Ants Coming Up My Nice Plant!

what can I do about the ants, without poisonings the weed!? Normally I'd spray with a pest soap solution for the aphids whatever,

but this nice outdoor growing plant is well in to budding out!

I haven't IDd what pest they're tending. Hope there's a good solution!

Are they causing any damage?

I thought ants would be good for taking care of pests depending on the type of course.

no they're prob tending aphids or whitefly ,or some other pest they're milking and that pest is prob doing the damage. I'm in very So Cal.

This all sounds good. Read up on this. I would try the cinnamon and diatomaceous earth.

JoeFromSD said:

no they're prob tending aphids or whitefly ,or some other pest they're milking and that pest is prob doing the damage. I'm in very So Cal.

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I'd check out exactly what they're doing they could be hunting food?

If it's brown ants tending aphids obviously they must go.

Best of luck.

JoeFromSD said:

no they're prob tending aphids or whitefly ,or some other pest they're milking and that pest is prob doing the damage. I'm in very So Cal.

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I spred a ring of pyrethrin on the base of the stalk ,It gets them as they come and go.

Where there's ants there's often aphids

The few times I've had ants physically on a plant in the veggie garden, they were farming aphids.

Just sprinkle some cinnamon on the low branches and around the watering bed after you water. Ants HATE cinnamon. I got the tip from someone on this forum and the ants are gone.

I'm central coast CA and any sign of little black or brown ants on the plants means they're setting up nurseries for aphids or whiteflies.

The reason you'll see ants on or near plants, is almost always because aphids are present. Aphids excrete a sweet sugary-like substance that ants are drawn to.

bigboerboel said:

Just sprinkle some cinnamon on the low branches and around the watering bed after you water. Ants HATE cinnamon. I got the tip from someone on this forum and the ants are gone.

I'm central coast CA and any sign of little black or brown ants on the plants means they're setting up nurseries for aphids or whiteflies.

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Honestly ants hate anything powdery.

Try this: find some ants on concrete, draw a chalk circle around them. They won't leave the circle!

Yep, guaranteed it's aphids.

I´m using glue on the main stem, ants can´t pass it. Same stuff in my orchard. Ants=aphids.

Ants here also. I wonder what he is eating.

the ants are after the sucrose excreted as waste by insects.

So when the aphids along with their ant buddies, showed up on this plant at about 4 weeks into flower, I hosed off the leaves as best I could and then I put diatomaceous earth around the stalk of the plant. This really cut down the amount of ants, not going to eliminate them entirely but helps.
When watering/feeding it is important to keep DE dry. If it soaks up water just becomes a paste that could rot the stalk so just keep it dry. Good luck.

Yesterday despite pretty much bluebird weather picked off the first bud rot of the season. It seems early this year. Anyway did a pretty good defoliation to improve air flow and that’s when I noticed tons of dead ants live ants and aphids. Not into spraying anything on flowers so just plan on a thorough washing at harvest. Bud rot sucks but it goes with the territory . Happy harvests growers