is this caused by svb??? what do I do? this is my second year gardening and I lost all of my squash last year ☹️

by nonyabusinesss

30 Comments

  1. Kyrie_Blue

    Need a consistent BTK(biological pesticide) regiment if SVB’s are in your area. Only way to prevent them

  2. sleepyvetgirl

    My heart goes out to you 😔 I just lost all of my pumpkin plants…

  3. emonymous3991

    Well the squash vine looks bored out so…

  4. psmorehouse1

    I have the same problem starting this year. I researched squash vine borers and found some ways to prevent them next year, although they’re tenacious caterpillars/moths. I’m gonna try! Meanwhile still picking off squash bugs from the cucumbers and butternuts. I’ve also ordered some seeds of an eastern zucchini that is more resistant. Sorry black beauty and yellow squash, you’re done.

  5. Nonyabizzz3

    Get thee some BT. And/or plant seminole pumpkins and tromboncino squash… many YouTube channels address this

  6. TheCookienator

    After learning about SVB on this sub, I hand picked about 100 eggs off my zucchini plant over the course of about a week. So far so good… I realize that’s not a sustainable technique for people with more than a single zucchini plant though.

  7. PansophicNostradamus

    I’m disinclined to acquiesce to your request to tell you this isn’t what you think it is. It’s exactly what you think it is.

    We all mourn for your loss. But it’s not too late to re-plant for a fall harvest, though that’s the good news!

  8. RainbowSnapdragons

    It is, and I sympathize. I’ve been battling them for three years now. This year I got some BT and injected all my plants. There were a few that had SVB larvae in them already, so I wasn’t hopeful. But I injected them, and wrapped the stems with vet wrap that I wet down with more BT.

    It’s been a week and I’ve only lost one of the plants. The rest seem well, even the ones that were definitely infested. I’m going to treat them again tomorrow. I’m crossing my fingers that between this and planting multiple rounds of seeds, I’ll be able to outlast the SVBs. Good luck!

  9. Black-Rabbit-Farm

    If you think it is a chest burster, then congratulations! It is not. 🤩

    If you think it’s vine borers …well…sorry bud ☹️

  10. Pumpernickel247

    I’m using covers next year. Lost all my plants.

  11. Deadphans

    All of these pest issues etc. really bring out my respect to farmers before pesticides/herbicides.

  12. AdhesivenessCivil581

    I tried Korean squash this year instead of zucchini. I planted seeds in late march. I’m still getting squash despite some powder mildew. No SVB’s and I like it better.

  13. ratherberaiding

    I HATE squash bugs. They have been the bane of my garden this year.

  14. MoltenCorgi

    You can get a knife and cut the little fuckers out and then bury the stem. It will re-root. It’s not foolproof but I had a couple survive, but it was too late to get any zucchini m. The SVB look like maggots. It’s not a fun job. You can also inject the stem with BT (it’s organic) and hope it kills the SVBs faster than they kill the plant.

    Moving forward, learn what the adult SVB moths look like and if you see any on your squash, kick it into high gear with regular BT application.

    I lost my last 3 years worth of harvests to them. Not a single zucchini. This year I’ve already harvested 6-7 and have more coming.

    What I’m doing differently:

    -Growing bush varieties on a stake so the growth is vertical.
    -Keeping lower leaves trimmed, trim everything below your lowest zucchini, and anything that turns yellow
    -spraying with BT every week
    -checking the underside of the leaves for eggs daily (I haven’t found any yet)

    I did see one adult SVB moth last week but so far I haven’t seen anything else. I didn’t find any eggs and it took off before I could unalive it. Haven’t seen one since.

    Growing vertically and trimming leaves makes it a LOT easier to monitor the stem, there’s less leaves to check and they are orderly, and it’s also been effective at preventing powdery mildew so far.

    My plants could still get wiped out this season but I’m absolutely THRILLED to have zucchini in my fridge right now. Had one tonight actually. There are some SVB resistant varieties too and I’m going to try one of those next year.

  15. I don’t do squash anymore because of these things

  16. Dunwich_Horror_

    That’s okay. You could be me and come home to all your squash and beans eaten by deer and your house sitter watering the beds that got eaten and completely ignored all the rest of your stuff. RIP my herb garden, strawberries, lemon tree, and Boston ferns.

  17. MoistExcellence

    Each year, I plant a Hubbard squash treated with a systemic insecticide, just to kill those bastards.

    I saw an adult SVB on it the other day.

  18. driplessCoin

    someone has to come up with a way to kill these damn things, some systematic way.

  19. Llothcat2022

    Take cuttings while you can….! Not all is lost!

  20. peaheezy

    The University of Minnesota extension suggests plant a second crop around now if you’re interested. You will need to wait for zukes but it said that the adults only lay eggs from mid June to early July and those larvae are what eat the plant. I think I’m going to give it a shot as all of my zucchini plants fell to SVB. Next year I’m using some sort of a deterrent, sounds like BTK is pretty good per people in this post.

  21. North-Star2443

    I read that wrapping aluminium foil around the base of the plant when you plant them can help to prevent them.

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