Message Board - BigPumpkins.com

Greensburg Pa

I had alot of trouble with vine bores. My first 3-4 feet of my main vine were rottent and had main borrows. I did do sevin every 7 days. I have seen warrior t mentioned but cannot find locally. Any Ideas? Can I pretreat now with anything ? THanks in advance.

Tim greensburg PA

3/20/2007 1:58:12 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Imidacloprid containing products (Admire, Merit, etc) can be applied in mid April right before planting. But for SVB you still need a residual contact spray starting in July.

Maybe we're not dealing with SVB at all.

Were your vines buried?

3/20/2007 2:13:43 PM

Peace, Wayne

Owensboro, Ky.

Steve, what residual contact spray products (readily available) would you recommend? Thanks Peace, Wayne

3/20/2007 8:07:03 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Bifenthrin (Capture or Talstar) is the longest residual. Lambda-cyhalothrin (Warrior or Scimitar) is also very good. Triazicide is consumer Lambda-C & is readily available at retail garden centers.

3/20/2007 8:18:24 PM

Greensburg Pa

Yes Tremor all vines were buried. Thanks for your imput.

3/20/2007 9:53:28 PM

Greensburg Pa

Tremor would the contact spray take the place of using sevin or just another addition to spraying schedule? Thanks Tim

3/21/2007 6:31:41 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

If the vines were buried then the borers had to enter via the leaf stalks or else the vines rotted from a soil borne disease instead.

Did you actually see the borers or just the rotting vines?

Sevin is a contact insecticide but it isn't very long in residual & causes a lot of collateral damage to earthworms & other beneficials. I would strongly recommend dumping the Sevin (figure of speech!) for a Lambda-cyhalothrin or Bifenthrin containing substitute.

3/21/2007 10:57:19 PM

Greensburg Pa

I did not see vine bores just channels and rotten vines. Oh, I went to walmart and found all of the prducts you mentioned-chemical ingrediants not same brand. Some say they last upto 2 months. Is that what I follow with my spray schedule. I found products with Bifenthrin and lambda-c. Do you know in fungicide can be mixed with either product? Thank Tim

3/22/2007 1:04:37 AM

Eng6900

hamilton,Ontario

Last year I actually paint brushed all my vinesusing merit and sevin about once every 2 weeks..Every year its the same and yes I see the bastards every year..It is discouraging to put on the weight every year just to see the pumpkins rot before halloween...I will be out in full force..but hate using all those chemicals...THE SVBS DRIVE ME INSANE..otherwise I luv pumpkin growing...hehehehehe

3/29/2007 10:16:48 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Tim,

You can usually mix the pro versions with fungicides as their inerts & surfactants are known to be compatible as well as the active ingredients. I would believe that the consumer formulated materials would be the same. To play it safe, first make a tiny batch in a jar & let it sit to see if the materials gel or coagulate. If they don't then you're OK to test spray a few unimportant plants like left over seedlings. Make sure to only spray in the cool of early evening & you should be OK.

In the absence of physical evidence (actual vine borers seen) I'm thinking that the main problem may have been fusarium which can cause the buried vines to rot.

3/29/2007 10:48:13 PM

Sav

Leamington, Ont.

Good point about fusarium. I know when SVB's are out it's not hard to spot them! I bury my vines each year and have had no problems with them entering the buried vines. Like Tremor mentioned watch those leaf stalks!!!

I think I may have even seen a couple seperate waves of them come through last season. (is that even possible?)

This season I'm going to try spraying every 4 to 5 days during egg laying stage rather than the suggested 7 days.
I've been using Ambush, but will try Roetenone <spell check here)... this year, it's labeled for SVB's...We'll see about that, ha!

3/29/2007 11:19:58 PM

Mount Prospect,illinois

Whats the word on Ortho Max? I have an insecticide that kills svb's but dont know if it is bad for worms or other things. Any info?

3/30/2007 9:34:17 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

What is the active ingredient in Ortho-Max?

3/30/2007 11:17:11 PM

Mount Prospect,illinois

I guess that would be a good thing to mention huh? It says the active ingredient is Esfenvalerate 00.425%. It says it takes care of SVB's but i am concerne dabout killing all the worms.

3/31/2007 9:17:25 AM

Mount Prospect,illinois

It also says it is a new generation Diazinon replacement.

3/31/2007 9:18:15 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Dave,

It's the same active ingredient that is found in Asana which is very effective. See:

http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld184020.pdf

Since it is a synthetic pyrethroid I don't think you'll note any real earthworm toxicity issues.

3/31/2007 6:58:18 PM

Mount Prospect,illinois

Thanks Tremor,
Part of what you said is way over my head (the synthetic pyrethoid part) but i get the point. It is usable and is not a real danger to earth worms. Thanks again.

3/31/2007 8:29:13 PM

Midwest

Article for organic growers: (part 1)

Squash Vine Borer Control

Q. I am a 99% organic gardener, and as I prepare for another summer, I wonder if there are any new ways to combat vine borers; they are a common problem down here, and always get my zucchini vines. I have used row covers, injected the vines with BT, and even used a butterfly net to try and catch the adults as they fly around the garden. But they are smart and hard to catch; I think they know what ‘a guy with a net’ means!

---Manuel in Austin, Texas
Are there any organic or natural ways to get rid of vine borers? I have this problem every year but don't want to use insecticides. I heard that you recommended wiping the vines with BTK. Is this safe? I would really like to find a natural way.
---Emily in Salisbury, Maryland
How do I organically "scare off" the squash vine borer? Thanks,
---Sharon in West Chester, PA
A.That’s easy, Sharon—dress up like a butternut squash! Those vines’ solid stems terrify this parasite of pumpkins, zapper of zucchini and spoiler of squash!

This is an especially nasty pest because the ‘borer’, a grubby white caterpillar, hides inside the hollow vines of popular squash-family plants like pumpkins and zucchini as it does its dirty work. Gardeners generally don’t notice anything is wrong until the whole plant starts wilting, and by then, it’s generally too late. So we will focus here on prevention; don’t blame us if you end up with too much zucchini.

4/3/2007 5:02:08 PM

Midwest

Article for organic growers: (part 2)

The problem begins in late Spring, when a moth lays its eggs at the base of your squash plants. Each female will lay about 200 eggs, but one at a time rather than in clusters, making the tiny eggs (a mere 1/25 of an inch long) almost impossible to spot. They hatch in a week or two, and the little caterpillars that emerge quickly tunnel into the hollow plant stems their eggs were so cleverly attached to. The caterpillars feed, hidden from view, for a month or so and then drop down into the soil to pupate. In the North, they emerge as adults the following Spring. Down in Manuel’s Texas, the first run pupates quickly into adults, whose children commit another round of squash vine damage before they drop down into the soil for the winter.

That’s means they’re in your soil right NOW. If you had borer damage last year, you probably have hibernating baby borers lurking in your dirt; just like the pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (don’t fall asleep in the garden!). Before you plant anything this season, use a hoe to cultivate the soil where your squash grew last year; look for cocoons an inch or so deep. If you find some, well…just make sure no one is watching and try not to sound too much like The Joker after he’s captured Robin the Boy Hostage again.

4/3/2007 5:03:00 PM

Midwest

Article for organic growers: (part 3)

One way to avoid the adult moth—which looks like a little red-bellied wasp—is to cover your squash plants with floating row covers; these spun polyester fabric blankets (best know brand name: Reemay) allow water, light and air through, but prevent bugs of all kinds—including bees, which is a problem. If you go this route, make sure you plant where squash didn’t grow the previous year (or the moth may emerge inside the row covers—eeek!) and either grow self-pollinating varieties or lift the covers and pollinate the flowers yourself with a little paintbrush. In one-generation climes, you can remove the covers entirely by the Fourth of July; all the egg-laying action will be over.

An interesting variation on this technique is to cut little pieces of row cover and use them to just wrap the vine itself. Do this before you plant, so that the covered section of the vine extends below the soil line; and add more wrapping as the vine grows larger.

But the most reliable cure may be to grow your squash out in the open and use vigilance to get the eggs. You may not be able to see them, but a weekly spray of the vine with insecticidal soap will smother them nonetheless (use a commercial product, not home-made; there is a fine line between beneficial soap and plant-killing herbicide).

4/3/2007 5:03:29 PM

Midwest

Article for organic growers: (part 4)

Or use BTK. This is where I assure worried Emily that BTK is indeed organic and non-toxic; one of the oldest organic pest controls, in fact. Sold under brand names like Dipel, Thuricide and Green Step, this form of Bt ONLY kills caterpillars that munch on the sprayed plant part; it affects nothing else. So spray the vines once a week and there will be BTK on the stem when that hungry, hungry caterpillar comes out and starts munching.

Or just wipe the stems every five days vigorously with a damp cloth and wipe away the eggs. An Auburn University researcher found this tip in a farming book from the 1890’s, when even now-ancient remedies like BT were still half a century in the future! Wiping with BTK or insecticidal soap should be even better.

Once the season is underway, carefully inspect each vine once a week; don’t wait for wilting! If you see a hole near the soil line and that distinctive greenish frass (bug poop) that the borers push back out of their comfy new home, slit the vine with a razor blade and find the caterpillar inside. We will now flash forward to you later heaping compost-rich soil over the damaged part of the vine. (Remember—no laughing like The Joker!)

4/3/2007 5:04:02 PM