Help big problem w/ Aphids and ants

[Hennamedjen]

Aphids and ants are taking over my raised beds. The aphids have already killed a zucchini and a cucumber plant of mine. I didn't know the relationship between the ants and the aphids and released ladybugs. The ants protected the aphids and the ladies are gone now. Any advice to save the rest of my garden?

 

[cavemanrich]

The ants protected the aphids because they produce a byproduct that the ants eat.. It is kind of like ranching, in the insect world. There are insecticides available to control your infestation. There are home remedies and natural organic options also. I don;t have a list to give you.. The chemical options, many peeps try to avoid for obvious reasons. One short lived insecticide is pyrethrum made from an extract of chrysanthemum roots. It renders itself neutral in shorter time than other chemical formulas.
Here is a link about pyrethrum. http://www.pyrethrum.com/faqs.aspx

WISHING YOU BEST

 

[Hennamedjen]

The ants protected the aphids because they produce a byproduct that the ants eat.. It is kind of like ranching, in the insect world. There are insecticides available to control your infestation. There are home remedies and natural organic options also. I don;t have a list to give you.. The chemical options, many peeps try to avoid for obvious reasons. One short lived insecticide is pyrethrum made from an extract of chrysanthemum roots. It renders itself neutral in shorter time than other chemical formulas.
Here is a link about pyrethrum. http://www.pyrethrum.com/faqs.aspx

WISHING YOU BEST

Thanks! I will look into it. I found a bunch of ladybug nymphs in the garden a couple days ago. They have been going to town on the aphids. I'm pretty sure they aren't going to be able to tackle the large job but it's made me hold off on trying anything. I've just been spraying the garden down with high water pressure for now and trying to wipe the aphids away by hand.

 

[MeepBeep]

You can make Borax bait, I find mixing it with cheap jam/jelly works best and is dead simple... It's slow acting so they bring back copious amounts of it to the nest and then WHAM death,,,

 

[cavemanrich]

You can make Borax bait, I find mixing it with cheap jam/jelly works best and is dead simple... It's slow acting so they bring back copious amounts of it to the nest and then WHAM death,,,

The bait will work on the ants. But not sure it will affect the aphids. Them lil devlz are difficult to control.

 

[MeepBeep]

The bait will work on the ants.  But not sure it will affect the aphids.   Them lil devlz are difficult to control.

No it won't work on the aphids but it will remove their 'protectors' and that is half the battle... A follow up with release of ladybugs could be used after...

 

[shortgrass]

Neem oil. Gets them both. Completely safe for beneficials

 

[lomine]

I have had great success with using cinnamon to get rid of ants. It can be used inside and out, it is safe for people and pets, and it smells good!

 

[Guvnah]

Aphids are easy to kill with a dilute solution of soap in water. Dishwashing liquid. You don't need much.

Insects of all sorts have a protective mechanism on their skin that makes water bead up, and they don't drown. But the soap changes the surface tension of water, and the spray will coat them and drown them -- at least it does for soft-bodied insects like aphids. (And that's your problem. The ants will go away when the aphids they are milking disappear.)

Soak the leaves of the affected plants, top and bottom. this will take care of aphids, whiteflies, scale insects (sometimes) and even cabbage worms. Beetles, not so much, sorry. But yes for beetle grubs (like potato beetles) that are surface eaters. (Borers will not be affected.) And it's more effective on the grubs when they are smaller. Once they get bigger, I find it to be less effective.

Spray when you see first infestation to prevent a tsunami of population. If you are heavily infested now, spray every few days until it is cleared up.

This is a cheap and safe way to handle a lot of garden pest problems.

 

[RichnSteph]

Neem oil. Gets them both. Completely safe for beneficials

Any idea if Neem oil is ok to use in a system that contains fish? (Aquaponics). I've gotten a recent and rather massive mess of aphids and fire ants living in my grow beds.