Ants on an apple tree: how to get rid of insects without harming the fruit
Content
Reasons for the appearance of ants on an apple tree
The appearance of ants on fruit trees is a fairly common occurrence. Sweet, juicy fruits or the presence of aphids on the leaves can attract them to the apple tree. But, in order to get rid of insects, first of all it is necessary to find out why they appeared in the garden. The main reasons for the settlement of these insects on the site are:
- tops left from last year or other plant residues;
- excessive feeding of trees with natural fertilizers;
- the presence of old stumps or rotten logs on the site;
- lack of preventive spraying;
- use of soil or manure contaminated with ant eggs.
What is the danger of the appearance of ants on an apple tree
Ants at first glance may seem like harmless neighbors, because they look so decent and hardworking against the background of other insects. However, their appearance on an apple tree can lead to a number of unpleasant consequences:
- the number of aphids on the tree will increase significantly, because, as you know, ants contribute to its reproduction, protect from enemies and spread to other plants;
- ants can damage a large number of fruit buds, as they are attracted to a sweet smell;
- these insects often gnaw on ripe apples and leave small damage on their surface, due to which the fruits lose their presentation and begin to rot.
Trees are only harmed black ants and the appearance of red individuals usually does not pose any danger to cultivated plants. On the contrary, red ants are natural enemies of blacks and can help the gardener in the fight against them.
How to get rid of ants on an apple tree
Ant colonies can have a huge number of individuals and getting rid of these insects can be difficult. To control pests, you can use insecticides, repellents, traps, or folk recipes.
Treatment with chemicals
This is the most severe method of insect control and far from the safest. When using insecticides, be very careful and strictly follow the instructions. Wherein, it is better to use drugs that have an effect on both ants and aphids. If you destroy the ants, but leave the aphids untouched, then soon its presence will attract a new colony of pests.
The best ant control chemicals are:
- Aktara;
- Muracid;
- Combat;
- Ant.
Trapping belts
The most effective and safe method of dealing with ants are trapping belts. They are a trap that surrounds the trunk of an affected tree and acts as a kind of barrier to pests.
Ants do not live on trees and return to the anthill every evening, so it would be advisable to set traps in the dark.
Trapping belts without much difficulty can be made independently. To do this, it is enough to build a funnel around the trunk from improvised materials:
- paper;
- stiff or fleecy fabric;
- plastic bottles;
- double sided tape;
- glass wool strips.
Before fixing the trapping belt, it is very important to coat the trunk with clay or garden pitch so that insects do not slip through small cracks and voids in the bark.
Ant traps
Another effective method is insect traps. You can buy them in specialized stores, or make your own at home.
Ready traps
improvised traps
Ant traps are very easy to make. Knowing the weakness of these small pests for sweets, people have come up with some very effective ways to catch them.
| Trap | Action |
|---|---|
| Kitchen sponge and honey | The essence of the trap is very simple. The sponge is dipped in sweet honey and fixed on the trunk or branches of a tree. Attracted by the smell of honey, ants climb onto the sponge and stick to it. At the same time, it is very important to wash the sponge from caught ants every day and re-soak it with honey. |
| Jar of sweet syrup | To catch ants in this way, it is enough to prepare a sweet syrup for bait and fill a glass jar with it about a third. Ants that come to the smell simply will not be able to get out of the trap, and will drown in the liquid. |
| Cardboard or thick paper | To catch ants in this way, it is enough to cut out several small pieces of cardboard or paper, grease them with honey, jam or petroleum jelly, and spread them on the ground around the trunk. Ants that come to the tree will stick to the traps as soon as they touch the sticky surface. |
Traditional recipes
Many gardeners are opposed to the use of chemistry and therefore fight the invasion of pests exclusively by folk methods.
Treatment of trees with folk remedies
Folk recipes are good because their composition does not harm beneficial insects and does not contain toxic substances. Among the people, the processing of wood by such means is considered the most effective and safe:
It consists of 4 pieces of tar soap, 2 tbsp. l. carboxylic acid, 10 tbsp. l. kerosene and 10 liters of water. Soap must be grated, combined with the rest of the ingredients and mixed thoroughly. The finished product is used for spraying the crown, processing the trunk and branches, as well as for irrigating the places where ants accumulate.
For cooking, you need to take 30-40 g of laundry soap, 500 g of tobacco waste or shag and 10 liters of warm water. Soap should be crushed, mixed with tobacco, poured with water and let it brew for 2-3 days. The resulting infusion must be filtered, another 10 liters of water added and used to spray the tree.
To prepare such a remedy, you need 700-800 g of green leaves and flowers of the plant, 40 g of laundry soap and 10 liters of water. Water should be brought to a boil, pour over the vegetable mass and infuse for 2-3 days. The finished infusion should be heated again to 60 degrees, add grated soap to it and mix thoroughly. After cooling, the solution should be filtered and treated with the crown, trunk and branches of the tree.
Repellents
Another effective way to get rid of ants is to repel insects. Like most other pests, ants can not stand pungent odors, and if an unpleasant odor is constantly present on the site, then very soon they will leave in search of more favorable conditions. In order for the scare plan to work, it is enough to decompose the following products in places where insects accumulate:
- mint leaves;
- the remains of smoked herring;
- garlic cloves and arrows;
- crushed cinnamon;
- sprigs of parsley;
- tops of tomatoes.
It is very important to periodically renew such air "flavors" for ants, because over time the smell becomes weaker.
When should an apple tree be processed
The first ants on the trees usually appear in early spring. During this period, the active development of the kidneys takes place, and the pests are happy to rush to feast on their contents. At this stage, you can start processing insecticides. Generally, in the spring it is best to carry out 2-3 treatments with chemicalsand:
- during the swelling of the first kidneys;
- during the formation of buds;
- immediately after flowering.
During flowering and fruit ripening, it is impossible to treat the apple tree with insecticides. But, if there are too many ants during this period, and they cause serious damage to the plant, then you can use one of the popular recipes.
Prevention of the appearance of ants on the apple tree
To prevent the appearance of unwanted insects on an apple tree, it is enough to follow a few useful recommendations:
- regular whitewashing of the trunk and skeletal branches;
- preventive spraying;
- installation of hunting belts in early spring, before the appearance of ants;
- cleaning the trunk from old and exfoliated bark;
- timely cleaning of the site from construction debris, old stumps or rotten logs.
Conclusion
Ants that appeared on the apple tree are very unwanted guests. If you do not take the necessary measures to combat them and let everything take its course, then the result for the entire crop and even for the whole tree can be very sad.
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