Most pumpkins and winter squash have the ability to root at every node on their stems. Why not take advantage of this fact to defeat vine borers?

If vine borers wreck one part of a pumpkin stem, the plant will continue to thrive if it has rooted at multiple nodes. I’ve seen the original stem of a vine destroyed by a vine borer, yet a foot away from the damage, there are happy vines.

This only happens when the vines are growing along the ground, however. If you grow pumpkin vines vertically, you lose their best defense against vine borer damage.