Dahlias

[Howard]

Slightly OT here but SEM's post 'Antcity' has reminded me of a problem.....

My Dahlias at work have thousands of ants all over the heads and upper stems, harvesting the blackfly that are there as well.....

Anyone got any tips or ideas on how to dispose of these insects without harming the plant, i realise that there are many sprays , powders et al, but does any one have any experience of which is the best one to use ?

Many thanks

H

 

[pammy]

Sorry can't help - I don't like Dahlias for this very reason they're are so attractive to ants and then earwigs - yucky yucky yuck(yucky smiley), hate earwigs with a passion. The only thing I can think of is to attract the ants somewhere else then kill them - but the risk there is that you actually attract the wrong ants and end up with more than you started off with.

 

[Howard]

Sorry can't help - I don't like Dahlias for this very reason they're are so attractive to ants and then earwigs - yucky yucky yuck(yucky smiley), hate earwigs with a passion. The only thing I can think of is to attract the ants somewhere else then kill them - but the risk there is that you actually attract the wrong ants and end up with more than you started off with.

Cheers Pammy

 

[Webby]

Try spraying with soapy water (mild detergent).