Squash Bugs and Squash Vine Borers - What I Learned This Year

[GoDawgs]

The pickleworm showed up for the first time two springs ago. We'd never had them until then. Last spring all they messed with was the cukes. This year they also developed a taste for yellow squash too. Fortunately they didn't stay long this year.

I read that the moth that lays the eggs is nocturnal, coming out and about around dusk so one should cover plants with row cover or such before dark and then uncover in the morning for pollination. I tried that but it was a pain in the butt so I quit doing it. I got enough product to satisfy the requirements regardless.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by GoDawgs

The pickleworm showed up for the first time two springs ago. We'd never had them until then. Last spring all they messed with was the cukes. This year they also developed a taste for yellow squash too. Fortunately they didn't stay long this year.

I read that the moth that lays the eggs is nocturnal, coming out and about around dusk so one should cover plants with row cover or such before dark and then uncover in the morning for pollination. I tried that but it was a pain in the butt so I quit doing it. I got enough product to satisfy the requirements regardless.

I found that once the melon or pickle worms showed up a thorough spraying of the plants with a permethrin spray late in the evening would really do a number on them without having the waiting time of using Sevin or the damage to the bee populations. Of course it doesn't do anything at all for the ones that have already bored into the fruit but after a day or two I don't usually see them again until the next wave hits a few weeks later.

Bill