Through The Mud Clearly

This morning I noticed my squash plants were looking a bit odd. Then I noticed one of the squash had turned black! I discovered they had been invaded by hundreds of ants...the squash hadn't actually turned black; it was just being eaten. This did not make me happy. I turned to the Internet to find a "natural" way to get rid of ants. There were several suggestions and I chose two...I already had the stuff so I didn't have to buy anything. One of the remedies is coffee grounds and the other is black pepper. I ran out and dumped this mornings' coffee grounds on and around the invaders and then sprinkled a healthy dose of pepper all around. Apparently they eat the grounds and explode (so the Internet says). I'm not sure what the pepper does...probably makes them sneeze to death. So anyway, I went back out about 30 minutes later and..no live ants!!!! Mission accomplished. I also learned that baking soda, uncooked grits and instant rice will also do the deed! If you are a kind-hearted soul and don't actually want to kill them, you can sprinkle flour around the plants and the ants won't cross over the flour. Evidently i am not a kind-hearted soul!