Author Topic: How do I get rid of ants on mango and sapodilla trees???. (Read 8570 times)

mangokothiyan · « **on:** February 25, 2015, 09:05:58 PM »

I have ants going up and down some of my mango and sapodilla trees...my two sapodilla trees were almost totally covered with sooty mold. On Har's advice, I hit them with Safer insect killing soap and Organocide. I also used tanglefoot to stop the ants from getting up the tree, but that stopped them only for a few weeks; they seem to have built some kind of a bridge over the tanglefoot barrier now... the sooty mold is now gone but I still see ant mounds on the soil.. How do I make them go away?

savemejebus · « **Reply #1 on:** February 25, 2015, 09:19:40 PM »

Not to give the obvious answer, but new layer of tanglefoot?

bsbullie · « **Reply #2 on:** February 25, 2015, 09:37:01 PM »

They are most likely farming a pest. My guess is you have scale (or aphids or mealy bugs but my money would be on scale).. You need to get rid of the pest.

mangokothiyan · « **Reply #3 on:** February 25, 2015, 10:38:21 PM »

Quote from: bsbullie on February 25, 2015, 09:37:01 PM

They are most likely farming a pest. My guess is you have scale (or aphids or mealy bugs but my money would be on scale).. You need to get rid of the pest.

I had scale on soursop and my Bangkok Lemon jackfruit tree. Sprayed them with malathion oil one evening and haven't seen them since...i don't see scale on the mango or sapodilla trees..not that I know much, but I think it is aphids that I am dealing with..If I get rid of the pests, will it get rid of the ants too? so, should I be using malathion on the Sapodilla and mango trees as well? What is the best way to get rid of them?

bsbullie · « **Reply #4 on:** February 25, 2015, 10:50:52 PM »

Malathion is some nasty stuff. I wouldn't be using it, just my 2 cents.

bsbullie · « **Reply #5 on:** February 25, 2015, 11:05:41 PM »

Quote from: bsbullie on February 25, 2015, 10:50:52 PM

Malathion is some nasty stuff. I wouldn't be using it, just my 2 cents.

I just realized you said malathion oil. I assume you mean Southern Ag's product?

Yes, rid the pests and the ants should dissipate. It will also put a halt tp the sooty mold.

mangomaniac2 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 25, 2015, 11:11:29 PM »

Quote from: bsbullie on February 25, 2015, 10:50:52 PM

Malathion is some nasty stuff. I wouldn't be using it, just my 2 cents.

I agree, Malathon it's much harsher on the plant and slows down growth. I use seven dust liquid concentrate from either lowes or home depot. Stuff works well for pests, is quite safe, and the plants do not seem bothered by the application. If that does not work, then you need to step up to Malathon as last resort. Malathon does work well and sometimes is the only way if infestation is so bad. Probably also good idea to attack the ants with some form of ant control in the area as well.

bsbullie · « **Reply #7 on:** February 25, 2015, 11:47:29 PM »

Yeah, i would go with Sevin but use imidacloprid as a last resort. I dont really think you will need to initially go after the ants. I think with a treatment for the pest, the ants will be attacked as well and the remainder will m igrate to a better source.

Das Bhut · « **Reply #8 on:** February 26, 2015, 07:35:43 AM »

Not all ants are a problem, most are neutral or beneficial

bsbullie · « **Reply #9 on:** February 26, 2015, 07:44:14 AM »

Quote from: Das Bhut on February 26, 2015, 07:35:43 AM

Not all ants are a problem, most are neutral or beneficial

what??

fisherking73 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 26, 2015, 08:35:29 AM »

Will Sevin hurt fruits or flowers? OR do you just spray the base of the tree area? I had some ants on one of my trees but they seem to have gone away, have not noticed any other pest yet. But keeping this little nugget of information for future reference/use.

strkpr00 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 26, 2015, 08:49:43 AM »

Sevin is neutralized by the Sun pretty quick, I have been told by a retired cranberry farmer to make applications late in the afternoon/ evening .

bsbullie · « **Reply #12 on:** February 26, 2015, 09:21:32 AM »

Quote from: strkpr00 on February 26, 2015, 08:49:43 AM

Sevin is neutralized by the Sun pretty quick, I have been told by a retired cranberry farmer to make applications late in the afternoon/ evening .

An old retired farmer once told me not to believe everything old retired farmers tell you...unless of course they told you to spray apple juice on mango blooms and Sevin only at night (please keep in mind, any leftover apple juice in the sprayer can be drank as a post application refreshment however this should not be done with the Sevin

).

TnTrobbie · « **Reply #13 on:** February 26, 2015, 09:57:33 AM »

Found some bee info from this Sevin product pdf
BEE CAUTION
http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ldAT9000.pdf

naturelover · « **Reply #14 on:** February 26, 2015, 10:35:36 AM »

unless you are over-run , I don't think treatment is necessary.

mangokothiyan · « **Reply #15 on:** February 26, 2015, 04:43:21 PM »

Quote from: bsbullie on February 25, 2015, 11:05:41 PM

Quote from: bsbullie on February 25, 2015, 10:50:52 PM
Malathion is some nasty stuff. I wouldn't be using it, just my 2 cents.

I just realized you said malathion oil. I assume you mean Southern Ag's product?

Yes, rid the pests and the ants should dissipate. It will also put a halt tp the sooty mold.

Yes , the Southern Ag's product is what I used. I did not see any leaf damage after that. I will hit them with Sevin now, once every few weeks.

mangomaniac2 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 26, 2015, 04:53:47 PM »

Looks like from the pdf, and from an old farmer, sevin is good to apply later afternoon/evening. Makes sense as this is when lots of bug action is happening so would be most effective.

bsbullie · « **Reply #17 on:** February 26, 2015, 05:59:24 PM »

Quote from: mangomaniac2 on February 26, 2015, 04:53:47 PM

Looks like from the pdf, and from an old farmer, sevin is good to apply later afternoon/evening. Makes sense as this is when lots of bug action is happening so would be most effective.

I see a lot of bug action in the early morning, just after sunrise.

Benor24 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 17, 2015, 05:53:17 AM »

Hey dear I don’t think that an insect killing soap work in such case. I think you should hire only best and reliable Termite inspection Port Macquarie services. I have a contact for the team which helps in termite and pests killing. If you need then I can share details here.

phantomcrab · « **Reply #19 on:** May 17, 2015, 12:33:53 PM »

The presence of ants and sooty mold suggests aphids or scale. They are attracted by fast growing plants and some types of plants just are magnets for them. Are your trees growing rapidly right now?

NewGen · « **Reply #20 on:** May 17, 2015, 02:49:52 PM »

I also have tons of ants on my potted sapodilla. I've heard people say that the ants will help pollinate the flowers, so I let them be. Well I haven't had 1 fruit. The tons of flowers are mostly gone, they bloomed and then just shriveled up and disappeared. I'm pretty disappointed. I think I'm gonna go after the ants now. I used Tanglefoot on lots of my other trees to great effect.

buddyguygreen · « **Reply #21 on:** May 17, 2015, 02:58:32 PM »

I had all different ants all over my tangerine tree and carpenter ants were getting into its roots while other ants were in the tree, so what i did was soak with water around the tree a few times a day for a couple days keeping the ground soggy then mix peat moss around the tree a few inches deep about 3 feet around the tree and then lay food grade Diatomaceous Earth which the food grade is finer and mix that with the peat moss and lay it also 3 feet around the tree. in a couple days all the ants were gone and haven't been back since. Just a quick organic method that works.

jmc96 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 17, 2015, 05:45:02 PM »

Plants go to a lot of trouble attracting ants not only through the nectar and pollen but through special organs high in the tree called nectaries. The sap sucking insects like scale and aphids only make it look worse, that is the source of your sooty mould, they attract the ants as well as the tree does.
In my opinion, I would be going after the sap sucking insects and leaving the ants to do their thing, they are great pollinators, I actually encourage ants into my greenhouse because they are the only pollinator I can get in there.
A very effective and low toxic way of controlling the sap suckers is as simple as a teaspoon of olive oil with a drop of dishwashing detergent to make it stick, into a 500ml spray bottle and away you go. Sap suckers breath through their skin, the oil blocks the pores so they suffocate.

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Author Topic: How do I get rid of ants on mango and sapodilla trees???. (Read 8570 times)