ants in parsley
 

ants in parsley
 

On Jun 23, 7:51 am, (Glenna Rose) wrote:
writes:
On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 23:45:44 -0000, thistletoes wrote:

Anyone know why ants would camp out in the upper branches of my
parsely. They try to attack me when I go out to harvest the leaves.
These ants are a bit over 1/8"-4mm approx- long, half red/half black
and real mean.
Deb

Hi Deb,as the others have said they are probably farming aphids.
This is bad. The good bit is the ants are also protecting the plants
against any other insects that may damage "their" farm.
A double edged sword.
So if you don't mind the job of hosing off the aphids every now and again
its best to not poison the ants.
--
Regards From
Wane Smooth

And if there are aphids, a package of ladybugs will make short work of
them as well as benifiting the rest of the garden/yard. If the ants are
there for farming, with the aphids gone, they will also vacate the plants.

My pesticide is ladybugs supplemented by birds. I keep the insect-eating
birds around by leaving my compost bin open with the attractant scraps on
top to keep a supply of fruit flies out there so the birds will be looking
my garden's way for breakfast. That, combined with healthy soil, works
extremely well. Aphids in my back yard, where the garden is, are not
findable after I release the ladybugs each spring and difficult to find
even before. The front yard on my roses is another matter until the new
ladybugs migrate around to the front. (And my neighbors love the lessened
population of aphids as well!)

Glenna


I was just out there with my camera. Photographing ants is not easy.
Since I'm in N Idaho (cold winters) & already have those big black
carpenter ants, so I wonder if these are the red-headed carpenter
ants. The abdomen shape and color is the same. I am pretty sure they
are the 1 node kind - very hard to see. When I get close to
photograph or view with magnifier, they aggressively stand up on hind
legs, tuck the abdomen under & open the mandibles, ready to bite. If
I touch the plant they run right up my hand, biting as they go.

The funny thing is I still see no aphids. There are still remains of
that residue from the spittle bugs, though and I really think that's
what they are after. Since it is mainly on the near-to-bolting top of
the parsley, I will cut that off. And, as you all suggest, I'll spray
off the plants now and then, especially before I go out to pick any
leaves. If they get out of control, I will have no choice but to use
Sevin since I cannot be bitten on hands and ankles every time I go
into the garden.

I agree, Ladybugs are great for aphids. What about those darn spittle
bugs? A month or so ago, they were on every tall standing plant,
weeds, grasses. And that foamy protection they exude seems
impenetrable. Maybe when I first see them, I should hose the
daylights out of my garden area, at least. I have 10 acres of trees,
shrubs, grasses so there is a lot of territory for pests & I'm
surrounded by much larger, untended plots of land.

Thanks All for your advice.

ants in parsley
 

On Jun 23, 8:54 am, thistletoes wrote:
On Jun 23, 7:51 am, (Glenna Rose) wrote:



writes:
On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 23:45:44 -0000, thistletoes wrote:

Anyone know why ants would camp out in the upper branches of my
parsley. They try to attack me when I go out to harvest the leaves.
These ants are a bit over 1/8"-4mm approx- long, half red/half black
and real mean.
Deb

Hi Deb,as the others have said they are probably farming aphids.
This is bad. The good bit is the ants are also protecting the plants
against any other insects that may damage "their" farm.
A double edged sword.
So if you don't mind the job of hosing off the aphids every now and again
its best to not poison the ants.
--
Regards From
Wane Smooth

And if there are aphids, a package of ladybugs will make short work of
them as well as benefiting the rest of the garden/yard. If the ants are
there for farming, with the aphids gone, they will also vacate the plants.

My pesticide is ladybugs supplemented by birds. I keep the insect-eating
birds around by leaving my compost bin open with the attractant scraps on
top to keep a supply of fruit flies out there so the birds will be looking
my garden's way for breakfast. That, combined with healthy soil, works
extremely well. Aphids in my back yard, where the garden is, are not
findable after I release the ladybugs each spring and difficult to find
even before. The front yard on my roses is another matter until the new
ladybugs migrate around to the front. (And my neighbors love the lessened
population of aphids as well!)

Glenna

I was just out there with my camera. Photographing ants is not easy.
Since I'm in N Idaho (cold winters) & already have those big black
carpenter ants, so I wonder if these are the red-headed carpenter
ants. The abdomen shape and color is the same. I am pretty sure they
are the 1 node kind - very hard to see. When I get close to
photograph or view with magnifier, they aggressively stand up on hind
legs, tuck the abdomen under & open the mandibles, ready to bite. If
I touch the plant they run right up my hand, biting as they go.

The funny thing is I still see no aphids. There are still remains of
that residue from the spittle bugs, though and I really think that's
what they are after. Since it is mainly on the near-to-bolting top of
the parsley, I will cut that off. And, as you all suggest, I'll spray
off the plants now and then, especially before I go out to pick any
leaves. If they get out of control, I will have no choice but to use
Sevin since I cannot be bitten on hands and ankles every time I go
into the garden.

I agree, Ladybugs are great for aphids. What about those darn spittle
bugs? A month or so ago, they were on every tall standing plant,
weeds, grasses. And that foamy protection they exude seems
impenetrable. Maybe when I first see them, I should hose the
daylights out of my garden area, at least. I have 10 acres of trees,
shrubs, grasses so there is a lot of territory for pests & I'm
surrounded by much larger, untended plots of land.

Thanks All for your advice.

Ok - red face here. As I was pruning the parsley, lo & behold, I saw
cleverly hidden aphids. The battle is on...
Deb