Northeast Gardening: What's going on with my zucchini?, 0 by PrimroseSue

PrimroseSue wrote:
Niere - it's squash vine borers. You can't do much once they're in the stalks - you can try to take them out, but it's usually too late once they've wilted.

The female lays her eggs at the base of the leaf stalks. Once the larva (white) develop they feed on, and in, the stalk. When the stalk dies, they move on to the main stem and eventually kill the whole plant.

Next year, watch for "frass" on the stems, which looks kinda like sawdust. Then you can either slit the stem and carefully remove the caterpillar, or take a small sharp object (needle, wire, toothpick) to kill the borer with.

Some people wrap the stem near the ground (where eggs are usually laid) with tin foil, or nylon stockings or such, so that the female can't lay eggs there.

An old trick is to cover soil over the stem at different places, so the plant will make more roots. That way, if the borers get in, the plant can still feed the 'fruit' even though the main stem is gone.

Here's a few pics of the moth.