Ants eating scale????

[bwester]

I've had this growing problem with ants in the greenhouse, however lately I've noticed them focusing on one plant. When I took a closer look, I saw what I now know to be soft scale and they were eating it. Anybody ever heard of this?

 

[likespaphs]

they're not eating the scales, they're farming them. they'll transport the larvae, protect the scale. the ants eat the honeydew (bug poop) the scales produce.
if you use beneficials, you gotta take care of the ants first as the ants will protect their food source...

 

[bwester]

How do I get rid of the ants??? I've got bait stations all around.

 

[likespaphs]

baits or poisons....
some baits take a while to work. also, make sure the baits for the appropriate ants as some are made for sugar eating ants, some for fat eating ants, some for both...

 

[bwester]

Is there any spray I can get at Lowes or something like that?

 

[likespaphs]

probably. i dunno.
you may wanna google ant control home remedies or something along those lines. there's something about making a soap solution with mint tea instead of some of the water that i vaguely remember

 

[bwester]

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate it. Ever heard of orangeguard by the way?

 

[likespaphs]

yup. used it too, though, not on ants i don't think, but give me a few minutes....

 

[likespaphs]

seems effective....
i don't know if any phtotoxicity might occur if it's sprayed on a plant, though...

 

[bwester]

Hey, read my other post on natural pest control. I tried the cuccumber thing and they scattered like crazy.

 

[Heather]

Hey, read my other post on natural pest control. I tried the cuccumber thing and they scattered like crazy.

I'm gonna have to check that out - I am thinking about writing my article for the next newsletter on natural pest control.

 

[Heather]

How's the anti-ant cucumber treatment going, Blake?
I'm working on another article....

 

[bwester]

they did stay away from it amazingly. However, the cucs rotted and grew mold. So, i used some hard core chemicals around the perimeter and eliminated the problem. I might try distilling the essence out of the cucs and see if they hate that.