Post Reply
User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Ants bothering your small trees?

Image

This ant trap is made by wrapping masking tape around the tree with the sticky side out.
User avatar
ReptileAddiction
Greener Thumb
Posts: 866
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:52 am
Location: Southern California

Wow. That is a lot of ants! I have never had that on trees but have on other plants. Is it warm enough there for aphids yet? If it is I would guess that the ants are "farming" the aphids up high on the tree.
User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30543
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

That's a great idea!
Just yesterday, I saw some ants on my cherry trees which got me looking and I found the curled leaves with black oily aphids inside :evil:

Hopefully ths morning's frost slowed them down, but I'll wrap the trees tomorrow. :twisted:
User avatar
KeriFord
Senior Member
Posts: 122
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:50 pm
Location: South Arkansas

LOVE. THIS. IDEA.

Will be doing it to my poor, struggling peach tree.
User avatar
ReptileAddiction
Greener Thumb
Posts: 866
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:52 am
Location: Southern California

The other day I was out looking at my peach and it had ants on it. Now where near the amount that you have but it is also a brand new tree. I have not found a single aphid on it so I have no idea what they are doing? I am going to go out a wrap mine.
User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30543
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

OK you must have a super sticky masking tape, or the blue 3-M painter's tape is not sticky enough. The ants are walking right over it once they've figured it out.

It WAS amusing to see them get all confused -- "We LOST the trail !!!"

I'll have to dig out the can of tanglefoot ... I think I still have some.
imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13993
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

How often do you have to change the tape?
JONA878
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1014
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 2:14 am
Location: SUSSEX

Don't forget though that the ants were only there because you may have an aphid problem.
Get rid of the ants...but the aphids will need dealing with too.
User avatar
!potatoes!
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1938
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:13 pm
Location: wnc - zones 6/7 line

sometimes on things like cherries with extra-floral nectaries, the ants are just visiting-collecting, but not actually 'bothering' anything.

I did put the duct-tape version of that trap on the posts holding up the back porch last year. worked for a couple months.
User avatar
ReptileAddiction
Greener Thumb
Posts: 866
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:52 am
Location: Southern California

I realized that since mine is such a new tree it still has a stake so they would just climb in between the tree and the stake...

BTW James you have huge ants!
User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7420
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Brand new Polyethylene Plastic is slippery ants and spiders fall right off. If you wrap a strip of it around the tree starting at the bottom in a cork screw type circle up the tree, then tape it at the top, it makes a slippery place ants can not cross over.

Down side is after being outside aging in the weather it looses its slippery ability after a few months, it needs to be replaced with new plastic sometimes.

The .004 mil black ground cover plastic sold at Lowe's works great.


Post Reply

Return to “All Other Fruit”