How To Protect Squash Plants From Pests With A Genius Toilet Paper Roll Hack

Squash vine pests are the kind of villains that don't announce themselves in your garden until the damage is done. One day, your squash plant is thriving, you're looking up zucchini recipes, and the next, it's all over. The culprit, once you've ruled out necessary watering and light issues, is usually a pesky moth called a squash vine borer that lays eggs at the base of the stem. Its larvae then burrow in and block the water supply to the rest of your lovely plant — how rude!

But here's where this simple toilet paper roll hack comes in to save the day. Take an empty cardboard roll, cut it lengthwise, and wrap it around the base of your young squash plant — the roll should sit snug against the soil, forming a little protective collar. The idea is incredibly simple: now the borer can't get to the stem to lay its eggs. 

This trick only works because the vine borer is irritatingly predictable: it always targets one vulnerable spot right at the soil line. So, covering that area — even with something as basic as a toilet paper roll — stops it in its tracks. Plus, toilet rolls are cheap, easy, and biodegradable, so they're a great option for a home garden. If you've got extra rolls lying around, there are at least ten other DIY hacks to use empty toilet paper rolls at home, so nothing goes to waste.

The toilet paper hack is pretty clever, and so is the aluminum foil hack that keeps squash vine borers out of your garden, but these tricks won't do much for any of the other usual suspects — like squash bugs and cucumber beetles. These pests don't need to crawl into the stem, so you'll need a different strategy for them, and it's a bit... messier. But in a great way. 

Enter the concept of companion planting. The idea here is to mix in strong-scented herbs like dill and nasturtiums around your squash, to deter pests. Nasturtiums, for example, don't just look good — they're great at confusing pests with their strong aroma. This is one of the best ways to grow squash in a crowded garden, where pest control options can be limited. 

Utilizing all of these tactics at once will make your beautiful squash plant less of a sitting duck to pests and prey. The goal for pest control isn't perfection or aesthetics — it's disruption. If you can confuse the bugs and throw them off their game, you can keep your plants alive long enough to actually harvest some squash.