this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023
14 points (88.9% liked)

Gardening

37 readers
1 users here now

A community to discuss gardening

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Spot the squash vine borer egg. This one had the potential to destroy the entire plant, based on where it was located. Check early and often! #gardening #vegetablegardening #zucchini #pest #squashbug @gardening

all 9 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m a new gardener, can you give an answer where you circle it in red or something so I know what to look for :)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Unless I'm missing something, it's the teeny tiny brown dot above the bottom zip tie.

To be honest, vine borers were less of a problem than the GD squash bugs. I swear, last year's crop was all squash bugs, very little actual squash. I decided not to even try squash this year - the only thing they didn't eat were the birdhouse gourds, and I've still got plenty of those.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

@displaced_city_mouse @oSeabass yes, it’s the small rust colored circle. They all look similar so if you get yours eyes trained to see them, they are easier to spot. I have considered not growing zucchini because it’s so time intensive finding and removing the eggs, but the are soooo tasty! Good luck with the pests this year.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

@LKSimone @gardening Wikipedia is telling me this is an American bug so not a concern (yet) elsewhere

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

@JimmyB @gardening I hope that’s the case for you! My husband said his grandmother grew tons of zucchini and never had this problem so I think it’s an expanding problem at last in the US.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

@LKSimone @gardening the first time i was growing squash i didnt know about svb and i was like "wow what a cool bug!" and had to cull the whole plant 😭

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

@doomy @gardening ugh! It is a pretty bug but what damage!!! Every year I perform several surgeries to remove the ones that I miss in egg form. But fresh zucchini is just amazing!