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can ants be beneficial?

U

USMC

Well, I've been having an extreme whitefly infestation. I've been using neem oil but that seemed to be atemporary fix. So yesterday i mixed the flea shampoo with my neem oil and noticed a good number (maybe just over 30 or so ants on each plant) on each plant. so after a mild freak out i observed them a little more and it seemed they were actually attacking the whitefly invaders. I let them go for the night thinking they could solve my problem but decided to spray today anyways. So besides aphids, do ants help with other pests? I've never seen them on my plants before.
 
Also, how damaging can whiteflies be? My plants really seem to have been struggling lately slowed growth, flower pods show up, turn brown and fall off even as tiny pods
 
USMC said:
Also, how damaging can whiteflies be? My plants really seem to have been struggling lately slowed growth, flower pods show up, turn brown and fall off even as tiny pods
Click to expand...
they do that early.  Mine dropped for 6 weeks.  Could be too much nitrogen too.
Whiteflies are bad mmmkay.
 
Last year I had a huge aphid problem and ants seemed to be the reason they got and stayed there in the first place.
I was fighting the aphid plague with ladybugs and ladybug larvae and could actually see ants attacking and killing them ...
This year however I can detect ants on several plants but no aphids whatsoever and and the ants don't seem to be causing any problems so far. (they've been on my plants for about a month now, seem to be harvesting pollen or something?)
 
Ants don't always equate to aphids. If you see ants but no aphids then don't worry. Ants will help aerate the soil. I would call them more opportunistic than aphid farmers. I've never seen them actually bringing aphids to plants. Instead they most likely find the presence of aphids then start protecting them so they can harvest the honeydew that the aphids poop out.
 
This is great info... I have had loads of ants on my plants but they dont seem to be causing any issues, but ive always wandered if anyone else has had any issues.
 
Like Brian says. They are opportunistic.

Also have seen them with lead hoppers.

For me. Ants = unwanted bugs that protect those that eat your plants
 
Ants are a nightmare if you grow in pots, they remove all the dirt through the drainage holes in the bottom! I hate the little suckers! Probably fine if your growing in ground though :)
 
Hmm, I grow my peppers exclusively in pots, and I'm pretty sure each pot has ants in it.  I've never had issues with the soil going down.  Although I do grow in root pouches, so there aren't any drainage holes in the bottom.  Nevertheless, as I said, all my pots are colonized by ants and I've not had issues with nasties all year.  Of course I have noticed a lot of ladybugs, praying mantises, and lacewings in my yard this year.  I haven't had to take any "corrective" measures all year.  I've just let nature do its thing.
 
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