This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
ANTS ON MY PEONY
LINDA F
Posts: 162
My peony bush is covered in ants. Will they do it any harm? If so how do I get rid of them without using a bug spray. I have noticed a large amount of ants in my garden. Never had a problem with them before. Be grateful for any help.
0
Posts
My peonies get covered in ants every year, I guess they like the sweet nectar, never harmed the plant, or anything else in the garden, so I leave them be.
Hi Linda. The ants themselves won't damage your paeony but they carry aphids up into plants and 'farm' them similar to us keeping cows. The aphids produce a sugary waste product which the ants love. Watch out for aphids on your paeony now. There are proprietory ant killers you can use. I have ants on my drive and as long as they don't come into my house I leave them alone.
Thanks for your help will keep an eye out for aphids, glad they wont harm my plant as I really love it.
You are welcome.
Linda - brush excess aphids off whenever you see them too. If you can encourage birds in they'll help eat them . A little seed feeder nearby might do the trick as well - just to get them in the right vicinity. Blue tits in particular will gobble them up, especially once they have youngsters to feed
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Ladybirds do a great job of munching aphids too
- both as adults and as larvae.
Do you prefer them as a snack too Ladybird4?
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Ha ha deep fried with chilli sauce! Yum
Ladybird I have blue tits nesting in my garden as we speak, so hopefully they will start munching
I use to see a lot of ladybirds where I live .Howwood W Scotland but over the last couple of years there has not been so many..they are lovely little things. Just like the ants I think they are great too.