Hello all, I need some advice. I planted a plum tree in the garden a year ago and have recently discovered in the evenings woodlice all over the base. There is no dead wood around the plum tree. How can I get rid of them and will they damage the plum tree? I also noted yesterday ants on the leaves. Thank you
Woodlice eat dead plant matter; so, they should be harmless to the plum tree. The ants are another matter; they are usually an indicator of aphids on the tree. If you see ants going up and down the trunk, look carefully at the undersides of new leaves; there might be lots of small, green aphids, which are being "farmed" by the ants. I get this combination of aphids and ants every year on my plum tree and use Tree Tanglefoot to keep the ants off the tree. Once the aphids are established in numbers, you may have to spray to control them.
Wendy, teacher said "There is no dead wood around the plum tree". And, as far as I know, they would only eat very rotten wood, which would be obvious; although, they do like to hide in and under pieces of firm dead wood.
Thank you all for your reply. The tree is only 2.5 feet and a dwarf plum tree planted last year. I have not had any fruit growth on it yet. (I actually thought I'd bought a tree that would grow full length) I will definitely look into getting Tree Tanglefoot. I have clay soil in the ground. When I dug the hole for the tree I put normal compost in the hole and on top.
