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market-farming - Re: Sqaush bugs

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  • From: "Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Sqaush bugs
  • Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 08:16:21 -0500

Squash bugs and squash vine borers are two very different insects with very different "mo's". Squash vine borer is a clear-wing moth thats lays eggs at the base of the squash or pumpkin plant. The larvae hatch out and the bore into the stem of the plant, where they remain, feeding on the inside of the stem. The plant eventually wilts and dies. The larvae can be surgically removed successfully sometimes. Also, keeping a dusting of Bt at the base of the plant can be effective in killing the larvae. The insect only has one cycle per year so you can usually predict when they'll show up and how long they'll be trouble. In northern Illinois they show up mid-late June and are usually gone by late July.
 
Squash bugs are members of the true bug family, similar to stink bugs but longer, narrower and usually charcoal grey or brown in appearence. Adults overwinter and move into the squash and pumpkins as the crops begin to establish. They like to suck juice from the plants, which reduces the plants' vitality. As the adults lay eggs, very large populations of nymphs (juveniles) develop. Like my teenagers, they eat way too much so the pumpkins and squash really begin to suffer. If populations get high enough, plants die. I can't offer any organic remedies. In fact, not many insecticides work on this critter. I'd be interested in hearing about any effective organic strategies.
 
Bill Shoemaker
Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
Univ of Illinois - St Charles Hort Research Center

 
I assume that by squash "bugs", you mean vine borers.  In my garden, we
injected beneficial nematodes into the vines, and it killed the squash
borers, and prevents others from coming into the vine for a while. 



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