How to STOP the Squash Vine Borer! |This Actually Works|



* Get your B.T. Monterey Insecticide here – https://amzn.to/3MMO7ZJ

Have your mature summer squash ever just wilted and died in a matter of days? Chances are this was due to a Squash Vine Borer that destroyed your plant from the inside out. In this video you will learn my favorite way to stop the dreaded Squash Vine Borer. Don’t let these pests cut your harvest season short!

Hi!
My name is Justin and I have my managed my family’s business (S&K Greenhouse) for the last 10 years! It is a local garden center in Shelby, NC that my family started around 25 years ago.

We have a strong desire to discuss and teach gardening to the online community and welcome anyone who wants to learn. Though we have been involved in the plant world for decades we have found that there is always something to learn when it comes to gardening.

Whether you are a master gardener or just starting out this channel is for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to watch our videos!

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20 thoughts on “How to STOP the Squash Vine Borer! |This Actually Works|”

  1. Well here because I thought I was on top of them, and just had to get rid of 4 of my zucchini plants. When I try to do the injection I cant push it at all, the needle just gets filled/clogged with the vine when I push it. When I take the needle out I can see its clogged. What gage works best? I got 23g from amazon. Thanks

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  2. Hi. I attempted this early in the season before there was any evidence of borers, trying to be proactive, and (Black Beauty zucchini) the main stem was so hard the needle wouldn't penetrate, it was a large bore needle, and I got sprayed in the face. No way was it going in. So I tried injecting into some of the hollow leaf stems in the same area, hoping the Bt would run down the hollow stem and wind up where a larva might contact it. It killed the stem and leaf, a couple days later the place I injected was brown and shriveled and the leaf beyond it died. So, I couldn't be proactive, and now I have borers like crazy and they've killed about 90% of the Z. I'm trying to save what's left of it. I watched this video closely, and when you inject the base stem it looks like you have pruned off several leaves at the very base, does this create a softer area where you can inject? Do you try to inject where the cut-off leaf was attached to the base stem? And how do you smother eggs – neem oil? How often? I'm in central Iowa, most likely only one lifecycle of these things. I think. –thanks for your expertise

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  3. …yeah, I'm battling these things, they're well along in the stems, so I'm hoping even to stab some of them with the needle…some of the plants are pretty well lost, so I cut off the tops and curled them up in a dish of water, hoping to take advantage of their ability to re-root, which I've had some success with. A side benefit is seeing the drowned larvae floating around in the water, haha, too bad! Now, if we could arrange our planting so that we could periodically flood the plant as part of it's watering, and submerge it just long enough to drown the larvae, and then drain the water off (to be re-used of course) that would seem to be pretty effective…good luck!

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  4. Thank You so much for this tip and video. I live in S.E. Minnesota and this year my squash did not make it, after asking others I discovered this moth/worm in my vines. I will order the product that you recommended and next year I'm hoping to have some beautiful squash.

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  5. Thank you for your video I have a question I have spinosad by Monterey will that work the same as BT?

    One other question is how much to dilute it? I see it says .25 Oz per pint should that be ok?

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  6. Would you do anything to treat the soil during the winter and before spring planting? Or is injecting BT once the plant's base is large enough the only remedy?

    Can you plant other veggies, such as onions, tomatoes, carrots, etc., in the same bed/location without negative effects from the borers?

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  7. There's no organic solution that is not a ridiculous hassle. Quit searching for one.

    Follow Old Alabama Gardeners method, then every few days spray stems with sevin or malathion, and dont take a vacation.!

    We were buried in squash this summer using this method, plants were 6 feet across, huge. Slice, blanch and freeze them, use in caseroles and bread. Yummy.

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