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Infestation of ants on rambling rose
BernieEarnie13
Posts: 36
Hi all,
I seem to have an infestation of ants living on my fairly young rambling rose. It's just a year old and has already suffered from aphid attack so far this year, now this....
Any idea why this might be, if it's good / bad...and if the latter, how do I get rid?
Thanks in advance!
0
Posts
The ants are farming the aphids for their honeydew. Encourage bluetits by hanging feeders near the roses ... they'll help eat the aphids ... and don't use insecticides ... the ladybirds are about and breeding in this warm weather; their offspring will also eat the aphids.
The only damage the ants might do to your roses is to build a nest at their roots which could cause problems, but if you keep the rose well watered the ants won't choose that area for a nest as they don't nest in damp soil.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thank you - that makes sense. As you can tell, I'm new to gardening!
Ants and aphids, not a good combination. But, it happens normally in all roses that are weak or growing very quickly, especially this time of year. Your plant is still quite young so make sure it is well fed and watered. A stressed plant will always be under attack. Do you know which rambling rose? Most ramblers are quite old breeds and probably not bred to deal with fighting disease but about flowers. Having said that, hose down all the areas affected. The main thing is remove all the ants/aphids off.