Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
antz!
I am cursed with ants this year. The house is bad enough, they get
into everything. But in the garden they kill stuff. They killed my chinese tallow tree, they traumatised my quince. Now they are killing my capsicums, and I had a great crop coming on. Usually it is not actually the ants that do the damage, although in the case of the quince they bore through the fruit leaving it inedible. The problem is that the ants farm the aphids. My poor old capsicum are wilting away to a shadow of their previous glory. I have treated the trees by smearing this really sticky stuff around the trunk that Dad uses for his olives. Does a great job but not practical for capsicum plants. What should I do? Obviously I am reluctant to use poisons on edible plants... |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
antz!
"brucef" wrote in message
... I am cursed with ants this year. The house is bad enough, they get into everything. But in the garden they kill stuff. They killed my chinese tallow tree, they traumatised my quince. Now they are killing my capsicums, and I had a great crop coming on. Usually it is not actually the ants that do the damage, although in the case of the quince they bore through the fruit leaving it inedible. The problem is that the ants farm the aphids. My poor old capsicum are wilting away to a shadow of their previous glory. I have treated the trees by smearing this really sticky stuff around the trunk that Dad uses for his olives. Does a great job but not practical for capsicum plants. What should I do? Obviously I am reluctant to use poisons on edible plants... i believe that they won't (or can't) cross a nice thick wide smear of vaseline on the plant stem - like the trees but on a smaller & less sticky scale - if you try it could you let me know? (as you know, some gardening advice is just rot because nobody's ever actually tested it!!!!) i get ants & aphids on my broad beans, but the above seems like a bit too much trouble (given the way broad beans are planted & grow closely in blocks) so i've used derris dust. it does mostly work - it's just that you'll get more later on, so it's a sort of temporary respite just to tide you over until you can pull the plants for good. kylie |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
antz!
On Mar 29, 2:50*pm, "0tterbot" wrote:
i believe that they won't (or can't) cross a nice thick wide smear of vaseline on the plant stem - like the trees but on a smaller & less sticky scale I thought of that, but I don't know that it is feasible. The leaves and fruit tend to drape on the ground. I considered pruning them a bit, but actually the plants seem to be coming back. I think maybe the arrival (finally) of cooler weather has reduced the ants. They don't seem to be an issue in the house either. i've used derris dust. If the plants suffer a relapse I will try that. Bruce |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
antz!
i'm sorry to hear of your problems!
the "symbiotic" relationship that ants have with aphids (well, it may be more a slave-master system, im not sure!) is very interesting, although as a grower under attack from them im sure you dont care about how interesting it is at the moment lol But from this document ... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1009212548.htm It suggests that ants leave trails using their feet... A previous replier to this thread, 0tterbot, suggested using a line of vasoline. Whether or not that will work I dont know, but that sort of approach seems like the way to go. I guess ants cant leave their chemical footprints in water, nor can they swim well, so maybe a medieval-style moat around your plants will do the trick? |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
antz!
Dave -Turner wrote:
i'm sorry to hear of your problems! the "symbiotic" relationship that ants have with aphids (well, it may be more a slave-master system, im not sure!) is very interesting, although as a grower under attack from them im sure you dont care about how interesting it is at the moment lol But from this document ... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1009212548.htm It suggests that ants leave trails using their feet... A previous replier to this thread, 0tterbot, suggested using a line of vasoline. Whether or not that will work I dont know, but that sort of approach seems like the way to go. I guess ants cant leave their chemical footprints in water, nor can they swim well, so maybe a medieval-style moat around your plants will do the trick? Just FYI, I tried the vaseline method on my roses AND IT WORKS!!! Not a single, solitary aphid for months until the vaso wore off. Reapplied it and, bingo, no more aphids again. You have to make sure the only route to the luscious growing tips is via the plant's stem (ie not via a branch that touches a fence or anything else, since the ants will invoke Plan B to get what they want. -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
antz!
On Apr 4, 8:15*am, Trish Brown wrote:
Just FYI, I tried the vaseline method on my roses AND IT WORKS!!! Not a single, solitary aphid for months until the vaso wore off. I have some stuff that my dad gave me that he uses for his olive trees. It is similar to vaseline but much stickier - don't touch because it won't come off. It lasts a lot longer than vaseline, should last at least a year. I wrap the trunk with gaffa tape first and then apply the goo. However for small shrubs it is hard to isolate the plant completely from the ground. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
antz!
"Trish Brown" wrote in message
... Just FYI, I tried the vaseline method on my roses AND IT WORKS!!! Not a single, solitary aphid for months until the vaso wore off. great result :-))) I guess ants don't like to climb on things that they can get stuck to? |