruits however and only a few in the actual plant stems.
are you sure they were BORERS in the cucumbers?
thats time consuming why don't you just inject bt or neem oil near the site?
spray bt at base of plant everyweek so if a moth was to lay a egg the grub will get sick and die.
marymonk true, I think the pesticide caution has gone too far. This is futile, tried it, I spray the base. Done!
Where do I find neem oil spary? Thanks
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens neem oil is organic. It is cold pressed from the Neem tree seeds.
Generally it only affects plant eating insects unless you direct hit one with the stuff.
Use as directed and it won't contaminate anything.
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens OECD says: "Beta-exotoxins are known to be toxic to humans and almost all other forms of life and its presence is prohibited in B. thuringiensis microbial products"
Hmmm....Seems I can't catch a break....
Gardener
ever try neem oil?
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens it is only toxic to honeybees if you spray them with it or it is still went when they arrive.
Instructions say to spray very late afternoon or evening so it dries.
What is BT?
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens neem oil is only supposed to affect insects that eat the plant.
feed em to the chickens lol
I have given ip in squash so man6 times but every year someone gives a plant . I do better in fall but have had then grow 4 ft wide and 1 fruit way too much real estate for 1 fruit lol
I have not had any vine bores yet, but I wanna be ready. Good video on a serious subject.
I just cut about 30 out of my 3 zucchini plants. Should I spray them with neem oil and wrap them with foil to save them? I’m so upset. This happened last year too. This year i used new containers, new dirt...is it too late to replant and would it be okay to plant on the same spot?
Thanks! Just what I was looking for and I'm glad you didn't have to use any chemicals!
I've not had borer problems with Butternut squash (the best kind as it has more meat than seeds). But they did attack my pumpkins.
How does one prevent the borer from getting in? I've noticed the borers in pumpkin and some squash. I don't have this problem with Butternut Squash. Here is an idea that may or may not work: Some videos claim that insects and other pests are repelled by the smell of vinegar and/or tea leaves (leaves left over from your tea breaks). How about covering the stems and the area around the stems of the young squash and pumpkin plants with tea leaves? I plan to try this next Spring as it is now August. It may take a long time to accumulated old tea leaves. If you can get a coffee shop or restaurant to save the tea and coffee grounds for you, that would be great. I got the help at our HyVee Deli to save these for me for my garden soil. Earthworms like coffee grounds. Out of 20 pumpkin plants this year, only one survived. I did get a good pumpkin crop, and no borers in the Butternut squash.
I just watched a great video from Old Alabama Gardener about how to keep them from getting to your vines. ruclips.net/video/YHz6tcY6DKQ/видео.html
Took a photo of the actual moth, did not know what it was at the time.
Found the grubs recently, nestled inside the young zucchini, so at least I know what to do.
Thank you.
@@SouthwestVictoryGardens
Many thanks. Have not found any other intruders lurking within the squash.
What do the borers feed on when there is no squash I the area because I am one of few in my neighborhood that gardens but there are still plenty of these things to kill every squash plant
bryce rush: they fly through the air until they pick up the scent of your squash plants. then they zero in like kamakaze pilots.
I saw the moth on my kidney beans. Now they are dying. So I am go in to see what is really going on with my beans. It was my first time seeing that bug.