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Old August 25, 2016   #24
gorbelly
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brownrexx View Post
Yes, it definitely seems like an overnight event to us but according to PA State entomologists the larvae feed for 4 weeks before killing the plant. This is probably why I have good luck with injecting the bt into the stems before I even see any damage. if you wait until you see the damage, then it will probably be too late. I know that they will infect my plants so I inject the bt as a preventative. It is the only way I feel confident that I will have zucchini.

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsh...ash-vine-borer
Some people refuse to use Bt or don't know about it. All I meant was that, for many people, their experience of squash vine borers is that they seem to kill plants overnight. I'm not disputing that the SVB actually takes a long time to kill the plant. If one is not aware of preventative methods that actually work (a lot of the "home remedy" methods don't), then the plant dies very quickly from the moment one notices symptoms, and that's just how I personally interpreted eldemila's original statement about how SVBs are "too fast".

I think your advice to inject Bt preventively is great. I'm not disputing that, either. A lot of advice sources say it doesn't work, but they generally are talking about injecting it after symptoms are noticed already, at which point, the damage is usually too extensive, and the plant is a goner no matter what 9 times out of 10. I've had luck with injecting Bt and spinosad at the first sign of a bore hole, but I don't grow more than 3 or 4 squash plants. I think checking over vines that carefully could be hard for people who grow a lot of squash. So your advice to inject it before borer activity is seen is a really good idea, especially for people who live in places where there are multiple generations of the SVB.
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