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Ants and wildflowers

M0rganaM0rgana Posts: 47
in Problem solving

Hi everyone (again!)... 

There was a bit of scrap land I threw some wildflower seeds on. There were always a lot of ants there, maybe a nest nearby I'm not sure. I didn't expect the seeds to do much but they've come up really nicely. Some of the leaves are now going brown and manky. I removed them and noticed zillions of black aphids on some plants, and lots and lots of ants. 

I have a couple of ladybird houses in my garden that I got to control greenfly. I bought ladybird larvae at the time but never saw any ladybirds, although the greenfly issue seemed to pass. So I'm reluctant to try that again plus it's just a wild area. 

Are the ants a problem, a blessing, or neither? Should I do something about them? Can they live in harmony with the wild flowers? 

I should maybe have thought about the ants before scattering the seeds but I'm a newbie and learning as I go along!


Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    There is nothing you can do about ants try to kill them and they just move elsewhere.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • M0rganaM0rgana Posts: 47
    Ah okay thanks 🙂 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Ants are part of the ecology … they’re vital food for birds (especially when they have their mating flights), they provide formic acid so that birds can carry out anting and remove mites from their feathers, they aerate and help the soil to drain, they even carry seeds about helping plants to spread (especially cyclamen). 

    💚 🐜 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    What @Dovefromabove said


    In the sticks near Peterborough
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