Somewhere along the way I read about a natural method to keep the dreaded squash vine borer from destroying my squash vines and crop. This method involved using fireants. Yep, I thought the same thing. However, as I'm much given to experimentation and hyperbole, I decided to give it a whirl this year to see what would happen.

I began my sophisticated experiment by breaking out the labratory gear (a lawn chair and a cooler of beer). I stared intently at the raised beds, deeply pondering how I'd get the ants to come where I wanted them. I went through several beakers of potion (Corona with lime) without the first clue, then realized I needed help.

Help, as I define it, is my neighbor Tony. Tony is an ant expert's ant expert. He's got a yard full that he regularly tends with a bottle of white powder specifically formulated to get ants to leave their existing home and build a new mound five to six feet from the current one. He's also a real pro at finding hidden colonies with both his lawnmower and his bare feet.

Anyway, Tony joined me in the planning lab and we set about working together on how to get the ants to colonize in the squash bed. About the time Tony and I had a nice stack of redneck bud vases ready, it hit me. The ground, that is, since I fell out my chair, but that got me thinking about sunflowers. There's always a trail of ants and a mound or two where sunflowers grow.

Now, why did falling out the chair get me to thinking about sunflowers? I dunno. Tony said something about epiphanys being funny that way. Now I knew Tony was real smart, but that he knew the latin name for sunflowers impressed me immensely.

Anyway, getting back on track, before I planted the squash in the 4x12 raised bed, I planted a single row of tall growing sunflowers down the middle of the bed. Epiphanous Gianticus Tony would no doubt say. Then I planted the seeds of both straight and crook neck down either side of the sunflowers.

That was back in late April, early May. I also have a control group in a bed all their own. They're a control group since they were leftover remnant seeds that I lacked the control to simply discard.

The control group has received the same TLC as the other bed, but the ants were drawn to those sunflowers like a cat to a can opener. Most of the control group plants are showing squash vine borer wear and tear, but the others are unphased. I notice the ants patrol the squash plants regularly, but don't seem to hurt them. I just need to be careful to wear gloves when I pick squash to avoid trouble from the ants.

Tony has had the same luck in keeping down the vine borers. His ants are prospering, too.

Anyone else ever notice that ants control/reduce the squash vine borer damage, or am I lawn chair dreaming?