Ohio grower's ruined zucchini sparked theories about missed watering and squash borers

Theory Briefing

• A Columbus gardener's zucchini crop was ruined, sparking debate over whether drought stress or squash vine borer damage was to blame.
• Missed watering and squash borers produce similar wilting symptoms, making it genuinely hard to tell the two causes apart without close inspection.
• The distinction matters practically — one calls for more water, the other for removing larvae burrowed inside the stem.
• Squash vine borers are a common but underdiagnosed threat, often mistaken for simple neglect by home growers.