gympup10
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Location: Georgia

Ants

I'm having a bad problem with ants and something else eating just the yellow flowers in my garden not the actual fruit... Should I try yo get rid of them or let them stay until they start messing things up :?: :?: or what do you think :?: :?:

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microcollie
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Location: Western MA

As a rule, ant don't normally bother plants. They are often seen in conjunction with other infestations, as they eat the secretions of aphids and other insects. Find out what the others are (pictures would help) and then you can figure a way to control them.

Toil
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I've seen ants attack plants directly, but not flowers. I came to an informal conclusion that what I saw was ants clearing seedlings to make their nest secure.

Not sure what explains your observation, but I think it is safe to not trust ants. They are usually up to no good.

rockehorror
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Location: Los Angeles

I'm having a similar problem, but not with just the yellow blossoms. The blossoms of my tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers and melons are being attacked by these tiny red/black ants. I know it's the ants because I inspect my garden several times a day. What I see is that the ants crawl into the blossom, chew around the inside and then the blossom drops off in a day or so.

I placed ant stakes around the garden. To boost their attractiveness to the ants, I made a heavy sugar/water mixture and brushed it around the opening of the stakes.

Good luck.

oldleo
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Location: kuching

microcollie wrote:As a rule, ant don't normally bother plants. They are often seen in conjunction with other infestations, as they eat the secretions of aphids and other insects. Find out what the others are (pictures would help) and then you can figure a way to control them.
I am now facing the problem with ants and aphids. May I know how to control them? please help.

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rainbowgardener
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If you get rid of the aphids, the ants will usually go away (though apparently there are some exceptions to that discussed above). And some times the ants are "farming" the aphids and will bring some back to restart their "farm." :evil:

Anyway, I would start with the aphids as they are easy. They are slow and stupid and just sit there and let you squish them. So you can just go over your plant and squish them, if your garden is manageable size. Otherwise you can spray with soapy water (just being sure it is real soap, not detergent, dishwashing liquid is usually detergent which can burn your plants).

Ladybugs are the best predator for them; you can buy them on line for release in your garden.

Here's a previous thread about aphid control:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=99388&highlight=aphid+control#99388

Get rid of the aphids and see what happens. If you still think you need to get rid of the ants, come back here and type ant control into the Search the Forum Keyword box.

oldleo
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Thank you rainbowgardener, I think I'll squish the aphids then. Thank you.



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