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apple elstar crawling with ants

• Message 1. 

  Posted by Talalm (U14450765) on Sunday, 6th June 2010

  there are thousands of ants on my elstar apple tree and a few of the leaves have curled over and there are 100s of aphids underneath. if i spray chemicals the tree doesnt fruit(not that it ever does anyway!)
  there are also ants starting to go onto my courgettes because it is budding.

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Sunday, 6th June 2010

  I read on a previous message, ants herd aphids for food. Not sure how true that is but last week I had an infestation of blackfly on my blossom tree and I also noticed alot of ants running up and down the tree, in previous years I've tried all manner of sprays none of which were effective.
  
  This year I cut off all the shoots which had leaves infected and checked it each day for new breeding grounds, I'd missed a couple and so cut these off.
  
  Seven days later and there don't appear to be any blackfly either on the blossom tree or nearby rasberry bushes.
  
  I don't know how tall your apple tree is or whether you can cut off the effected shoots, my blossom tree is only about 5ft tall and cutting off the shoots has proved far better than spraying.
  
  I don't know what you'd do to stop the ants on your courgettes, you may need to find the ants nest and stop them at the source.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by PenylanSue (U13901201) on Sunday, 6th June 2010

  Yes, ants do farm aphids for the honeydew that they secrete.
  I try to blast aphids off with a water jet but I find the blue tits and wasps get rid of most of them and the use of sacrificial plants like Red Campion.

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by pastmemories (U2437829) on Sunday, 6th June 2010

  Put a ring of grease round the lower trunk.

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by bookertoo (U3655866) on Monday, 7th June 2010

  .... or that very sticky tape, either will stop them in their tracks - at least for a while. Some ants build bridges over the grease or tape with thier bodies and let the rest use them as a bridge - they die of course, but it seems to be a system that works for them. Hope I don't come back as an ant, not only do I not want to be a living bridge for other memebrs of the nest, it all looks like far too much hard work as far as I can see, all that scurrying around and looking after the Queen and so on ... only to end up being eaten by a blue tit!!

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Monday, 7th June 2010

  I discovered this morning the blackfly are back on my blossom tree and so too are the ants.
  
  Cut of the effected leaf and put quite a thick band of grease around the bottom branches, it's going to have to be a long living bridge of ants to get across that...

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