[muntjac]

ok sorry  i wil explain .. the aphidds are left alone by the ants as they feed on the plants they secrete a sticky substance ( sugar) and the ants then harvest this sugar to feed thier babies in the ant nest , so the ants protect them , if you kill the aphids the ants leave , but ants will also kill caterpillars and other beasties that feed on the aphids . so if the ants are a problem wack them with a tube of nippon on the nest itself and some ant killing powder  shaken over it as well . this wil kill them ,. then use tumble bug on the aphids ////// or an " organic " alternative to get the aphids gone  

[Zak the Rabbit]

My sunflower last year was covered in greenfly and black ants, I didn't understand it... please explain.

the aphids eat the sap of the plant, and secrete their waste as a sugary liquid, known i think as 'honeydew'. This the ants like as a foodsource, and so will 'harvest' it from the aphids. I believe that if the stroke the aphids abdomen (or is it thorax?) with their antennae it stimulates the secretion.

As a result of this being such a good foodsource, the ants will defend the aphids against anything that would eat them, like ladybugs

[loubylou29]

Thankyou.
x

[richyrich7]

Wow this unheard of on here, three answers in a row and all basically the same.    

[shaun]

and no googling  

[Zak the Rabbit]

a three way agreement - odds on then its the right answer

now thats a first      

[DD.]

a three way agreement - odds on then its the right answer

now thats a first      

Ah - but the discussion was about a fact.

Ask a question on the best time to plant your runner beans & see what happens!!

[wellingtons]

... and not the yellowy red Pharoah ants?  Cos if they're Pharoah ants they're a pain in the tail.  Unless you get the whole blooming lot they go off and start up new colonies, so instead of one you've got 5 ... they're way more common now with the warmer temperature.

If they are Phaorah ants, leave em be unless you can be sure you get em all in one hit!

[WG.]

Wow this unheard of on here, three answers in a row and all basically the same.    

Yeah, it'd be more normal to get three different answers to a True/False question.

[muntjac]

ur all namby pamby ants . u wanna get stuck wif army ants they can strip ya bones while ya sleeping . take an efulaunt  and carry it back to the nest without it noticing its moving .. wuzzy red ants and pharoah ants .ya aint seen an ant until ya seen an army of em coming at ya    

[shamina]

I was just looking at what has been said on the ant front. I have them in my patch and was going to leave them but now I'm not sure. Would it be ok to put nipon or something down or would that effect the soil for the vegetable growth. I have heard that they dont like vinegar does anybody know if that would work? Thanks for looking

[muntjac]

use nippon and ant powder ...... if they dont get poisoned they sneeze emself to death

[richyrich7]

Whats an efulaunt  Muntjac ? Is it some thing that comes out of the back end of an elephant ?  

[WG.]

Whats an efulaunt  Muntjac ? Is it some thing that comes out of the back end of an elephant ?  

     

[muntjac]

no mate that a ellofalump