Was watching a youtube on planting squash in large pots which I have never done. But I have a huge squash bug problem and I was wondering if this helps.
Any suggestions or opinions on squash bugs is welcome.
Thanks
Can of beer near plant
While OC and I like to be as close to organic as possible sometimes you've gotta bring out the big guns in order to save your plants... so we use Sevin when the squash bugs are problematic. You could use Diamatecous earth if it's not going to rain in your area for a couple of days.
Just please try to avoid using Sevin on plants thst are blooming! It's absolutely deadly to bees, and they can carry it back to the hive. 1 cup of dust can kill an entire hive of honeybees... and you need them if you're going to get a crop. Hand pollinating vine crops is possible, but tedious as hell if you're doing more than a few blossoms to ensure a pure crop for seed.
Summerthyme
Have never used it. Will give it a try. I have used the dawn dish soap mixture - and it killed hundreds but next day they were full of them. It became exhausting to repeat almost daily. 2 years ago I had a volunteer plant that had not been infected with them and the squash was almost ready to pick and a few days later I noticed the bugs found them so I got 200 feet of electric cord and my wet dry vacuum out and literally sucked up over 200 of all sizes. Checked the plant 2 days later and it was dead with uncountable bugs all over it. It was incredible almost unbelievable.
Last year had several plants that I was watching for the bugs and there were none. It finally dawned on me since we had had a flood that it was the 100's of frogs in the garden that were eating the bugs. I won't be as lucky this year. Garden size close to 1/2 acre. As far as I can tell it is only the squash that these bugs go after.
Just wondering if I moved the squash to completely different site with large pots if it would help or not. I have planted the plants in 4 different areas away from other sites by at least 100 yards - and they always find them.
Soda seems to attract more yellow jacketscand wasps than honeybees around here, but it is a good reminder. Not to mention, you can be in a world of hurt if you take a swig of an open soda that a yellow jacket invaded a couple minutes earlier!I have noticed if you want to kill bees just leave a partially empty can of Dr. Pepper out and it can kill 50 or more in one can. I have to constantly remind myself not to do that.
If this is common knowledge I missed it.
But it should be.
Soda seems to attract more yellow jacketscand wasps than honeybees around here, but it is a good reminder. Not to mention, you can be in a world of hurt if you take a swig of an open soda that a yellow jacket invaded a couple minutes earlier!
Summerthyme
Have you considered a ground treatment? Also going to a local nursery and asking about planting dates for squash. IIRC someone posted here several years ago about planting past a certain date because the squash larvae won't have anything to feed on and therefore die off in large numbers.
Diatomaceous earth? Would that help?
I was thinking that too but it would hurt the bees.Diatomaceous earth? Would that help?
are referring to the vine borers or the stink bug looking critters
I had squash bugs last year and DE with some success but it was a pain in the rear to be applying it all the time. For some reason, Mother Nature has a way of knowing when I apply it and that 10% chance of rain becomes a 100% chance of rain.
Here are some other natural solutions...
How to Prevent and Get Rid of Squash Bugs in Your Garden
Squash bugs are destructive pests that are often found feeding on pumpkins, cucumbers, and winter squash. Learn how to prevent and get rid of them effectively.www.planetnatural.com
I scatter radish seeds around the base of mine and no longer have a squash bug problem.
Every year I lose many squash plants to squash vine borers. I'm to the point where I only plant moschata. If anyone can give me a solution for squash vine borers that would be awesome.
I find planting sunflowers near them help. They attack the sunflowers and leave the squash alone. It really depends on if a full wave hits or just a few bugs. They can pick a patch of young plants clean in a few hours.
I tried that and the raccoons thanked me as I had discovered that they had, had a 'hootenanny' in my tomato garden the night before! Lol! VCan of beer near plant
Bacillus Thuringiensis aka B.T. is the only thing I've found to help with the squash vine borers. You can actually inject it into the stem where you see evidence of them and save your plants once they've been invaded. It's even better as a preventative. My son told me about it and I've watched a ton of videos on youtube showing how to use it. I got the Monterey B.t. brand on Amazon. It helps with any kind of caterpillar or worm invasion...even the worms that invade my pecan trees. You dilute it with water and spray it on. I use the tanks you get in the garden dept. that's made to pump up and spray on fertilizer or insecticides. I often spray daily when they are bad.
It's best to buy it before it gets too hot since heat can kill all the beneficial little creatures in it.
Edited to add...it's organic.
I tried that and the raccoons thanked me as I had discovered that they had, had a 'hootenanny' in my tomato garden the night before! Lol! V