I did the manual "surgery" to remove the borers one year, and it was probably the most disgusting job I've ever had to do for my garden. Those worms wreaked havoc on my garden and even after painstakingly removing them they still kept coming back. I don't have the room to plant trap crops, nor do I feel they work as they just encourage more breeding of the bad insect.

This year I'm seeing the moths but I have no practical way of preventing them from laying eggs. Going to do what I did last time and use a systemic pesticide that both kills the borers and degrades into harmless compounds before harvest.

This is the second year I have had to deal with these monsters. This year I have been diligent picking the eggs off all my plants, (very time consuming) but yesterday I found 2 plants with evidence of the borers and had to pull the borers out - so I obviously missed at least 2, but probably more eggs. From my observations the moth lays the eggs on the top areas of the plant, I have found eggs on the tops and bottom of leaves, on the curly strings that catch the trellis netting, the leaf stems, bases of the flowers, and the plant stems, all mostly on the upper parts of the plants. Its extremely frustrating and heartbreaking to see the plants die after so much effort to protect them. In my search for a solution I did come across some netting for moths/butterflies - similar to deer netting in price and material, but it is NOT sold in the USA, at least not in a cost effective way. The UK and Europe sells the 'butterfly netting' for a similar price as deer netting $70/roll 7'x100'. Some companies here make something similar, but the price is triple or more; and to have it shipped from outside the US raises the price too high. This is the second time I have found solutions outside of this country that are available to other country's consumers - I can only think it has something to do with the chemical companies not wanting us to have organic options....very frustrated!!

According to the old farmer's almanac, what stage should we apply wood ashes and how do we apply it?

I appreciated all the information and the way it was presented - both organic and inorganic.
Many options available. Next year I will try new soil (am a container gardener), laying down wood ash at the stem's base (anyone tried this yet since 1963? If so, what are the results?) wrapping vines with foil, hilling soil, then more wood ash. How will the addition of wood ash affect the ph of the soil? Any amendments to counter it necessary?
Thanks.

If possible - could you add a photograph of the eggs laid at the stems?

Squash Vine Borer, the Garden Pest from Hell
The Squash vine borer is the hardest pest to control in my garden. Excuse my seeming cynicism in these comments, because I am a little, No, a lot frustrated with failure year after year and the lack of effective methods and frankly some silly advice in much of the literature. These little worms have got our number. We can go to the Moon, and that was 45 years ago, and cure many cancers now but we cannot solve the borer problem. I have no agenda against the writer(s) of this article and sincerely hope whoever it is will not take my views personal. I am sure they are professional writer(s) and above any pettiness that might come from a disrespect of my views. The contents here include most all the common points found in the literature universe I am aware of. If the writer(s) do take issue you may never see this article or they might retaliate by correcting my spelling or grammar. If so, I have had it. They can only give you the material available. The best advice any have given up to now on this subject is of limited value if not total crap. If not clear by now, I have attempted to inject a little humor in what I say. If that is not obvious then I suck at something besides fighting vine borers.
This article is somewhat helpful but all stuff I have heard before. Reading this article, I noticed there are no photos of the eggs and little information on how to read the signs of their presence before the eggs get laid? Timing is going to vary by your climate and latitude. Being able to act early and knowing what to do is critical. This article could not be more correct on that point. They are spot on. So what er ya gonna do? Sounds like you best be doing the whole list, all the way up to everything short of making a moth voodoo doll. Will you have time to run the rest of your garden? Will you engage in an focused and intense battle with the borers only notice later it has been two weeks and everything else died form neglect.
No photo of the moth here either. I thought moths were those butterfly looking things that fly around the porch light in the summer. These things look more like a wasp. I have seen them before and I found it a moment of helpless feelings that either he/she or one of its nearby cousins has a plan to cause loss of my squash and anything else they might fancy. Trying to catch or trap the moth? Good luck with that one. I am sure you will get one here or there with the right trap. Stand around the plants at dusk and dawn and catch them lighting on the plants and kill them. How? A fly swatter or dish towel pop? Does LOL fit here? All it takes it one moth to lay eggs on every plant you have, unless you have a commercial crop then it might take two or three. Photos? I really think they would be helpful so you know what to look for so you know they are here/there…you know? You still might fail to stop them but you are not blindsided. Plant two crops, one early and another later, which is intended to be one for the worms and one for you? Ridiculous! Don't plant where the moth eggs might be in the ground. Hmm? The moth can fly, so zipping over to another spot in the garden a few feet away is not going to trouble him. Netting? Will work for the birds maybe. For the Moths? That is sort of goofy. It might serve to keep the worm in. These moths are tiny and can easily get around if not through netting. Netting with holes that small might impact vital sunlight the plant requires. Just one moth finding its way past the netting and oh well, you are in for it again. So, more than likely, netting is not a very effective method to stop them. My frustration, and I expect yours as well, is that all you get are these measures to take; that in aggregate, do not stop the problem. No pun intended but there are holes in about everything suggested. Maybe it slows them down a bit but what do you profit by taking all the measures when one moth in one day can lay enough eggs to destroy your crop. Even you mange to take out the locals there is a chance an outside hit-moth from the next door garden with show up. And, you if don't see the eggs in time, inside two weeks they have moved in and started on the buffet. Even if you see the eggs before they hatch, how do you get them off other than cut a hunk out of the stalk? What happens if you drop a few in the process? I wonder.
Once you see the hole and the frass/droppings they are in the stalk and the only hope you have is injecting Dipel BT liquid inside the stalk but it is hard to tell where to inject with your syringe. Plus it is hard to get to the base without breaking the plant. Unless careful, you will do more damage than the worms. slit the stalk, remove the worm and cover the cut with soil. Good for the one worm. What about the rest of the family further up? What about the idea of sticking a wire in the holes to attempt to skewer them? Samurai Gardner, Hieah! Well that might work sometimes. Often there are three and four of the worms in one plant and they are constantly moving. So bag one and the others to still get the job done. Once inside the stalk they will flatten the plant in a matter of days. Last year I started slitting one plant and by the time I finished the plant was shredded with cuts because you have to start at the hole and keep cutting until you find the little jerk. I would say giving one of these worms one day on your plant is enough to wilt it severely. There is really no one single best solution and I find that discouraging. The only absolute way to stop them is to not plant squash.
This year I have planted squash and again, I will do battle with these ugly little slim bags for the freedom to have squash on the table. Sadistic really but I want squash. I refuse to let a worm dictate my dietary choices. My plan, while not perfect, is to spray, spray, spray. I plan to mix liquid seven and Malathion a little stronger than recommended and spray the stalks from the ground up to as much as a foot and the ground around it 6-8 inches. Do not spray blooms is good advice offer in this article. Why spray the ground? I don't know. It makes me feel better. If the worm gets a taste of the poison and makes a run for it maybe he won't get far. I will spray once a week. More if it rains. I may try wrapping the stalk with foil but suspect that it will be hard to apply enough to cover everywhere they might lay eggs. Plus the moth could get behind foil enough to give the eggs a barrier from the poison. I may try foil anyway because it is reasonable prevention. I will watch for the holes in the stalk and inject BT into infested plants. I fully expect I will have some get in but hope I can have them check out early. I will inject high and plentiful until I see it running out of the entry hole.
After all of that is done, or maybe better if before, pray the poison spray works.
Billy Knight
05/17/2016

I started my pumpkins in the greenhouse until July 14th. Thought I was safe here in south Jersey. But no, I just caught two moths today, August 5th. Obviously, we have a second hatch here. Yuk....