Ants Vs Gooseberries

I don't think they will harm your bush unless their nest is under the roots. Ants "milk" blackfly/greenfly so look out for them!!!

Ants usually do no harm but sometimes they build up earth around the lowest branches.

The real pest to look out for is gooseberry sawfly. The first you usually see of these is all the leaves in the centre of the bush have been stripped. If you do nothing about it the tiny green caterpillars will strip the whole bush in a few days. Look them up on the RHS website.