Squash Vine Borer Newsletter

SQUASH VINE BORER

A Pretty but Destructive Moth

My friend Bob Webster and his partner Roberta Churchin own a wonderful 100% organic nursery (Shades of Green) in San Antonio. Bob does an organic gardening talk show there on KTSA. One of the most common questions we both get every year is how to control squash vine borers. Here’s his tip that seems to work very well. “This is what I’m doing for squash borer prevention this spring – actually injecting Bt into the stems which are hollow, especially the yellow squash varieties, so it’s easy to put about 5cc into each plant. my stock solution for injection is 1 oz. in about a cup of water. A few of my vines are cratering from heat and age but no sign of even a single borer.”