How to Prevent and Get Rid of Squash Vine Borers”

Written by: Ghulam Fatima

Borers can cause wilting in an entire plant or a single runner within 24 hours. Look out for stem damage and sawdust-like frass as a sign of borers. Breaking the stem may reveal a wormlike insect. The squash vine borer initiates a tunnel, allowing bacteria and other microorganisms to get into the plant’s tissues, causing rotting.

What are squash vine borers and what do they do?

Squash vine borers are serious enemies of squash and gourds. They are known as such because they usually bore into the stems, a practice that kills entire plants, especially when they attack the base. If you notice sudden wilting of plants and bark-like sawdust coming from a hole in the stem, borers are probably at work inside. Normally, squash and pumpkins attract them more than other plants.

1. Fat white borer larvae with brown heads could grow up to one inch long. The adults resemble moths, having black and orange colours.

2. Squash vine borers spend winter in the soil as larvae or encased in cocoons. Moths emerge during late spring or early summer and then lay eggs on plant stems, where young larvae can burrow through and start feeding. This makes eradication very difficult once this happens, so prevention is crucial.

Signs of a Squash Vine Borer Attack

The first symptom of these annoying creatures in your garden is likely to be the wilting leaves on your squash plants. If you recently watered, look at your plants.

1.  Start with a check for holes or “Frass” around the base. When squash vine borers bore into stems, they leave behind chewed plant material that looks like sawdust that is green or yellow-orange.
2. Most plants can’t survive this kind of damage in the long run. The leaves and stems will decompose around the injured area or turn brittle. The plant will stop thriving and potentially die.

If a client calls me up and says, “My squash plants just all of a sudden aren’t doing well,” I usually suspect it’s squash vine borers.

How can You prevent squash vine borers?

Preventing squash vine borers from attacking your plants is better than trying to eliminate them. Here are some proven ways of keeping squash vine borers away.

1. Till the soil regularly, at the end of winter, the soil is tilted to expose overwintering pests to a killing frost in the Northern regions. Tilling will expose larvae and cocoons to predators like birds, skunks and armadillos in warmer areas.
2. Remove dead vines killed by borers. These should be burnt or sent to an industrial compost facility that burns sufficiently high temperatures to kill any remaining borers. Please do not put them in your compost pile unless you want a new generation of bugs.
3. Use successive planting. You can continue adding more summer squash plants into the garden once the first vines start running; hence, there will be plenty of harvests.
4. Grow resistant varieties of squash that repel vine borers. While some squash and pumpkin varieties, such as butternut, are almost immune from attack, others, such as Hubbard Squash, are highly susceptible.
5. Organic sprays are used. Once plants start to emerge, apply Bt or Bacillus  thuringiensis to the undersides of leaves and stems according to label instructions. This should be done throughout the entire growing season. Bt, an authorized pesticide for organic gardening, does not harm bees, which are important in pollinating squash and several other vegetables.
6. If you have had problems with squash vine borers before, grow plants under floating row covers or a row cover hoop house. When flowering starts, make sure the covers are removed so that pollinating insects can enter them.

What should You do if I have squash vine borers?

Squash vine borers frequently make plants unworthy of rescue, but there is one thing you can do. Slice borer-infested vines lengthwise to take out the borers and then cover the stem with slit by soil to encourage rooting and rejuvenation of the plant.

If squash vine borers have already seen your garden, saving your squash will likely be an uphill battle for you this season. However, nothing is impossible! And with some preventive measures like that, you can start afresh next year with healthy, pest-free squash.

In case you have squash vine borers:

1. Check Stems: Look for holes and sawdust-like waste.
2. Get Rid of Borers: Carefully open the stem to remove the grubs.
3. Wrap-up Stems: Bury the affected part below ground level so that new roots grow.
4. Try Organic Treatments: Neem oil or BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) can be used as a control measure for larvae.

Avoid these problems before they arise: Crop rotation and early row cover use.

Homemade Squash Vine Borer Trap

Create a homemade squash vine borer trap using the following steps:

• Materials: Use a yellow container (the colour attracts moths) and fill it with water.
• Add a Sticky Surface: Place a sticky trap nearby to catch moths.
• Add Scent: To lure them, include a small amount of vinegar or sugar water.

Place the trap near squash plants to capture adult vine borer moths before they lay eggs.

How to Get Rid of Squash Vine Borers

You do not need to use synthetic pesticides to eliminate squash vine borers, but you must act quickly when you suspect the infestation of borers in your plants. It can limit their spread and reduce the likelihood of recovery for affected plants if borer action is caught early on.

Handpicking

Slumbering borer moths could be handpicked into a bucket of soapy water while heading out into your garden in the early morning. Moreover, check your plants for eggs that borers lay, crush any eggs you see with your fingers, or wipe them away with a soap-soaked paper towel.

Cut Borers Out

Cucurbitaceous crops heavily infested by the Beatles must be destroyed without delay. On the other hand, small-scale infestations may allow salvaging of some plants by cutting off borer damage from the stems using a sharp knife cleaned with ethanol. Drag the blade across its length, puncture any larvae inside, and cover the cut area with soil to enhance healing and develop secondary roots.

BT Thuricide

However, one can also inject BT suicide directly into the stems of plants using a disposable syringe to kill borer larvae in the plant. Remember that BT needs to be in direct contact with the borer’s larvae to get rid of them; thus, it is ineffective against adult moths.

Tilling

How to get rid of squash vine borers When gardens are tilled and infested, one can break the lifecycle of borers by bringing the hidden borers’ cocoons up to the soil surface during the fall or spring season. Once these cocoons are exposed, they could be eaten by predators such as birds, but if you have chickens at home, this would be a good chance to use them.

Don’t Let Pests Squash Your Good Vibes

Pests are part and parcel of a garden with many delicious organic plants. Be undeterred. The best way is to plant your favourite crops in large quantities so that even if pests eat up one, you will still have others to harvest.

Start Succession Planting

If you prefer not to wait until the end of the season to harvest zucchinis or summer squash, planting in successions might be of help. Quite often, vine borers will concentrate on one plant.

• I have experienced this in my garden. I had two cantaloupes that were planted on a hill at different times and in different weeks.
• Squash borers attacked one, while the other remained untouched for the entire season. I pulled out the affected plant and had melons from the other all summer.
• I recommend planting a new zucchini or summer squash every 4 weeks.
• If one group is lost, another set is ready to go. 
• Fast-growing summer squash varieties are particularly suited to this method; however, it can also be done with any other cucurbitaceous (all gourds –squash, melons, pumpkins, etc.) family members.

Final Thoughts

If you reside in a region where squash vine borers are common, it’s good to note that living with them will be your only option. You can’t get rid of them and fully save your plants from their attack (unless they do so immediately after planting or before planting).

How to get rid of squash vine borers Instead, try some of the tips listed in this post. It might take you one or two seasons to know which one works better for your garden, but surely you will have plenty of zucchini, summer squash, winter squash, melons, and other guardians at your disposal within no time within no time! So happy growing up!

Quick Tip: how to get rid of squash vine borers To prevent squash vine borers and plant-resistant varieties, use row covers early and remove debris from the garden to eliminate overwintering pests.

FAQs

What kills squash vine borers?

Neem oil, BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), or insecticides kill them when applied early.

Can you save a plant from squash vine borers?

Yes, by removing borers, covering damaged stems, and encouraging new roots.

Do coffee grounds repel squash vine borers?

No, coffee grounds don’t repel squash vine borers effectively

What is the natural enemy of the squash vine borer?

Parasitic wasps and birds are natural predators of squash vine borers.