Bean Beetle & Squash Borer

We have a couple of new garden tennants. They have been living rent free while they damage the premises. They have been evicted but not before their mug shots were taken! It took a good chunk of my time this morning but it had to be done.

Squash Borer & Damage

My zucchini plants are in two raised beds. The first in bed #7 has four plants while the other in bed #5 has one. The zucchini in bed #5 have not caught up to the others but is still producing. Those in bed #7 are producing three to four zucchini daily.

Four out of five of my zucchini plants have been attacked by squash borer. The zucchini plants themselves show very little signs of damage as far as leaves or fruit production. I removed this squash borer by slicing the stem with a sharp knife then flicked out the borer. On at least one plant, I found more than one borer. As far as I know, I think I got them all. Once the borers were removed, I covered the damaged area and slit with fresh moist soil to prevent damage from other insects. Any affected leaves and there were few, were removed to ensure there were no borers hiding inside. Each bed then received a healthy dose of epsom salt. I'll wait to fertilize for a few days to be sure all borers were removed.

Squash Borer

Isn't he just a sweetie? The squash borer is really a nuisance! This is the second year I've dealt with them. Digging borers out of the stems is really not a fun way to spend your time. If caught in time, the plant can be saved and it will continue to produce. I'm confident I caught the infestation in time although this guy did enough damage in bed #5 that the plant may not produce as well.

Bean Beetle

As per my previous entry, it has been the year of the beetle and I'm learning a lot about them. The bean beetle differs from lady beetles and Mexican bean beetle in that it has six spots along with two strips at the outer edges of its wings. It is about 4 mm long, close to the same size as the Mexican bean beetle but orangy red instead of tannish yellow. This is a destructive beetle that likes to feed on bean leaves. We live in an agricultural area so these types of insects find their way into the home garden. As always, my standard treatment is manual removal, identification as to friend or foe, then appropriate measures. Once this little guy was identified, he had his mug shot then went to beetle heaven.

Happy Gardening

Garden Gnome