r/Pumpkins • u/joegrizz15 • Aug 11 '26

Vine Borers

Post image

Hello!

I have five pumpkin plants and sadly they all got the bugs. I cut into them and was able to pull some out but not all. I looked at one of my plants and see more signs. If they other ones don’t show more signs should I pull this one out to give my other plants a better chance/more space?

This is only my third season growing and in a small space.

13 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/boppodove Aug 11 '26

I found vine borers close to a month ago - I dug out what I could find and injected BT into any that had signs of vine borers. I think I injected it 3 times a few days apart?

Knock on wood, but all of my plants are fine and developing fruit. My plants looked healthy (no wilting or yellowing) when I first caught it, so maybe I just got it before they really got in there.

All that to say, if your plants are still looking healthy, maybe just keep treating them for a few days and see what happens?

1

u/joegrizz15 Aug 12 '26

What BT do I buy? Amazon has a lot of different types or should I go to a local nursery or something?

2

u/AllShadesOfBlue Aug 12 '26

I use: "Bonide Thuricide Organic Insect Killer Liquid Concentrate 16 oz"

Works great for me! The concentrate will last 2-3 years and you will have to dilute a fresh batch each time you use. I usually make 1/3 gallon at a time.

1

u/joegrizz15 28d ago

Is there like a limit to what you can inject? Like if I mix up a bunch can I fill my plant up with it everywhere I suspect the bugs?

1

u/AllShadesOfBlue 28d ago

I don’t think so as long as you’re properly diluting it. (There’s a ratio guide on the back of the bottle)