Surgery for Squash Vine Borers

This is a look at the damage done to the base of a squash plant by a squash vine borer as he bores and eats through the stem. You may see holes in the stem and a sawdust-like mess.

Once inside the plant, the only way to get borers is to go after them. Some gardeners use a small knife to carefully cut lengthwise, not across, the infested part of the stem and poke (to kill) or extract the borers.

Once you root the borers out, cover the vine (if it still has some life left) with soil and water thoroughly. It may root again. What have you got to lose?

When squash vines suddenly collapse, it’s may be the work of squash vine borers. You can read about them in our pest ID section. If you find that borers are at work, here is a last ditch technique to perhaps save your plants.

Once borers are inside the plants, you have two options: ignore them and harvest what your plant will give you until it finally succumbs, or go after the rascals with a knife. If you have only a precious few plants, it may pay to try to extract them. See the photos to the right. If you have more than two months left in the growing season, you can also plant another batch of squash and watch them carefully from the beginning.

Be sure to read more about squash vine borers in our Pest ID section so that you can see how to recognize the eggs and get them off the remaining stems before they hatch. They’ll be back, too, so keep an eye out for them. They eggs hatch in a week or less after they are laid, so check often.

"You know you’re a gardening nerd when . . . you do surgery for borers."