Question for Gardners…

Other than pesticides….what can I do to get rid of that bore beetle ,that attacks my zucchini plants root system ? Thanks

Dusting them with DE powder works for us.

I use liquid 7. It's not natural like you were asking but it works.

I've heard of soapy water to control grubs in lawns. Maybe that would work on beetles?

i have been told to use dalmatius earth(spelling?) around plants . i use some yellow plastic jars with soapy water near the base of the plant.the yellow attracts the moth and they drown. i also use 7, and still have a few problems with the borer every year

Beer traps.

Take a plastic container,
sand the upper lip smooth,
sink it flush in soil,
fill with beer, or beer water mix,
be amazed how many bad bugs go in there.

Saving this^^^

Those squash bugs are pretty resilient. Seven dust makes em grow. Diazinon on the ground when you plant works pretty good. Once you get them they will be there every year. Since the stuff works so good of course today you can no longer buy it.

Kinda like Newt and his bed bugs. The solution for them is DDT.

Bugs don't get resistant to dietomacous earth. I probably spelled it wrong. Buy it by the 50 lb. Bag if you can. No, I am not benefitting by the sale of DE. But it is good for the soil too. It's a must have.

You can try slicing the grubs out and mounding dirt over the affected area hoping new roots will form...when that doesn't work, lol, dig the plants out and plant new ones.
Later plantings can usually miss the worst of the damage.
The DE dusted on the stems can work for awhile, but only on the bug that lays the eggs grubs form from, the grubs inside the stem won't be killed.

But, it's zucchinis, how many of those things you want anyway?

Is DE just burnt soil?
Growing cukes where a campfire was works well here.

I tried DE years ago and no help.
Likely didn't use enough or other error.

DE is mined. Not burnt soil. I think wright brothers is thinking of humates.

Wood ashes sprinkled around the base of plants works some too, probably what your thinking of "burnt" soil, Diatomaceous earth is the mined ground up remains of marine diatoms. The DE consists of microscopic razor like shards that penetrate the insects bodies dehydrating and killing them. Problem with all this stuff is it needs repeated applications.

Scuba1 spells it the same way I do... DE

I've seen where some people wrap aluminum foil around the base of the plant to protect it.

The only success I've had against them is to spray them at the base/stem of the plant.

So…how do you apply the “ DE “ …?

And the base of the plants, helps with cutworms on new seedlings too