Ants are a natural presence in the garden, always looking for a food source. This source can be honeydew from aphids, overripe fruit, or rotting wood. In this article we look at ants on fruit trees and how you can combat them with home remedies.
What do ants do to fruit trees and do they damage them?
Most species of ants haunt fruit trees for a few reasons:
- Due to the honeydew produced by the aphids, which is a good source of food for them.
What is the relationship between ants and aphids?Aphids and ants and on fruit trees have a symbiotic relationship. This means that they both benefit from each other. Aphids produce a sugary food for the ants called honeydew. To produce this, the aphids have to consume large quantities of a plant. In return, the ants take care of the aphids and protect them from their natural enemies and parasites.
How to control aphids in trees? Ants protect aphids because they feed on them. So if you want to get rid of the ants, you have to fight the aphids. Do you understand the problem? A comprehensive approach is required to control ants and aphids.
- Because of the overripe fruits that the ants feed on. If the fruit is not yet or barely ripe, they will not seek it out. However, if you leave the fruit hanging for too long and they become overripe, they will fall on you.
Notice: Trees are also used as nests by ants. Some species build their nests in sawdust. Others build their nests in diseased or dead wood.
Finally, keep in mind that only a few ants are actually harmful to fruit trees. Giant ants, for example, can shred the bark of a tree to build a nest out of sawdust. But for this to be truly harmful, they must be present in large numbers and in the tree for a long time. You'll figure this out long before it becomes a problem. Ants very rarely harm the trees themselves. However, they can be a sign that something is happening to the fruit tree. Only a few species of ants will nibble on a healthy fruit tree.
How can you combat ants on fruit trees with home remedies?
What to do about ants on cherry trees, apple trees and other fruit trees? There are a variety of home remedies that don't require you to use poisons in your garden. These can be harmful to people, pets and plants. You can get started right away with these tips. They usually require a little more patience, but are a much more sustainable solution. Only if they don't work should you consider using harsher methods.
Start by finding the ant nest: If you want to start fighting ants on fruit trees, the first thing you need to do is find their nest. Most likely it is in the roots or near the fruit trees. In rare cases, an ant nest can also be found on a tree trunk or in the branches.
Use water to get rid of these
If you pour cold or boiling water over the ant nest every day for two weeks, the ants will find another place to live. The water kills the ants' eggs and larvae, so they will leave the nest naturally.
Attract ant enemies to your garden
The enemy of your enemy is your friend. Team up with small birds and amphibians that love to eat ants. To do this, create a garden where they like to spend time. You can attract the birds by putting up bird feeders. Add a variety of plants to attract different types of insects.
Eliminate them with potato flour and yeast
If you mix powdered sugar and potato flour in a 50/50 ratio and spread it in the ant nest, you can encourage the ants to eat themselves. Ants love powdered sugar, but cannot tolerate potato flour.
Another option is to mix yeast, lukewarm water and sugar. The principle is the same: the ants can't resist the sugar, but their stomachs explode when they eat yeast.
Combat ants with sweet drinks and scents
You can make ants drown with sweet drinks. Lure them into a container with a mixture of syrup, yeast and water or lemonade.
- Notice: If you don't have lemonade, you can also use water with sugar.
Ants don't like strong scents like cinnamon, vinegar and lavender. If you want to scare them away, put them where you don't want them.
- Tipp: Another option is to plant garlic under your fruit trees, as its scent keeps aphids – and therefore ants – away.
Are ants in raised beds good or bad? You can do thatfind out here!
