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The worm-like larva of a moth; most often found in the Eastern U.S. Telltale signs include sawdust-like excrement near the holes it bores into squash stems, and the wilting and death of the leaves on these stems.
As with most pests, the best remedy is prevention - use row covers to keep the borers from getting to the plants, and/or hand-picking off any moths or borers, and/or using parasitic nematodes. Some gardeners use insecticide sprays, but it's too late to control the pests once they've bored into the stems of the plant.
To further the explanation by Terry - here holes are bored into the stem of a pumpkin and the borer starts to eat the inside of the stem leaving a slimy, orange residue.
Prevention is the best way to avoid problems, but it is sometimes difficult to keep these borers out, especially if organic methods are used. However, once the problem occurs it is possible to save the pumpkin. Remove and destroy the borer and clean out the wound.
Fill the hole with wet mud and the plant has a good chance of survival. Burying an uninfected part of the stem on one or more of the runners will also enable the pumpkin to generate more roots and still produce some nice sized pumpkins, depending on how early the borers are removed.
