Ants on my broad beans.... Grrrrr

purplepardalis

They seem to be having a great time and are setting up incubation for eggs in the leaves. Well, I think they're eggs, they look like dark grey oval things.

How can I get rid of them? Anything I can do other than spraying chemicals? I've tried picking them off but it's not entirely successful and bruises the leaves.

Thanks guys

PP

Lotus-eater

That's aphids not eggs

Try getting rid of the aphids and the ants will get off your plants. I await your new thread with interest. Aphids are on my broad beans ....Grrr

TonyMMM

Ants won't do any harm to your beans, nor do they lay eggs on plants - what ants do is feed on the aphids (Blackfly/Greenfly) that live on the plants, they actually drink their sugary secretions.

Broad beans are very prone to attack from Blackfly - you can limit this by pinching out the tips of the plants once they have enough flowers on them (it's the juicy tips the blackfly love).

ForkHandles_2

Someone told me a while ago that the ants 'farm' the aphids (i.e. move them around to increase the aphid population), I don't know if this is true or not though, are ants that intelligent?

FH

Lotus-eater

ForkHandles wrote: »

Someone told me a while ago that the ants 'farm' the aphids (i.e. move them around to increase the aphid population), I don't know if this is true or not though, are ants that intelligent?

FH

Yes and yes

purplepardalis

Ah - clever ants!

So, do the aphids do any harm apart from looking vile?

I have mini broad beans growing on them now.... I'm so proud!

I'm new to this as you may have realised

purplepardalis

Just taken a photo of the little critters along with the new beans

Lotus-eater

purplepardalis wrote: »

Ah - clever ants!

So, do the aphids do any harm apart from looking vile?

I have mini broad beans growing on them now.... I'm so proud!

I'm new to this as you may have realised

Yes they do do harm. Well done with the beans, as Tony says, pinch the top off the beans, that should sort the problem out.

Hadn't realised that at all

photo, blackfly, google aphids and spray, loads of ways of getting rid of them.

rhiwfield

Ants are a real pain. They farm aphids so that infestations can take hold very quickly. Aphids can introduce disease and weaken some plants, especially the new tender growth.

Trouble is that the good guys arent around in numbers yet so I'm reduced to spraying them with insecticidal soap

purplepardalis

Cheers guys

I can pinch off the tops no problem but the aphids are also on the stem further down.

Any recommendations for insecticidal soap that I can get in a garden centre etc.

They're really bugging me (hah, I'm so funny) and I want to get rid!

Lotus-eater

Buy soft soap, also known as horticultural soap I think. They will know what it is.