I cant imagine the egg would even survive to hatch. Most insects place their eggs in a shaded moist location that will insure their survival. An egg that is no longer on the host plant and exposed directly to the elements will have a very low survival rate. I would just work the soil thoroughly, any eggs would become exposed to the sun or buried, either way not likely to survive. Not to mention that even if an egg hatched, it wont be where it should be and is doubtful the little larvae will survive either.

Squash leaves provide their own shade. That is, until the plant dies. Also, once the larvae do their damage in the stems, they crawl out and hide in the soil several inches down where they pupate until the next year. But yes, working the soil thoroughly at the end of the season would, you'd like to believe, kill them.

I think he has already removed his affected plants and wanted to make a new planting this year. He was concerned that some eggs may have fallen off of the plants when he removed them and was affraid they would infest his new plants.

That's right. Eggs without a host plant don't survive. They certainly don't turn straight into flying SVBs that will infest plants. Eggs laying on soil make absolutely no difference to new plants. In fact, larvae inside of old plants make absolutely no difference to new plants either. At this least year.

Thank you, appreciate the info!

When I drop eggs while picking off SVB eggs, I usually just throw a few handful of soil around where I think it fell,and move on. Judging from the size of the egg, the newborn larva must be tiny and I really doubt it would be able to work its way out of being covered by dirt and then find a plant to start boring into.

Being in zone 8B, I would wait because you have the dog days of summer coming, and they usually don't produce much in the heat. I'm in the Dallas area. I'll start my fall planting around mid-August, under row covers. I use tulle netting for protection.

No, that's not how it works. What comes out of eggs are larvae, not borers, and the larvae, once mature, have to pupate in the soil for many months before flying beasts emerge. What comes from eggs don't start boring until the following year.

Primer: The adult moth is called Squash Vine Borer. It lays eggs mainly on the stems and leaf stalks of squash vines. The larvae emerge from the eggs and bore into the plant. So, technically, the larvae is the borer.

If the egg was to drop on the ground, the odds of the emerging larvae being able to find, climb, and bore into a squash plant stem is almost nothing.

I hope that helps.

Good clarification. The larvae do, in fact, bore. But they bore into what they're laid on. They don't go seeking something to bore into.

vgkg, those were my exact thoughts, also. SVB eggs are rarely found, and only show up as a single egg. However, Squash bug eggs will be numerous, and are easy to spot.