Any ideas of what you can use to help get rid of ants in my daughters sunflower garden?
Question:We need a cheep idea and no chemicals. She wants to put these sunflowers into the fair compatitions. So if they are eaten by ants it will not help her out any. We have tried soap and water. But we need any other ideas. thanks
Answers:
The ants are farming aphids which produce a sugary substance the ants love. The ants move the aphids around to fresh vegetation to keep the aphids happy and productive. It's a symbiotic relationship.
Sunflowers are usually pretty resilient to aphids and not many ants will actually eat the sunflower plant but they will protect the aphids from other insects - so they're not all bad.
Getting rid of the aphids will get rid of the ants. Use a strong blast from the hose sprayer to blast the aphids off the leaves about once a week. Be sure to get the bottom of the leaves - that's where 90% of the aphids will be. If you just want to kill the ants and not the aphids, make a paste of 50% powdered sugar and 50% borax (laundry aisle). This is nearly the same as Terro ant killer.
Be sure to place the paste on one of the ant highways - watch them, it won't take long to find it. Don't put the borax too close to the sunflower - boron and acid are both bad for plants in large quantities.
Ants are nearly impossible to kill without chemicals so if Borax scares you, just blast off the aphids periodically.
Good Luck!
Either a mixture of Vinegar and water or any kind of pepper sauce (such as tabasco) mixed with water. Hope this helps.
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