From

Location

Message

Date Posted

oxford, ma

Could somebody please tell me if there is an end to the squash vine borer "season" and when it is? I live in MA and even though I have faithfully sprayed 7 and used Merit, these buggers are still showing up. Thanks for your help. Paula

8/18/2000 4:38:18 PM

Western Pa.

Hi Paula!

According to Langevin's book, the adult life of the vine borer is 6-8 weeks. Once they hatch, they immediately start laying eggs, and will continue for 4-5 weeks. If you continue to see them spray at least once a week, more often if rain washes it off.(Try to cover all leaf and vine areas.) I would burn any affected plants, so they don't re-emerge next year!
kilr

8/18/2000 10:27:14 PM

Commack, NY

man, i hate those damn things! when you say they keep showing up, what do you mean exactly? do you mean, you keep seeing the moths, or you keep finding the larvae, in the vines? i haven't seen a moth in weeks, but sometimes, it takes sometime, especially if your plant is big, to find the little buggers inside. you could find some that you missed even later still.

8/21/2000 9:02:16 AM

CT

Hi everyone,

If you read our posting of 8/21, you will see that we too have problems with borers. We have a borer, possibly two, in the main vine about 6 feet out from the stump. With approx. 4 weeks left to harvest, do you all think it would be wise to do major surgery to get them out? We are not sure exactly where they are in the vine and as they entered from underneath, and we can't see under there. It does feel moist though, and the vine looks thicker at the site with a tell-tale dead leaf. We know it would take some doing to get them out. How much damage should we expect if we leave them inside for the next 4 weeks? Thanks for all the advice.

8/22/2000 12:00:22 PM

Buffalo, Minnesota

school kids, im not shure about everyone else here, but the vine borers that i have got dont seem to be affecting the plants a whole lot, okay so a couple of the leaves on one or two vines have turned light green in color but have not died, and my pumpkins are still growing at a fairly steady pace, ive been cutting the little worms out whenever i get a chance and whenever i do, they dont seem to be entered into the vine that far, only about the first inch or so, and when these things do crawl into the vines the plants seem to repair themselves by growing thicker around these areas, so whatever you do, the borers really dont seem to be hurting my plants too much and they shouldend hinder growth too much, but if you seen two spots or so, there are prabably more, i hate these things, i was spraying all spring and early summer, and some how the things got started? anyway hope all goes well. ~Bill

8/23/2000 1:55:54 AM