Volunteer Squash? Get Rid of it

Q. I had a volunteer plant in my flowerbed last summer. It looked like a squash plant, had very tiny white flowers, and grew hugely. I finally cut it down because it produced no fruit and shaded everything for several feet around. Perhaps if I left it vine I would get some fruit from it.

Squash leaves can be the source of many different types of harmful insects.

A. I wouldn't waste my time with a volunteer squash/pumpkin/melon vine. When a plant is growing where it shouldn’t be, it is a weed and should be removed if you value its neighbors.

Squash and all their relatives such as pumpkins and melon many times hybridize or cross pollinate among themselves. The seed they produce is a blend between the two parents. 99% of the time it will not be an improvement over the parents as far as eating quality.

By letting it grow their it's just a source of harmful insects that will infest the other plants because they are "dirty" unless they are cared for in a garden setting.