Well.... today I declared failure at growing squash! Unless someone can advise me of a fool-proof prevention of the pest that gets into the stem right at the ground and kills to plant, I'll just have to give up. I think it is the well-known squash borer, but I can't be sure. On the assumption that the borer is the larva of some moth, I (incorrectly) assumed that a heavy application of Bacillus thuringiensis (BT, Dipel, or other) would kill the larva at first bite. No such luck.
Short of 12-hourly checking for "sawdust" at the stems, or perhaps planting a whole acre of squash to provide more plants than mother moth can lay her eggs on, I'm at a loss. Any suggestions?
Squash borers
It is the larva of a moth...but unfortunately if you already were seeing damage from it before you applied the Bt then you got there too late. And once they're already inside the stems, the Bt (and insecticides) can't get to them. Here's a website that talks a little about controlling them http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef314.asp
i gave up on mine too! well i did poke around in the stem and push out that nasty worm--but the stem was all open and split etc--well it keeps making squash--not a lot but enough (zuchini)--so before you pull it up see if it makes some for you!
Good article there. But I couldn't find the pesticide recommendation. You can use Sevin dust on the vine itself (not on the rest of the plant - you need your pollinators AND it can also cause phototoxicity), but you need to do this at the beginning and repeat as needed (according to label). I don't know if it will kill the egg, but If the Sevin is there when it hatches, it will kill that larva before it burrows.
Thanks for the link, ecrane3. In anticipation of the arrival of the borers, I applied BT about every 3 days from the day I planted the squash (not from seed). Maybe sevin next.
We'll see. (The grocery store has nice squash in the produce section!)
I had them pretty bad last year, but read somewhere to throw soil over the affected area... and the zukes lived and produced all summer. I don't know if they sprouted roots into the new soil or what, but it worked!
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