Your plans for dealing with squash bugs and vine borers - Page 5

Ken B · February 9, 2015

How long a charge does yours have? I tried one of those for sucking up blister beetles when I was out in Missouri -- lasted 10-20 mins. maybe and then I had to recharge it for 8 hours -- not a useful amount of time when I needed to be out there for a couple hours when they were bad. (This is maybe 15 years ago now -- better vacuum models are probably available now!)

Starlight · February 9, 2015

Ken... I don't get to much more time. Usually about 45 minutes to an hour at the max. I do have one that I can plug an extension cord into, but it a pain and if I'm not careful I have destroyed plants in my haste to suck up a bug and forgetting about the cord.

Lately I been using the little vacuums for electronic equipment. Takes a little longer to get after the bugs, but what is nice is that I can carry a couple of extra batteries in my pocket when the first ones die on me. I did find out the hard way, don't let the electronic vacuums stay outside. Guess mine got too much moisture from the excessive humidity down here and now I have to get me another one for this year. They really not that expensive and you carry them easily around with you and do more spot checking easier.

Lots easier to get around the plants too , to get at them without stepping on vines.

If I had a huge crop and major .. major problems. Than I think I would use a suggestion from another gardener. A wet vac. Only problem is with my luck, I probably would suck up the bugs and the plants too.

Redbaron · February 12, 2015

Among other things I will try these tips for stink bugs on them: Managing Bad Stink Bugs Using Good Stink Bugs

Tracydr · February 12, 2015

I found a stink bug just this weekend while we were roofing my new chicken coop. Dang, it's early Feb! I'm new to this area so also new to these bugs. I will be checking into the beneficial stink bugs. I used DE for squash bug larva one year but didn't have much problem with SVBs in AZ. I'm sure that's to change. I will also plant some squash resistant to SVBs.

Tomato Beth · February 12, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaysan

What will you be doing this year to deal with these pests?

Me: Swear a lot and try to use some of the wonderful ideas everyone else has been suggesting.

My kids: Rejoice at the lack of zucchini in their diets.

linuxmoose · March 31, 2015

I always just consider squash to be a short-term vegetable. In other words, I'm going to get squash for a few weeks before the squash bugs kill the plants. For some reason, they left my white scallop alone last year. It continued to produce all summer until the cool weather killed it, and that is unheard of around here. The yellow crookneck and zucchini were gone within weeks. I'm hoping I have that luck this year. I've tried Sevin and Malathion, and I think they like the taste of the stuff. I'm going to give the neem oil a shot this year, since nothing else helps, and I've heard of others having better luck with it than with pesticide.

digsdirt · July 4, 2015

Another vote for row covers and hand pollination. It eliminates the problem of both.

Dave

jmsieglaff · July 9, 2015

Interesting observation over the past 3-4 weeks. I've been picking SVB eggs off our squash pretty much daily. At first SVB really preferred our mini pumpkins, with some, but notably fewer than Tatume, Lemon and my Lemon x Tatume F1. About 7-10 days ago as the garden squash and the mini pumpkin plants grew larger and I had some new squash seeds emerge where lettuce had finished and begin to get true leaves, the number of SVB eggs dropped drastically on the mini pumpkins and were pretty much non-existant in the garden squash and they were depositing them mainly on the new young plants. I know SVBs seem to have preferences for some varieties over others, but have others noticed a preference to younger plants over older plants when both are available? Or maybe it could be the types of those young plants--more bush zucchini instead of more vining summer squash/mini pumpkins.

February 12, 2015	#63
Redbaron Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 4,488	Among other things I will try these tips for stink bugs on them: Managing Bad Stink Bugs Using Good Stink Bugs __________________ Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture

July 4, 2015	#67
digsdirt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: No.Central Arkansas - 6b/7a Posts: 179	Another vote for row covers and hand pollination. It eliminates the problem of both. Dave __________________ Dave

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February 9, 2015	#61
Ken B Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: central Virginia Posts: 243	How long a charge does yours have? I tried one of those for sucking up blister beetles when I was out in Missouri -- lasted 10-20 mins. maybe and then I had to recharge it for 8 hours -- not a useful amount of time when I needed to be out there for a couple hours when they were bad. (This is maybe 15 years ago now -- better vacuum models are probably available now!)

February 9, 2015	#62
Starlight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: AL Posts: 1,993	Ken... I don't get to much more time. Usually about 45 minutes to an hour at the max. I do have one that I can plug an extension cord into, but it a pain and if I'm not careful I have destroyed plants in my haste to suck up a bug and forgetting about the cord. Lately I been using the little vacuums for electronic equipment. Takes a little longer to get after the bugs, but what is nice is that I can carry a couple of extra batteries in my pocket when the first ones die on me. I did find out the hard way, don't let the electronic vacuums stay outside. Guess mine got too much moisture from the excessive humidity down here and now I have to get me another one for this year. They really not that expensive and you carry them easily around with you and do more spot checking easier. Lots easier to get around the plants too , to get at them without stepping on vines. If I had a huge crop and major .. major problems. Than I think I would use a suggestion from another gardener. A wet vac. Only problem is with my luck, I probably would suck up the bugs and the plants too.

February 12, 2015	#64
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I found a stink bug just this weekend while we were roofing my new chicken coop. Dang, it's early Feb! I'm new to this area so also new to these bugs. I will be checking into the beneficial stink bugs. I used DE for squash bug larva one year but didn't have much problem with SVBs in AZ. I'm sure that's to change. I will also plant some squash resistant to SVBs.

March 31, 2015	#66
linuxmoose Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Northport, Alabama Posts: 25	I always just consider squash to be a short-term vegetable. In other words, I'm going to get squash for a few weeks before the squash bugs kill the plants. For some reason, they left my white scallop alone last year. It continued to produce all summer until the cool weather killed it, and that is unheard of around here. The yellow crookneck and zucchini were gone within weeks. I'm hoping I have that luck this year. I've tried Sevin and Malathion, and I think they like the taste of the stuff. I'm going to give the neem oil a shot this year, since nothing else helps, and I've heard of others having better luck with it than with pesticide.

July 9, 2015	#68
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	Interesting observation over the past 3-4 weeks. I've been picking SVB eggs off our squash pretty much daily. At first SVB really preferred our mini pumpkins, with some, but notably fewer than Tatume, Lemon and my Lemon x Tatume F1. About 7-10 days ago as the garden squash and the mini pumpkin plants grew larger and I had some new squash seeds emerge where lettuce had finished and begin to get true leaves, the number of SVB eggs dropped drastically on the mini pumpkins and were pretty much non-existant in the garden squash and they were depositing them mainly on the new young plants. I know SVBs seem to have preferences for some varieties over others, but have others noticed a preference to younger plants over older plants when both are available? Or maybe it could be the types of those young plants--more bush zucchini instead of more vining summer squash/mini pumpkins.