Let me start off by saying this is ALMOST DIY.
It uses two commercial organic pesticides, among other ingredients that I add.
So while this is a do-it-yourself concoction, it’s not 100% homemade. However, the individual ingredients are not enough to provide effective control of and protection from squash bugs and vine borers.
It’s also not 100% organic because of the dish soap. Truthfully, you could leave it out. However, you’re going to have more dish soap residue on your clean dinner dishes than you are on your produce; so, this is relatively minor and trivial.
With that being said, this recipe is part of my secret trick for keeping the squash bugs and vine borers at bay!
I’d also like to meet the person who can craft an organic, 100% homemade squash vine borer pesticide, because that individual deserves a hug and the largest cookie I can bake. Seriously.
I think that’s too much to ask for, though!
I will also walk you through the process of using this spray, in order to ensure your success at home.
If you have been following our blog, you’re probably aware of our great squash bug and borer experiments that we’ve mentioned throughout numerous recent blog posts.
This is part of the reason our plants lived their best lives, well, until my promised protection started going out the window.
The summer got hotter. Work days got longer. Then vacation happened. That last one dealt the final blow.
But we were getting a bit overwhelmed with the squash, so clearly we had a successful season!
The Ultimate Squash Bug Spray Recipe
I combine all of this inside of a 32 oz pump style sprayer. These estimations are approximate; I’m not a recipe-follower, or a rule follower… I haven’t killed anything yet (well, plant-wise, anyways!), so I take it as a good sign! You can follow exact ratios as indicated on the product containers, but I like my brew a teensy bit stronger.
- 1 oz of Organocide
- 1 splash of Safer Caterpillar Killer (I use up to 1/2 oz)
- a squirt of Dawn (or other dish detergent)
- Fill it on up with water!
Important side note: Next year, I will be infusing the filler water with cucumber tea. This will be made by chopping up the leaves, flowers, and stems of cucumber plants with water. Why? Because cucumber plants were a part of this experiment this year, and I believe they assisted with the delay of squash vine borers! When I say I was experimenting with EVERYTHING to keep these suckers away, I literally did! I raised a suspicious eyebrow at this video (along with many others) and I do believe it’s effective. Give me next year, and I’ll find out WHY it’s effective with two additional experiments! Stay tuned for that!
Why These Ingredients?
The Organocide is a replacement for neem oil sprays. I use it because I do NOT want to hurt the bees! There are also squash bees that’ll visit your squash plants; these little guys only feed on squash plants, and it’s important to have them around.
The caterpillar killer is composed of bacillus thuringiensis. It may sound scary, but trust me: it’s not! It’s a biological pesticide. So, what’s it doing in this recipe, you ask? Well, it’s one of the only organic methods of controlling squash vine borers. Borer larvae will injest this bacteria, immediately stop feeding, and will die over the course of a few days. It’s completely harmless for humans. If your squash plant up and died quickly, it was likely the borers. Then the next plant goes down, then the next, and so on. I use it on the plant’s exterior, and inject it for any who hatched and burrowed between effective sprays (the culture only lives for 2 days, hatching eggs could make it through vines between sprays)
Like many other insects, squash bugs will drown when sprayed with a mixture of dish soap and water. This is an extra measure that I use to both kill squash bugs on contact, and help the pesticides to adhere to the plant. You don’t need much; just a little squirt.
Water is for dilution and application.
How and When to Apply Your Homemade Squash Bug Spray
Be prepared to get on a schedule if you want to win this fight.
This is going to take some dedication.
It’s worth it though, I assure you of that!
To begin with, you want to use prevention from day one. Fight to keep the squash bugs and vine borers from landing on your plants in the first place (both can fly). The longer you can prevent them from visiting, the more success you will have; eventually, they will land; shortly thereafter, they will take you for every squash plant you have.
Every two days, especially in the early morning if possible (when the squash bugs are coming out to feed), you want to spray your plants. Spray the tops of the leaves, the undersides, and the leaf stems. Make your way down to the base of the plant, and around the base of the plant. You want to heavily spray, especially along the stems.
If you have a heavy infestation that you can see covering the plant, start from the bottom up. This will essentially “trap” the squash bugs so that they cannot retreat down the stems to the ground in order to hide. Be sure to saturate the plants completely for these infestations. If the worst plants look like they’re going to kick the bucket, rip them out and replant if you have enough time for a second harvest.
If you’re finding large numbers of eggs, I highly recommend taking a minute to rip out the largest clusters. I do believe the spray assists in killing the eggs, but I was ripping off as many as I could as prevention, too; unless I didn’t have the time.
Improving Your Success: Fighting the Squash Vine Borer from the Inside
As a final measure, I injected the squash vines with bacillus thuringiensis, in order to treat the plants for any hidden borer larvae. Once the borers make it in, they kill the plant from the inside out. You’re not going to know they’re there until the plant is too far gone in most cases. Instead of playing guessing games, I simply inject the leaf stems and primary stalk once per week.
This method is less invasive than slicing stems open, and it’s much less work.
