Squash pests - Ask Extension
2 ? Are squash bugs and squash vine borers. The same species. I have vine borers this year and have had squash bugs in the past. What are good control...
Knowledgebase
Squash pests #880471
Asked August 06, 2024, 9:49 PM EDT
2 ? Are squash bugs and squash vine borers. The same species. I have vine borers this year and have had squash bugs in the past. What are good controls? Preferably organic but not necessarily.
Ingham County Michigan
Expert Response
These are 2 different pests.
Squash vine borer are a far more serious pest, since their larvae bore within the vines and can kill the plant over time. Squash bugs just cause cosmetic damage to the leaves. If you have had 1+ seasons of squash vine borer, you can rotate crops, use row covers around late JUne/early July so the vine borer moths cannot reach the vines and lay eggs, or apply spinosad to the plants around the time squash vine borer are active. Spinosad is toxic to bees and should not be applied to flowering plants.
https://extension.umn.edu/fruit-and-vegetable-insects/squash-bugs#:~:text=The%20squash%20bug%20is%20a,in%20late%20summer%20and%20fall.
https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/squash-vine-borers
Squash vine borer are a far more serious pest, since their larvae bore within the vines and can kill the plant over time. Squash bugs just cause cosmetic damage to the leaves. If you have had 1+ seasons of squash vine borer, you can rotate crops, use row covers around late JUne/early July so the vine borer moths cannot reach the vines and lay eggs, or apply spinosad to the plants around the time squash vine borer are active. Spinosad is toxic to bees and should not be applied to flowering plants.
https://extension.umn.edu/fruit-and-vegetable-insects/squash-bugs#:~:text=The%20squash%20bug%20is%20a,in%20late%20summer%20and%20fall.
https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/squash-vine-borers
