On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 19:49:49 +0100, "Gareth"
wrote:

I have 12 chilli plants in a greenhouse and a number of the plants have been
affected by ants - 1 in particular has clearly been damaged and isn't
bearing much if any fruit as a result of mechanical damage to the roots
caused by the ants.

I'm unclear as to why the ants are attracted to the plants but they are and
I guess that it's due to the nectar.

Does anyone have a suggestion of what insecticide I could use on the plants
to kill the ants? I really don't want to use insecticide and I don't use it
anywhere else in the garden or on other plants but I don't think I have a
choice.

Alternatively would an ant bait placed close to the plants do the trick?

I'm not going to have a surviving chilli plant left at the fast rate the
ants are destroying the plants - any help would be appreciated.

Gareth.

I think it more likely that there are aphids on the plants and the
ants are attracted to the honeydew, therefore it is those you need to
deal with first.
Where are the ants coming from? Are the plants in pots?
Are they nesting in one of the pots or are they in the soil?
A specific ant poison that you put down on a plastic lid or something
that they eat and take back to the nest is what I would do.
If the plants are in pots and there are ants in the soil, carefully
unpot the plant, dunk the root ball in a bucket and gently repot.



Pam in Bristol