What a bore the last week has been! I had been on the look out for these squash bugs that folks had discussed earlier, but didn&#39;t see any. Earlier this week a few of my plants started looking really droopy so I investigated and found frass near the base of the plants... Two plants are totally dead and gone--removed from the garden. Two more aren&#39;t looking so good.<br>
<br>Anyway, I did some research online and found this great article about organic control of squash bugs and vine borers (they&#39;re different but control methods are similar). <a href="http://bit.ly/ju4fUH">http://bit.ly/ju4fUH</a> It isn&#39;t NC-specific, but the one article I found from NC extension basically said to put some poison on it.  It&#39;s not promising that this will lead to some half-dead plans surviving, but I may try cutting into the stem of one to kill the borer...a last resort.  <br>
<br>Thought I&#39;d share some things I learned about squash pests that may be helpful:<br><br>1) You probably will have them--either the bugs or the borers so start your system of control now for next year (see link above). I thought I was immune--big mistake! Also I learned the bugs can fly up to 1/2 mile so with all us gardeners around here, they&#39;ll be back!<br>
<br>2) They come out sometime in early May to Mid-June, so be on the look out right about then... And by &quot;look out&quot; I mean not just the bugs on the leaves, but the borers in the stems too! I found a Minnesota-based website that said late June, but I&#39;d back that up earlier for us. Anyone have more info on the timing?<br>
<br>3) The bugs and borers usually have one life cycle, but perhaps two in some southern climates. So, possibly, you can replant your squash in July and they&#39;ll be safe for the season...or maybe not... Any advice?<br>
<br>4) Plant resistant varieties that were listed in a post earlier this year on this forum. <br><br>At least I got two giant marrows out of the dead plants before they were taken down by the bores. This was of much interest to my fiance who is an Agatha Christie fan. Apparently Agatha writes about a Belgian man who retires to grow marrow and there is much discussion among her fan base about exactly what a marrow is. We ate one for lunch on Wednesday. Delicious!<br>
<br>Bored on Penn Rd,<br><br>Jennifer <br><br>