The other day when I tried to remove the vine borers, I had covered the sliced squash vines with soil. Today, when I saw that there was more damage above the soil line, I knew I had not gotten all the borers. One vine was beyond saving, but I tried to save another. I did find two borers. Here you can see one on the tip of the paring knife I used. (The larva was about 3/4" long, just estimating. The one I found in the vine that was collapsed was a bit larger.)
In the background, above the tip of the knife, you can see the squash vine with its stem laid open, exposing all the borer damage. I covered that with soil. (Sorry the picture is foggy; it was so hot and humid outside that my camera lens fogged up.)
Well, that's three I know for sure that I've killed. I got two little squash off the vines today and cooked them in the microwave in a little water with butter and freshly ground black pepper.
This is my first introduction to the 'borers', didn't even realize there was such a beast. I will have to tell my sister Shirl, she will keep an eye open next year.
ReplyDeleteThat seems to be a tough way to save a plant, especially if one had a huge garden. OUCH!
I guess with a large garden, a person's best bet would be to successively plant squash throughout the summer and hope to get some from each crop before it succumbs to the borers. Then destroy all the infected vines so that the larvae will be destroyed. A light tilling in fall of the garden bed to help expose any pupae to weather and predators would be recommended.
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