Ok I've got two cherry trees one is rainier the other is bing, ants have begun to live on the underside of the leaves. What can I do to get rid of the ants? they seem to be harming the tree. What's a good solution to getting rid and keeping rid of the ants from the trees???
I've heard mint plants keep ants away, should I plant some mint plants around my trees? Will the mint affect the plants in an adverse way?
They are likely to be attending aphids on the foliage. Look for those, consider eliminating them in order to see a reduction in the ant presence.
You can't use pesticides in Vancouver! Buy some non-toxic "Tanglefoot" It is a really sticky paste. You can get it at Art knapps, Rona, H.D. etc. It comes in a tube or a tub or a spray can. Try to get a tube. The spray can doesn't work well. If you can only get a tub you need some-thing like a big popsickle stick to spread it with. What you have to do is wrap kitchen wrap (saran wrap?) around the trunk of the tree a couple of times so it stays in place. Then put a continuous band of tanglefoot all the way around the tree on the plastic wrap a couple inches from the top and then lower down on the kitchen wrap do a second row all the way around. You can do as many bands as you want really. This stops the ants. You have to monitor it. Some-times the ants make a bridge of bodies across the tanglefoot barriers so they can still get to the aphids and eat their tasty honeydew excrement. Just paste right over any ant bridges. As for the aphid elimination, as they have an exo-skeleton you can safely kill them with sprays of Safers' Insecticidal Soap. You have to actually coat them with this for it to work. You can also kill them if you hit them with a spray of hose water. When you knock them off with the spray, it breaks their feeding tube so they can't eat. The third thing is to purchase a midge that lays eggs in the aphids. "Aphidaletes sp." It's one of the only things I've found that actually stay in the tree you put them in. Lady Beetles usually fly some-where else. The midge will also over winter in the soil beneath the tree and the next year more of them will emerge to protect your garden. You can buy a thousand for about 30 dollars. You only need to release ten per tree. You can get them at Evergro. 604-940-0290 Ask for the Biological Department. (Bob or Kevin etc.) Evergro is in Delta and they also have a storefront warehouse off of Marine Drive (behind the McDonald's) You could ask at your local plant store if they can bring some in for you too. Remember to read all directions. By the way, don't leave the kitchen wrap on the tree all year long. Take it off at the end of the summer for sure, when the problem is gone.
I would describe two of the foregoing as pesticides, as they are manufactured preparations being used to adversely affect pests.
Blueberry - Put a high powered spray nozzel on your hose and spray as many of the aphids as you can off. Once off the tree they can't climb back up. Depending on the size of your tree you probably won't get them all but you can reduce the population and the damage. BTW Tangle foot works well for all kinds of critters that climb up plants and chew. Like Root wevels that climb up your rhodies at night. ;)) barb
Years ago I was told you could dilute dish detergent with water in a spray bottle to spray on aphids. I did this recently when I discovered some on one of my roses...I wanted to attack them right away and it really seemed to help. I was going to pick up some Safers but they're gone and the rose has really perked up.
If you do use a dish liquid, only use "Ivory Liquid" Many of the other liquids will burn the foliage. If you're unsure, do a test in a discrete area of the effected plant first. 1 tbs. to one litre of water.
Thanks David. I think I got lucky because I didn't use Ivory (I think it was Palmolive) and I didn't burn anything. With the number of roses we have, it probably wouldn't hurt to have some Safer's on hand but at the time I didn't want to wait. The plant is right next to the street and luckily not close to a lot of other plants but I didn't want to risk spreading. I thought it was best to attack them right away. ps. Hello from a former PoCo resident! I went to PoCo SS around the same time as Dan (maybe your brother?). He probably doesn't know me but I'm sure we have several friends in common.
Ditto to what David said. Years ago dish soap was pretty much just soap. Now they add de-greasers, skin softners and heaven knows what else. Don't use Dawn, that's for de-greasing birds. Where aphids are concerned the water pressure seems to be the key. Otherwise Safer soap is your best choice. (small word, huh?)
You're right about the water pressure! I've been using the Safer's but it doesn't work on the spit bugs. Seems crazy to spray them off using a $14 bottle of soap spray. So I brought out the hose today. Not only is water cheaper but you don't have to look at dead bugs on your rose buds!
