Ant infestation on cherry tree
Cherry (including sour) New Jersey
Our cherry tree is growing beautifully except for the ant infestation. What do we do to get rid of them?
Posted
by: Purple Samcat
(1 point)
Posted: May 25, 2014
Answers
Ants on trees in NJ are usually there because they are
a) Are nesting in the wood. So, they could be carpenter ants. This is not likely in a cherry tree as they usually nest in different species where there is a significant amount of dead wood. These ants prefer to excavate inside the dead wood and not the living wood
b) They are getting sugar from the plant feeding insects on the cherry. Aphids suck juices from the leaves and a byproduct is honeydew. They excrete this and the ants consume it, fueling in their colony. They will remember the tree and source of aphids, and recruit other ants to that place.
Ants will make you aphid problem much worse as they protect the aphids against natural enemies like ladybug larvae.
Look to see where they ants are going. If the problem is aphids the ants will be going underneath the leaves where the aphids are.
The solution is spraying the aphids with either water or soapy water. A high pressure is best. You want to wash the aphids off and then the ants will stop coming
see also this post https://www.plantvillage.com/posts/15...
https://www.plantvillage.com/posts/89...
do some observations and tell us what is going on. Also a photo please
a) Are nesting in the wood. So, they could be carpenter ants. This is not likely in a cherry tree as they usually nest in different species where there is a significant amount of dead wood. These ants prefer to excavate inside the dead wood and not the living wood
b) They are getting sugar from the plant feeding insects on the cherry. Aphids suck juices from the leaves and a byproduct is honeydew. They excrete this and the ants consume it, fueling in their colony. They will remember the tree and source of aphids, and recruit other ants to that place.
Ants will make you aphid problem much worse as they protect the aphids against natural enemies like ladybug larvae.
Look to see where they ants are going. If the problem is aphids the ants will be going underneath the leaves where the aphids are.
The solution is spraying the aphids with either water or soapy water. A high pressure is best. You want to wash the aphids off and then the ants will stop coming
see also this post https://www.plantvillage.com/posts/15...
https://www.plantvillage.com/posts/89...
do some observations and tell us what is going on. Also a photo please
Posted
by: David Hughes
(67 points)
Posted: May 25, 2014
I had the same problem with fruit trees last year. I tried getting rid of the aphids as suggested, (soap & water spray) but couldn't keep up. The ants will "farm" the aphids. This year I'm trying Tanglefoot and it appears to be doing a great job. I bought the kit that has the paper tape and the tub of Tanglefoot. It's EXTREMELY sticky and catches any crawling bugs (ants in particular) and it makes for an enviro-friendly solution. Know that it does need to be changed as the sticky tape gets covered with bugs. If it gets too covered, the ants will just crawl right over them. So far my tape has lasted 2 weeks but I do need to change it very soon. It was also a very cost effective solution at well under $20 for the kit. I expect to have it for a few years.
Posted
by: Lynne
(2 points)
Posted: May 25, 2014
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