Ants on my squash

[WiseOwl]

I have noticed tiny ants that are using my squash as I-75. Is this bad or good? I assume they eat the smaller bugs but this is the first year I have had this. Any input from yall gardeners out there would be greatly appreciated.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

it can be bad if they find a crack or cut in the vegtable. They will only ruin one squash if that happens though and they keep some bugs away and/or kill them. I usually let them be

[WiseOwl]

Well the buds are maybe a few days away from flowering and ole man up the road told me the ants are attracted to the squashes' "male parts"....he said if the ants have lil wings then you need to get em off. Since I put the lattice shade over my squash they have been flourishing...but I was just wondering since I was out there weeding and planting more stuff a lil while ago

[dilli]

check the plants over real well... often times the ants farm them and are good for pointing out other issues like aphids, white flies etc.. if they aint doing damage that i can see, i leave them be

[monkeybird]

Look out for squash bugs - they will destroy you crop totally, and for powdery mildew.

Terrible diseases for you squash. I know from experience.

[WiseOwl]

"Yeah the squarsh" bugs are terrible. I pick em off by hand and "squash" them.

[Rmplstlskn]

Not sure if related, but last year, before the season, I added some "garden soil" from a bag to one of my raised beds. This "garden soil" looked more like MULCH with some dirt, but I went on. That season I had these ants nest in my soil and they destroyed all my carrots by feeding on them and nesting in them... Whatever they did, they were all over my carrots below ground.

So last fall I dug out all that "garden soil" that I thought was going to IMPROVE my somewhat red clay-ish Virginia soil and just went back to good ol' Virginia soil with some leaf compost mixed in...

But those ants were a BAD thing in my garden... YMMV.

Rmpl

[jwalk]

had ants on one of apple trees this year. Ants dont hurt much but they are usually an indicator of aphids. I tried soapy water with habanero sauce that didnt work so used 7 which did.