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Hi, I recently planted my tomatoes and already had some cucumber hills growing nearby. When I was digging today I found an area near my newest tomato swarmed with ants. First time gardener, so please forgive me, but is this ok? Will they harm the plants? Wondering if I should buy some bug killer.

Also, unrelated, my roma tomato I potted a few weeks ago outside looks pretty darn good, except for maybe two or three bottom leaves that have turned brown/curled up. Is this from not getting enough water or is there another culprit?

thanks!

When you see ants, check for aphids. If you don't see aphids, you'll be fine. As for the yellow leaves, I'm guessing they're just old leaves the plant doesn't need anymore. Check for new growth.

Thanks! I don't see any aphids. I know what they look like for sure as they are always on my roses!! Darn things. Should I pull off the wilted leaves or does it even matter?

On my cucs I do notice the older larger leaves have turned yellow. I usually do pick them off. My Cucs so far are doing great. Knock on wood.

btw- I love your quote, about the 9 ft tomatoe plant, lol...sounds like my dh.

Francis Barnswallow wrote:On my cucs I do notice the older larger leaves have turned yellow. I usually do pick them off. My Cucs so far are doing great. Knock on wood.

Ants are brutal here this year as well. They got into my indoor potted plants and I ended up having to dump out all my pots and change the soil.

I've read that planting mint around your plants will drive them away, but I've never tried it myself.

btw- I love your quote, about the 9 ft tomatoe plant, lol...sounds like my dh.

Dakwan, (who's now in his 80's), was a neighbor of mine about 5 years back. He's the one who got me hooked on gardening. He always got the bad luck when it came to gardening (animals/bugs/bad soil/you name it, it happened to him), but he always had a great sense of humor about it. I would hear him cursing at caterpillars every morning. Hearing that always started my day with a laugh.

ExcitableGardener wrote:Ants are brutal here this year as well. They got into my indoor potted plants and I ended up having to dump out all my pots and change the soil.

I've read that planting mint around your plants will drive them away, but I've never tried it myself.

I've got mint growing all over the place around my garden, borderline infestation. I still get ants.

Francis Barnswallow wrote:I've got mint growing all over the place around my garden, borderline infestation. I still get ants.

Ah, I guess I won't bother trying then. Of course things seem to vary with ants though. Sometimes certain poisons work for me and sometimes they don't.

I think this guy might have the right idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy3lSZ69OTo Haha, I'm not sure I want those things all over my lawn either though.

If you can find out where the nests are, pour boiling water on them. I know this will kill earthworms , but at least it won't poison your veggies and flowers/plants/family!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Ants do not eat living plants, so they aren't necessarily a problem. If you buy bug killer, you will likely be also killing off all the good bugs that you want for your garden.

But it does seem like this spring we have had an unusual number of people write in about unusual swarms of ants. Are you in one of the areas of the country that had a mild winter and warm early spring? I'm thinking this is why people are seeing so many ants. It probably also means that it will be a fierce summer for mosquitoes.

As Francis said, it is normal for the oldest leaves at the bottom of the tomato plant to yellow and shrivel. They are used up and get shaded out by the newer ones, so the plant just reclaims the nutrients from them. You can just remove them at that point.

rainbowgardener wrote:But it does seem like this spring we have had an unusual number of people write in about unusual swarms of ants. Are you in one of the areas of the country that had a mild winter and warm early spring? I'm thinking this is why people are seeing so many ants. It probably also means that it will be a fierce summer for mosquitoes.

We're in Arkansas near the OK border and we're covered up with ants and mosquitoes already. I resorted to putting some mosquito repellant on any exposed skin a few days ago when I was transplanting some zucchinis and the dang things decided to bite me through my shorts and shirt. I'll be investing in some bat houses ASAP...we haven't seen bats around here in a good 3-4 years.

And so far, the ants don't seem to be causing a problem for any of my plants. I found two huge nests when I was planting my beans and winter squash over a month ago but I'm not going to worry until I see signs of them causing trouble.

I Heard using Blackstrap unsulfured molasses deters ants, plus its a good drench with fish /seaweed emulsion.

Never tried it for ants.

I use borax to get rid of ants around the house. First thing in the spring I spred it around the whole house. It works! Not sure if it would harm your plants or not. But around the outside edge of your garden it might do the trick.

It certainly does seem like all the bugs we are not fans of are out in force already... Fire ants, ticks, Mosquitos ( diligently not scratching a dozen bites even as we speak) every time kids go out side we check for ticks when they come in... By fourth of july we'll be worried about. Being carried off or sucked dry...

I think this guy might have the right idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy3lSZ69OTo Haha, I'm not sure I want those things all over my lawn either though.

I see those in and near my garden eating moths every day. I love those lizards. The bigger lizards in the garden are used to me and won't run away until I get within inches of them, even then they don't move far. I swear I see the same big lizard in the same spot all day long.

Sadly, I'm pretty sure my garden will be a decent source of a moth diet for them in the next couple of weeks. I've seen some new larger moths lately, especially at night.

Expanding on the borax comment. Mix it with powdered sugar and water. They will bring the yummy stiff back to the queen and make short work of her. Longer term solution that just getting the ones outside the nest. Also get roaches.

OK, has anyone tried THIS method? I wonder if it would work on the little black ants that are causing mayhem in my raised beds and especially cherry trees by shepherding black oily aphids?

How To Get Rid of Ants In Your Garden (100% Proof It Works!!!!!)


...this guy is in Louisiana I believe — the ants in my garden don’t make piles/hills like that, so my first task would be to find nests from different colonies and find ways to to transport sufficient number of the workers/soldiers? to target colony.

Ants are plus minus in the garden. I prefer them to be minus. When I get in the garden, I don't always see them until they are crawling all over me. I do have about 4 species of ants. ( I sent a sample to the ant lab), one of them are tropical fire ants which do bite. When it rains, their house gets flooded and they come into my house. When it is dry, they come in the house for water. They do fight termites, but it is frustrating to try to control them indoors. Outdoors they do control other pests and their tunnels, like the earthworms, do aerate the soil. They in turn, are food for other denizens of the garden so they are an important player in the ecology of the garden. They are are also unintentional pollinators of some plants. They are part of the garden maintenance crew. They aid the decomposition of organic matter. I have seen ants dissecting roaches and carrying away the remains.

Ants in the garden protect and transport aphids, scale and other sucking pests as they farm them for their honeydew. They keep the ladybugs and other beneficial insects away. I put out Terro ant bait, when the new leaves start coming out especially around citrus trees and lemon grass which the ants love to nest near. Killing workers is futile, so baits work better since it targets the queen. I do have anoles,skinks and greenhouse frogs that eat ants. Ants nest in my pots, especially the orchids and that can be a real problem.