In article ,
"Helen Hartley" writes:
| Is there a simple way of stopping ants invading the apple trees.

No, but why do you want to? All they are doing is collecting the
honeydew from sap-sucking insects. Despite the tales of the old
wives, there is no evidence that the ants do any harm - there is
effectively NO evidence that they encourage infestations, and a
fair amount that they are completely irrelevant.

| I bought some grease band which is a kind of sticky tape that you wrap
| around the trunk (with the sticky facing outwards).
|
| However this is tricky to fit so the ants can't just crawl under it. They
| also seem to be able to cross it, even if it is very slowly.
|
| Is there some sort of sticky paste that I can just paint directly onto the
| trunk, or something homemade?

Ordinary axle grease works fine. The stuff you buy in tins for
machinery.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.