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Old August 22, 2016   #15
zeroma
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: SW Ohio
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What you think is the squash vine borer isn't. You are picking off Squash bug eggs, they will lay eggs on and under leaves in little clusters of brownish red color. The adult of the svb looks like a wasp/moth. The svb has a different lifecycle from the squash bug.

See the pictures of them in this link:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/...h-vine-borers/ this is really full of great information!!!

What helps is to plant your squash plants later in the season by a month or more. That way the adults (red looking moth/wasp that when it flies is noisy) that lay the eggs will be all done.

Or you can use row covers if you start the plants as soon as your soil warms up in the spring.

It also seems that when you water on a hot day, they come out in droves. One day I did that and I must of easily caught 50 of them in one shot.

What you wrote:
"The SVB, there's not much I can do, they are too fast and too many. They are still out there laying their eggs. This is late for them compared to last year. I have pulled out a good 50 worms from my plants. About 6 a succumbed to their death from the borer, unfortunately."

My question, what is it that you are saying are too fast? a bug or a worm? When do you "see" the SVB? It isn't the SVB that lays the eggs. I think you are still seeing something other than SVB which is the larva (worm) which doesn't lay eggs, but grows inside the stem of the plant.

Here is a link that shows infant white and black adult squash bugs that do move fast in a video:
http://extension.umd.edu/growit/insects/squash-bug

Good luck with your zucchini growing next year.


zeroma

Last edited by zeroma; August 22, 2016 at 09:56 PM.
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