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Update: Squash vine borers attacked my zucchini, here's how I saved them
My zucchini plants suddenly wilted last Tuesday, and I panicked. After slicing a stem open, I found fat white larvae eating from the inside. I grabbed some Bacillus thuringiensis from the garden store and injected it into the vines with a small syringe. It stopped the borers dead, and the plants are recovering now.
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the_adam6mo ago
Read somewhere that wrapping the base stems with aluminum foil can stop the moths from laying eggs in the first place. It sounded a little weird, but I tried it last season as a preventative thing. Never saw any of that sawdust frass on my plants, so maybe there's something to it.
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norahart6mo ago
My neighbor's zucchini patch got hit first, so I was on high alert. When my plants started drooping, I knew right away it was borers. I didn't have a syringe, so I used a small knife to make a slit and brushed Bt powder inside. It was messy, but it worked. I remember reading online that you have to act fast before they damage the stems too badly. Actually, one plant was too far gone and I lost it, but the others bounced back after a week or so, and now I check the stems every morning for that sawdust-like stuff, just in case.
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avery_barnes276mo ago
That's exactly how I handled an attack last summer, right down to the syringe method. Found those nasty white grubs in two of my biggest plants and felt the same panic. The Bt injection worked a treat, and the vines even put out new growth after. Really smart move on your part to act so fast.
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