Ants

[schmik]

I have an ant problem on one of my trees. How do i get rid of the suckers and stop them from coming back? They are just small black ants but i suspect that they have made a home in the soil.

soak the whole pot in a tub of water? will this stop them from coming back.

cheers
mike

[Jon Chown]

Hi Schmik,

Ants on your trees could point to a bigger problem than the ants themselves. Most commonly ants will harvest the honey dew that is secreated by
'scale' and or 'mealy bug'. Both of these peste can spell the end of your bonsai if not eradicated.

Scale looks like half an egg shell black or brown and approx 2 to 4mm in size. The insect lives under this protective shell.

Mealy bug looks like a woolly ball is white in colour and very sticky if touched.

The advanced result of these insects on your trees will be a dose of sooty mould a black substance which eventually chokes the tree.

You can get rid of the ants by dusting the surface of the soil with ant powder and scale and mealy bug by spraying in the late afternoon with confidor.

yours in Bonsai
Jon

[Asus101]

your tree will only get pests if its sick and weak. Otherwise its i,,ume system can fight them off.
No need of spraying harsh chemicals straight way, instead work at getting it healthy again.

[anttal63]

spot on john wheres there's ants there's other pests. scmick leave no leaves unturned check well. i agree with asus that spraying is not always good for the tree. this year i havent sprayed and my trees are so much greener and healthier. if found most pest can be removed with a light pressure spray close up. scale can be picked off with a pointy object. i like using a scribe. how ever asus if you do not remove the pest it may not get healthy. keep your trees healthy so as to not get the pests, not leave the pests alone and get the tree healthy first. once that is sorted out the ants are easy, soak in a bucket of water with a little dish washing liquid. it wont harm the trees. thank fly bri for that one.

[Asus101]

Im not saying leave them, just don't jump to chemicals to fix your problems.

I had a plum I collected this past winter. On leave out it got aphids realllllly bad. So bad in fact I was getting worried. I moved it from the shade to full sun, and with in a few hours I had about 9 ladybugs and wasps flying around eating and laying eggs in the aphids.In this time I kept up the fert and seasol and it took a week to clean them up.

I now have no aphids.

Think of a tree like a person. When your unhealthy you catch more colds and its the same with tree's and plants. If they are not healthy they will catch bugs. Using chemicals on them is like lipo on an over weight person. Sure they are thin again, but doesn't mean they are healthy.

[schmik]

Thanks all, yeah the tree could be healthier. Problem is i have no idea why it is not health. It is nice and green and has new growth but was recently turned into 'exposed root'. Soil is covered with gravel and soil seems to stay moist for quite a long time after watering even though it is in a shallow pot in lots of sun.

I am not real sure how to make it regain health.

I'll post a pic in the next day or two.

mike

[Asus101]

Ants are ants....

[schmik]

Hmm... there may be some scale on the tree. I found only one on the whole tree.
When i post a pic it is not to show the ants it is to show the tree so that someone may suggest how to make it healthier.

BTW, i'm for the chemical approach

mike

[Jon Chown]

BTW, i'm for the chemical approach

Yes, I don't believe that there is anything wrong with chemicals provided they are used sparingly and by direction.

Please post a picture so we can discuss your situation. Can you also include a photo of the soil surface and don't water prior to photographing.

Yours in Bonsai
Jon

[Asus101]

Chemicals no matter what are still damaging the environment. As bonsai enthusiasts we should be aware to a degree of environmental impact and reducing our part in that impact.
While we shouldn't be hippies, we should try the safe approach before jumping to something that harms the environment.
Chemicals will kill most of the bugs, but they will also kill many bugs we want to keep. Also bugs that don't get whacked by it, build up an immunity to it meaning even harsher chemicals are needed to kill them.

[stymie]

Ants in themselves are not injurious to the trees but they tend to farm other honeydew producing insects as we do cows and goats for nutrition.
My first line of attack for any insect invasion is to spray the whole tree with a weak soap or detergent laced water. This will eradicate most of the troublesome mites and is definately not injurious to the tree. It may be repeated as often as necessary. Being non systemic, it does not build up in the leaves nor do the insects become immune from its action, which is to gum up their breathing apparatus. Natural predators of the insects are of course entirely there as nature intended to control large populations and should be encouraged. A quick method of controlling scale insects is to dab them with a cotton bud soaked in methylated spirit. They drop off immediately. Of course, they can be picked off quite readily by hand but some people are reluctant to do this.

[Bretts]

Ants treat my yard as the Lucky Country. I battle with them every year. My trees are healthy but the ants are insistant. We live next to a big open block that has many ant nests and they use my yard as there pastures. Mostly they have only attacked the inground trees. My Bench is alot more crowded this year and I seem to be paying for it with some ant farming on my potted trees.
I have never tried the soapy water but I will try this weekend.

[Pup]

Ants treat my yard as the Lucky Country. I battle with them every year. My trees are healthy but the ants are insistant. We live next to a big open block that has many ant nests and they use my yard as there pastures. Mostly they have only attacked the inground trees. My Bench is alot more crowded this year and I seem to be paying for it with some ant farming on my potted trees.
I have never tried the soapy water but I will try this weekend.

Vasaline painted on the legs of your benches helps to deter them. You do have to repeat and watch any where that the bench or slats touch, any where that they can bridge. It is not easy to paint though so I smear it on by hand watching for splinters they bloody well hurt. Pup

[Bretts]

Cheers I might try that

[Andrew Ward]

Aphids and Ants are two distinctly different issues. Yes, I agree with letting nature taking her time with Aphid control and the holistic approach to a strong plant being a healthy plant ... allowing ladybirds to do their thing and that nature will balance.

Sometimes nature does have an imbalance. Afterall, little trees in little pots is hardly authentically nature. It is a replication of ... it is a balance of art and horticulture.

The ants are an issue and they are indicative of other problems ... most likely scale or mealybug. Both scale and mealy bug can be painstakingly removed by hand or alternatively a systemic spray like Confidor will do the job. An ant powder is also a good idea.

Similarly ... earwigs have been an incredible nuisance in South Australia this year. In spite of using traps and squashing hundreds on a nightly basis ... I did eventually need to resort to ant powder. Sometimes nature does fall out of balance and needs a helping hand to put it back on track again.

We are growing plants under stressed conditions ... I certainly advocate the use of organic products like Seasol, Charlie Carp and the Neutrog range of organic fertilisers to strengthen cell tissue strength. They work like a tonic would work for us. However ... from time to time a little extra help is needed!

Good luck ... in the end it is your decision and balancing all the advice can sometimes create more questions than answers!