pests Ants & aphids, when to take action

J

jhouse4755

Hi all, 
 
I have about 30 pepper plants (habenero, jalepeno, red carribean, sweet hot) along with my tomatoes this year -- tilled new ground from lawn and noticed a lot of ants from the get go. 
 
Now I have ants absolutely everywhere, which didn't really worry me -- but I've seen a couple of aphids, and am concerned the ants might be farming them. (Just found out this fascinating fact). 

The plants look healthy overall, been in the ground (started from seed in the house) since Memorial Day. New foliage looks fine, but I've just noticed the aphids. a couple of aphids here and there on both tomatoes and peppers, and one little cluster of aphids so far. . .I don't want to overeact, but I don't want the problem taking off on me either. 
 
Do you think I'm headed into a bigger problem? I'm thinking about trying to take out the ants with bait or whatever, and ordered some Azamax just in case. (After reading Justosmo's thread "Aphids are ruining my fun"). A few members here have had good luck with the Azamax. 
 
Thanks guys for any advice! 
 
 
Jan H. 
 
Yeah, get rid of them now. They can go from a few, to an infestation in like a week. Even if they don't completely kill your plants, they will slow the growth a bit while the plants recover.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
Well, that's one collective point of view.
 
Personally, I'd assess the situation a bit more objectively.  Do you have any beneficial insects working on the problem?  If so, would killing them be helpful? (and there is no way that you don't kill the beneficials, also)
I have an aphid infestation right now.  It's normal, cyclical, and if I let the workers do their job - which they are doing right now - it will last about another week.  And then I have a built up colony of helpers, without needing to build a reliance on "stuff".
 
If you get to the point that aphids starting bunching up on new buds, or you see them completely covering parts of stems, then you've got a problem.  It might be helpful to get some food grade DE to put the ants in check, so they can't shuffle their herd, or protect them from the good guys.  But I'm a bit more pragmatic in my approach.  Not going to lie, I hate Azamax, and/or anything else that harms or kills the good with the bad.  Azamax isn't going to be ingested by the beneficials, but you will kill them in the process of spraying.  No way around it. (especially the parasitic wasps and ladybug larvae)

It's your garden, but you did ask for opinions. :)

 
 
thanks all, I'm soaking in the information. . .
 
I haven't seen any beneficial critters attacking the aphids.

More aphids this morning, they're light green so hard to see on leaves. They blend right in with the tomato foliage.

I'm next to a treeline/ hedgerow, full of various weeds, blackberries etc, so there's plenty of places for the aphids to hang out. Pretty sure I saw a winged one. 
 
So, lots of ants, not many predators, and it looks like the population is taking off. 
 
How long does the Azamax affect critters after drying? The blooms aren't open on the tomatoes, they're just getting ready to. I'm not chemical shy but I'd hate to kill bees & such. 
 
Edited to ask: How about using Azamax as a soil drench, would it kill the aphids that way, (getting into the plant) and be less harmful to pollinators?
 
You can get ladybugs or other beneficials at buglogical.com, or any other reputable retailer. Note that I got ladybugs from Hirt's once and only once. Those ladybugs just walked over the aphids. The ladybugs I get from buglogical, on the other hand, knew how to eat. 
 
Note that if the ants are farming the aphids, they will do what they can to protect them. They will fight off ladybugs/other beneficials with a vengeance. Given that there aren't many aphids yet, you can try the beneficials, but if the ants seem to be winning at some point you should consider  insecticide options for sure. 
 
geeme said:
Note that if the ants are farming the aphids, they will do what they can to protect them. They will fight off ladybugs/other beneficials with a vengeance. Given that there aren't many aphids yet, you can try the beneficials, but if the ants seem to be winning at some point you should consider  insecticide options for sure. 
Click to expand...
 
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is pretty cheap, and if you put it down a half day after watering, it will have the ants in check in about an hour-and-a-half.
jhouse4755 said:
So, lots of ants, not many predators, and it looks like the population is taking off. 
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Some of the predators are very small.  Particularly the parasitic wasps.  Look for little brown spheres that look like puffed rice.  Those be aphid mummies.  If you've got a lot of those, you have parasitic wasps.
 
I sure hope I have aphid mummies. :)
 
I have a boat load of diatomaceous earth. (Battled fleas indoors a couple years ago before I gave up & called the exterminator, I was losing).  So I have plenty of that. Would it work as well as ant baits or Boric acid powder I wonder?
 
How would I apply? in rings around the plants? I watered this morning as it happens. . .I have mostly weed fabric down, and then mulch around the plants. 
 
jhouse4755 said:
I have a boat load of diatomaceous earth. (Battled fleas indoors a couple years ago before I gave up & called the exterminator, I was losing).  So I have plenty of that. Would it work as well as ant baits or Boric acid powder I wonder?
 
How would I apply? in rings around the plants?
Click to expand...
 
Yes, just sprinkle it all over on the surface around the plant.  The ants have to walk through it to get to the aphids, and back home again. 
 
But, I emphasize...  MAKE SURE that it's FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth.  In other words, 100%, with absolutely no other added ingredients. 
 
yep, mine's food grade. 
 
One thing about traps (whether boric acid or whatever else) is I think it'd be more likely to just whack the ants vs anything else wandering into DE. 
 
At least the bees shouldn't be on the ground -- mostly it's weed fabric & there's a critter fence, so other animals & pollinators shouldn't get into it too much, I don't think. 
 
You probably already know this, but just in case.... DE only works when dry, so must be reapplied after it gets wet. Generally speaking, if you make a ring around the plants you should be ok. However, you should observe to see just where the ants are at. For example, some may be limiting their activities to staying on the plants with the aphids. These won't be crossing a perimeter circle any time soon, so consider sprinkling some DE directly onto the ants. (Yes, on the plants, as it won't hurt them.)
 
geeme said:
You probably already know this, but just in case.... DE only works when dry, so must be reapplied after it gets wet. Generally speaking, if you make a ring around the plants you should be ok. However, you should observe to see just where the ants are at. For example, some may be limiting their activities to staying on the plants with the aphids. These won't be crossing a perimeter circle any time soon, so consider sprinkling some DE directly onto the ants. (Yes, on the plants, as it won't hurt them.)
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The ants typically run a single file line up and down the plant, into the pot or ground, where they make their colony. (almost without exception)
 
It usually only takes me one application to get my message across to the ants.  And I have a 50lb bag, so if once isn't enough...
 
These guys did a number on my plants before I noticed (my first grow, so I was not even aware of these pests).  You need to kill the source of the ants, the queen.  In my garden, it is not possible to find the mound.  I made a mixture of 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tbsp honey, and 1 tbsp boric acid (just a 1:1 ratio for however much you want to make).  I thoroughly mix together to avoid clumping, put it in a small jar, and set them around the garden.  Within hours you will have a herd of ants all over, as you giggle with content.  Worker ants will carry it back to the mound and hopefully kill the queen.  I left it out there for a week or so, and probably destroyed a few different colonies.  I used this method for about a month. 
 
I also use DE around the most infected plants, but I hate killing innocent garden friendly critters.  They LOVED my habaneros.  You can also buy lady bugs on amazon or at a local store.  Apply to a damp garden at night.  
 
I hope this helps!
 
Good Luck
 
Just to add to the ladybug comment...  Diversify.  Brown lacewing are some of the baddest asses in the garden, and are, pound for pound, dollar for dollar, more effective than ladybugs.  Plus, ladybugs are usually more abundant in nature.  And the lacewing larvae will eat whitefly, which ladybugs won't touch.

Plus, it's funny to watch them wander around with their trash collection on their backs. :D
 
solid7 said:
 
 
Some of the predators are very small.  Particularly the parasitic wasps.  Look for little brown spheres that look like puffed rice.  Those be aphid mummies.  If you've got a lot of those, you have parasitic wasps.
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And if you have even a few wasps, the aphid problem will very likely never become serious enough to require pesticide.  The wasps reproduce nearly as fast, and one female can parasitize hundreds of aphids.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EAz43qjH9M
 
Terro will absolutely destroy your sugar eaters (ants) quick and is pretty much harmless to beneficial meat eaters (mantisesssesses and lady bugs)...
 
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