If you enjoyed this video, the biggest thanks you can give is to hit the LIKE button! Please share it to extend its reach and help as many people as possible!
The tape trick is the most effective thing I've used over the years and some 700+ trees. I don't know about the packing tape though. I'll have to give it a try. I always use painters tape and wrap it more so that the ants get stuck on the tape so its tight fitting and a large area maybe 8-10" wide. Also the painters tape easily breaks as the tree grows and won't suffocate the tree. Works amazing for catching and stopping aphid farming.
@@Mrbfgray it will kill the tree unless foil or some other protective barrier is first used under it. Very Best Regards, Tom Scott Author ● Speaker ● World's Leading Expert on the Corrupt U.S. Legal System _Our American Injustice System_ _Stack the Legal Odds in Your Favor_
I live in Australia in a Small Country town , just out of Mudgee (NSW)..I recently planted a number of Citrus trees on our Property and not long after planting I started noticing my Mandarin and lemon trees were getting attacked by ants..they especially liked to move up the stems towards the younger smaller leaves at the top of these trees.. The ants were then somehow rolling these younger leaves into a tube and were living inside these rolled leaves by the thousands. I've tried many different ways of getting rid of these ants but they just continue to come back..but after reading and watching your video on this problem I am happy to say that I am now getting on top of my ant problem..I found using your idea of the packing tape wrapped around the tree's stems base was a very successful way of dealing with my ant problem
That is awesome! It's such a simple sounding thing, but for some reason, the ants just don't want to cross that barrier. It's almost unbelievable until you witness it with your own eyes. You may want to check your citrus trees for aphids. Aphids are soft-bodied, green insects that often hide underneath citrus leaves. They excrete a sweet sap and ants are very attractive to them. They're known to colonize around the aphids and protect them as a source of food. Treating with a natural insecticide like pyrethrin or spinosad will wipe them out after a couple of treatments. Make sure to spray at night, not during the day because sun can react with the oils in the pesticides and burn your trees.
Ants also 'Herd" Aphids! They will tickle them and the Aphids produce dew or some sort of juice/fluid. The Ants gather this for food! Essentially they use the Aphids like Cattle!
I used the tape trick but the ants did make it onto the tape. The tape was sticky enough to stop them but only for a short while. Dust very quickly stuck to the tape and it lost its tackiness. I solved the problem by giving the tape a coating of Vaseline. (petroleum jelly) It traps what few ants try to cross it and is easy to reapply when necessary.
Yep...thats what i was going to suggest...i used masking tape before...went up one way ...turned it around and came back down facing the sticky side out and then smeared vaseline on it and it works for ages but it does go ugly(the tape)combine the cellotape and do reasonably tight and then go vaseline on top...because the tape wont stay sticky for long and it wont leave an ugly mess on the trunk...i think i will try to combine the two......if using a pot....u can put pot on pot feet.....ants will often go into dry mixes from below and put a light smear of vaseline around the edge of pot as well......that should keep them out....good luck.
Tanglefoot insect barrier. In early spring the ants will eat the fruit blossoms which means no fruit on your trees. I know this happens in the northwest with fire ants.
@@mikenewell9217 Hi Mike. Thanks for the idea. I used it but took it one step farther. I made a cone out of stiff clear plastic, flexible enough to make the cone but stiff enough not to collapse in the rain. I taped it to the tree trunk making sure I left no gaps for the ants to get through. Because it was plastic, I was able to spread petroleum jelly on the inside of the cone and do away with the tape entirely. Now the little buggers have to make it down the greasy sides of the cone before having to maneuver themselves to the outside of it. So far it's working just fine even though it is ugly. Next time, I'll try to find some opaque plastic. LOL
Hi, I put tape around the truck of my tree at first it looked like it was working but after a few days I noticed pieces of grit/dirt spanning across the tape. Eventually the ants had built a bridge across the tape with it, which allowed access to rest of the tree. They are so amazingly clever and determined, wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen for myself.
Yes, i can imagine that happening. I try to protect one plant at home, placed it on an elevation inside a bowl of water with washing detergent, the ants are still getting in, probably sliding on the water, horrible
I’ve got ants on my pear tree. Going to apply the coffee grounds and diatomaceous earth. The tape stopped them for a day or two but now they just walk over it happily. Great tips.
I use orange oil based furniture polish as a repellant/scent mask. I had terrible problems with ants overwhelming my hummingbird feeders but a little spray on the support post stopped them completely! It also works sprayed on the trunk of a fruit tree and because it is oil-based it is resistant to rain. It does need reapplication occasionally as it will degrade with time and sunlight (I do it about once every month in summer).
That's interesting. I've heard similar results with peppermint oil and oil blended with cayenne pepper. It all comes down to the rain in your climate, though, as you mentioned. They can be washed away easily, and in climates like mine where it can rain every day in the summers, I'm pretty desperate to find tricks that last during and after rain.
Diatomaceous earth is not crushed mineral dust. It is the glass-like fossil skeletons of ancient diatoms (one-celled aquatic organisms). Other than that, what you said about DE is correct. By the way, diatomaceous earth is a fine enough dust that it can be inhaled into your lungs and cause silicosis, so when you apply it, it’s best to wear a respirator, or at least a dust mask.
Here’s another good trick. Use the tape as with the sticky side towards the tree. Then smear petroleum jelly all over the surface of the tape. Stops them every time and you don’t need coffee grounds and diatomaceous earth (and it’s water proof). I should mention these are smaller brown ants. Have never lived where red ants are around.
I had an ant infestation in my house and did the Vaseline thing on the metal legs of my kitchen table. It kept them out of our food til I got rid of the ants ( Terro ant bait).
Thanks for sharing these valuable information. I also wish to add up that besides petroleum jelly, greasing the trunk of the tree plays the trick very well. And this prevents even bigger ants and other insects from climbing over to the fruiting branches.
I used Vaseline last year on the trunk and major branches of an apricot tree after the fire (Red) ants discovered the fruit. No additional ants came after that day. I sprinkled DE on the ants and branches they already were on.
Great tips! Yes that make sense. I am excited to try that. I love to listen to your speech. It’s always very clear and organized! Nothing more nothing less is needed in your talk. You are a natural born teacher . Question: when you put your dog tree from pot to ground, what size of hole do you dig? What kind stuff (soil mulch fertilizer?) will you put in the hole alone with your potted soil? And do you put in at first year or wait for them grow in pot for few years? Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. When I dig a hole for my trees, I dig them 3-4 times larger than what is needed, maybe even more, to break up the soil around the area, then backfill it to the necessary size. IF you have time, I have a detailed video on planting fig trees here: ua-cam.com/video/V7PJ0u1EDeE/v-deo.html You can apply this method to almost any tree.
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I have a fruit tree that has been attacked by ants year after year and I didn’t know what to do but now I do. Be blessed
Great presentation, visuals, and audio! I am also careful to wash my hands after working with diatomaceous earth, and I wear a breathing mask and eye protection while working with diatomaceous earth if it is dusty.
Food grade d e ? Why are you so afraid, you can eat it or feed it to your dog. They use it in grain storage so the bugs don't eat the grain. Don't use the kind that's used for pool filters though, and don't throw it in the air and make a dust cloud. I've used it for over 20 years. Ants won't cross over it.
Love your 3 steps to rid ants. I was already using diamacious earth but didn't know abt pkg'ing tape or coffee. I will definitely try that around my blueberry bush. Thank you. Have a blessed day 🌈🙏🌈
I've been doing the coffee ground s because my grandma always did, but even with many grounds around my lime tree, I've seen no reduction in the ant traffic. Yesterday I laid down a sugar borax trap and, WOW! Action to the traps right away. Monitoring now.
Excellent video and tips thank you. One thing I do is put little dishes of honey and yeast around the garden. The ants take it back to the nest and the yeast makes the larvae burst, thus destroying the nest future. Quite effective at reducing ant numbers and harmless to other creatures.
Interesting. I found a great ant bait product from Andro, but it's quite toxic. It does work well, though...ants where I live are relentless because my yard is basically on top of beach sand.
Hi. Hope your day is going well. Plant onions and garlic around all of your fruit trees. My family has done this for generations, and it helps tremendously with all kinds of insects including ants.
Thanks so very much! Immediately ran out to my young apple tree, crawling with ants, and emptied the coffee machine grounds. Found packing tape. Tomorrow I will buy the diatomaceous earth. I am so happy I came across your video.
Let me know how it works for you. If you have a problem with ant hills everywhere, I recommend also purchasing an ant bait product that is designed to kill the queen. I recommend both an offensive and defensive strategy. Protect your trees with the defensive strategies in this video, and treat your lawn with bifenthrin granules and target ant colonies with ant bait to reduce the population as much as possible.
An update: the coffee grounds worked, the packing tape didn't in my case. I didn't use diamotaceous earth because I have two small dogs sniffing around everything. Very few ants after coffee grounds and I put them out daily.
@@freddypatterson8653 Bummer. It worked in my garden. Did you try increasing the concentration? If that does not work, I hear dry molasses works, but I never tried it.
@@scoop2591 Yeah, boiling water works, but it can be dangerous. Best to have one of those outdoor propane burners so you don't have to carry it too far.
Great topic as I notice ants are harvesting on my mango seedling trees .....good points......only concern is that the sticky tape will kill all small lizards as their feet get stuck ......lizards are great for natural bug control ......
Yes, lizards are great but won't eat an ant unless it has wings as we see fa few times a year. They seem to see the difference between an ant and another insect of the same size from half a meter distance. Wonderful to watch them ( Portugal)
Ady Lee I would imagine that could work, but we get a lot of rain here in the southeast. I was trying to find a solution that I don’t have to reapply every rainstorm. So far, this has held up to the rain.
Edit: My original advice comment, I have decided to delete. Although intended to be helpful, the method I suggested of using petroleum jelly on the bark surface is controversial and potentially problematic for the health of the tree, as evident in the response comments received. I will be unsubscribing to this comment thread due to the high volume of responses. I wish everyone the best success in their endeavors.
@@petersam4182 I am seeing some research online that says it can burn the bark in Summer, so maybe it is a bad idea to use it excessively. Many people do like to collar the base of their pots or trunks in Spring to prevent ants and slugs from crossing the barrier. It contains wax and purified hydrocarbons, safe for covering clean wounds on both skin and plant grafts. What are your reasons why you think it will kill a tree?
@@radrickdavis I did it ad overtime the bark got black and died, my trees started to wither and die. Yes in a cut it helps because we are not plants. I would advise using other methods.
@@petersam4182 Thanks for the response. One of my bonsai citrus died too. Very hard to grow in my climate without a greenhouse. Maybe the jelly is why it died. I think mine died because of winter stress when it has to adapt to indoors (less light, dry air, waterlogged and rootbound). Still learning. At least it kept the ants off.
Depends on which ants, Formica rufa, also known as the red wood ant, southern wood ant, or horse ant, is very key in controlling aphids on fruit farms. Natures balance.....make a point of studying a little more on the eco systems of these bugs and reduce dependency on deadly chemicals
I would recommend fruit tree grease band. It serves the same purpose as the packing tape except it's more weatherproof and it has stronger glue. Another option is using something like Tanglefoot insect barrier.
I used something similar to tangle foot it came in a tub, the tangle foot comes in a tube for a caulking gun in my pat of the world. Red vinyl flagging tape with the sticky stuff painted on works it is super effective. U can even encircle the pot with it to keep them from setting up camp in soil.
Be really careful with tanglefoot! We removed the tape in early spring and the bark was badly damaged. Quite a bit of it fell off. We are praying that it does not kill the tree. It blossomed and has set a lot of fruit, but the leaves are blistering and look diseased. So incredibly disappointing!
*Great video and content. Thank you for sharing. Diatomaceous earth also supplies the plants some supplemental silica - which helps cell development, nutrient uptake, and vigor. Word is it makes plants less palatable to pests as well.*
Since it is made of sedimentary rock, I would assume it adds some kind of nutrient value. I certainly wouldn't consider it fertilizer, but it probably adds some value. Thanks for watching!
@@swannoir7949 *DE is natural occuring and derived from fossilized water plants etc. It is my underatanding that it will not harm beneficial microorganisms in the soil - especially when dusted onto onto plants or soil surface etc where these specific garden pests come in contact with it. I have seen no harm come to any of my plants and they Thriving. I use DE occasionally as needed. Once per year or every other year. Some utilize it much more frequently than myself. As with anything I would not recommend disbursing an excessive amount in any one area.*
I've been saying several times this summer I need to do something about the ants, they are worse than year than before. Fortunately, we rarely get rain in the summer. But I'm not sure if I can implement all of these tips with so many trees. I surely can't drink enough coffee to meet my needs but maybe the DE is worth a shot. Thanks for speaking slow and clearly for me so I can understand you well.
There may be several things you can do. My trees aren't nearly as advanced as yours, but it seems that ants can't quite make it over barriers. When my trees get larger, I'm going to experiment by tying bungee cords around them and see if they can get over them, sort of like a moat. But for you, since you're rainless for ~3 months, yea, I'd coat the trunks in DE as a test. Thanks for watching, Harvey.
This is a great channel. Thank you very much.. I started a figs business last year and I am caring for 270 fig trees; Please accept my sincere thanks for the excellent information and knowledge you share with use I learned so much from you. Regards, Maalim Saudi Arabia
You explain things so well. I'm a new subscriber and I'm learning a ton. You mentioned you have to reapply the coffee grounds and diatomaceous earth if it rains, but how do you go about water the tree when you have applied these things?
Thanks! Generally, it rains so much where I live in the summer that I do not need to water any of my in-ground trees. If you live in a location where you have to water your in-ground trees, keep in mind the root zone sticks out several feet. You can place the coffee grounds and DE around the trunks in a 12 inch circle and run your drip lines 18 inches away from the tree. The roots will easily find the water.
My most effective ant repellant is 50-50 borax and sugar. There are many channels describing this for ant control in the house so I also use it in the garden. I save plastic containers (hummus containers are my favorite :) punch a few small holes around the sides about 1/2'" inch above the floor, put about 1/4 cup (any measurement depending on how often you need to refill it with fresh) in the container and put the lid on. Set a container at the base of each tree in first week of April (spring in zone 7b) BEFORE they've invaded the yard and you'll have no ants on the trees. My other pest problem is wasps that devour the fruit, but they wait for it to be fully ripe so I harvest every day, selecting the ones that are the ripe color and have JUST drooped on their little stem which is still green. Let them sit on the windowsill for a day before eating. Birds are the 3rd raiders but my 10 yr old trees are so large that I'm happy to let them have the high fruit and there's plenty for me 7 ft and below :0
Borax and sugar isn't an ant repellent. It is an ant bait. It is designed to attract ants to the area, and then the ants carry the food back to their colony where the whole colony feeds and kills them. What you are describing is an offensive strategy to reduce overall population, and it is an effective method of destroying ant colonies, but it will not keep ants off your fruit trees. Keeping ants off your trees requires defensive strategies. You can kill every ant colony in your yard, but there will still be thousands of scouts searching for a food source. It's important to incorporate both offensive strategies that reduce or eliminate ant hills in your property, but also defensive strategies that make it difficult for ants to find your fruits. If they find fruits, they'll just keep building new colonies in your yard over and over again.
@@TheMillennialGardener You're right - my use of the word 'repellant' was careless and inaccurate. All I can say is that for 4 yrs of trying all the "defense" mechanisms and still had ants devouring the fruit before I could get to it, I've had NO ants on the trees since I started using borax. I put the bait directly under the trees this last 2 yrs and it is my belief that they are taking the bait BEFORE they climb up the tree and discover the fruit. But now that this experiment has proven itself, I'm going to try using the bait in a wider perimeter to keep them out of the garden and trees entirely. Sort of the same as using trap crops for flying insects.
birds eat my blueberries, even after I made a box out of pvc pipes covered with bird netting. Always find a way to get in. My yard is a warzone me against nature, the rabbits, the racoons, ground hocks and so many more
I find your videos among the best instructional gardening videos on YT. Thank you for dedicating your time to your passion and sharing what you’ve discovered\learned with us. I’ve had big ant fruit issues and am excited to use these mitigations against them.
I have found that mixing borax and sugar equal amounts in water then soaking cotton balls and placing them in a container with small holes ,then placing the containers around the area I want to protect, works. I've been told that they suck up the water and take it back to their nest, which can kill the entire colony. Works for me
This is what I would consider an "offensive" strategy against ants. As gardeners, we should be trying to kill ant colonies. I spread bifenthrin granules every other month on my lawn and that generally keeps my ant colony problem to a minimum. However, there are always rogue ants searching for new food sources. If they find your trees, they'll call in their friends to build new colonies. This is where you want a "defensive" approach like in this video so the ants never find your trees. The best strategy is to include both an offensive and defensive stragey.
Ant wars help too. Introducing one colony to another, via shovel. One idea is with the collar... You know bandage ace wraps? The kind for sprained ankles, etc.? It stretches. So if you place it on the trunk and place the tape on it, without overlapping the tape, it will add protection, without girdling the trees. To keep a consistent ring, place two rings (one on top of the other).
use ashes from a fire pit to get rid of ants. it works phenomenally well ants will straight up vacate the area nearly instantly and its far cheaper then coffee grounds or diatemacious earth, especially if you have a fire pit. then its free 😆, the ashes work for quite a long period of time as well i spread them early spring and they are still repelling ants nearly 4 months later
@@prasutifreislich6363 So my slugs and ants shouldn't be a problem this year. I thought the lack of rain and heat was the reason I hadn't seen slugs but it's been snowing ash here for weeks so perhaps that's part of it. Haven't seen a slug in over a month and the ants aren't very active either.
I'm going to try your methods on a ninebark shrub I'm growing in tree form. Plagued with ants in the past, it was just this year I found a couple big black birds rifling through the mulch. Well, the mulch is totally mixed with the soil or ants did it. It sickens me to think there are that many ants around a non-fruiting tree.
Thanks you ,I was going to give you on one of my fruit tree too much ants in the fruits and it turn black then from full as they ripens,you've been a great help.
Thank you so much for that advice I've got heaps of coffee grounds which I get from a local coffeehouse house. I've got DE which I get from the local produce for my chooks, and packing tape I also have. So I will take up your advice and use these things. I'm impressed with your delivery, as some waffle on 2 to 3 minutes and say absolutely nothing. Where as you are to the point and very concise as I said you before thank you very much. I do not know if this is true but I read where if you put espresso coffee grounds on the ground, it will kill slugs and snails I giving them a heart attack. The temperature is that hot where I live we do not have those two pests. We makeup for it I having cane toads and fire ants which were both imported. The cane toads we're boarding to Australia for the cane Beatles. The toads have done irreparable damage by other animals and birds eating them and dying. The fire ants were accidentally introduced about 25 to 30 years ago
Thank you, I'm glad you like the delivery. I spend a lot of time editing myself to get to the point. Regarding your problem with snails and slugs, I suggest checking out my Amazon Storefront in the Pest Control section. I'm not sure if you can order from it given you're in Australia and I'm in the US, but it will at least show you the sample product called Snail Bait. The active ingredient is iron phosphate. Iron phosphate is very attractive to slugs and snails. They eat it and their insides rupture and they die. The best part is you just sprinkle it around your plants and you don't have to worry about harming any pollinators or good flying insects since it involves no spraying.
We in India apply Black Tar by melting it first in atin & apply a ring about one foot in height around The tree. You may do two rings from the base and after another 3 feet the second one. The stickiness of the tower TAR stops the ants from climbing up to the fruits and if they succeed in the first ring the second ring takes care of their further progress. Hope it works for you in theory it is exactly like your duck tape reverse application in.
My guava fruits are protected by the big brown ants who have nested in the tree. One hot year the tree was devoid of ants. That year all the guavas were infested by insects that make the fruits dry up brown before even they mature. I live in Sri Lanka and the guava I talk of is the pink variety.
I did that with ducktape( i also used double-sided tape) around my fig tree and it works,note check if the sticky on tape stay sticky otherwise replace the tape.But after a wile i notice that ants go on fig tree and i saw they walk on wall next to my fig tree because leaves from fig tree touch the wall.(little rascals)So check if the leaves dont touch ground or other plants,trees or walls......Also corn flower mixed with powder sugar (1 on 1) helps if you trow that next to nest of ants.they eat the sugar and also some corn flower,they cannot digest the corn flour and it will kill ants.In combo with your tips ,the ants will surrender,if they still can! 🤣
I've found that as well. They will crawl up leaves and branches touching the ground, they'll crawl up stakes and across string if you stake and tie your trees...you certainly need to cover all your bases!
I had thought of the DA... but it would get washed away when watering the tree.. So, instead, I applied a thick coat of petroleum jelly around the trunk ( a couple of feet up from the ground) and no more ants. The DA works great around the base of my kitty cat's food. I sit one bowl inside a slightly bigger bowl to capture the thick ring of DA at the base of the bowl with the food. No more ants.
You also may have no more tree.... others have commented here that they did as you have and had the tree bark come off at the site of the P.J... and others said it killed the tree! Be careful...
This method worked great for my fig tree! Prior to doing this, I was getting ants in all of my figs as soon as they started to ripen. It's been 2 weeks since using this method, figs are ripening and have had no ants. Thanks!
I used organza bags of appropriate size to keep the bugs off each individual fig. If u are loaded with figs u will need many organza net bags (They aren't expensive). U just slide over the fig and pull the drawstring over the stem. I even used organza bags to keep squirrels away by rubbing Habanero Juice all over the out side of the bag and letting it dry. It worked.
I take painters tape wrap around the base of the tree, then take sticky fly traps cut them into strips and with gloves wrap the fly strips around the painters tape. Very durable and very sticky! Very messy without gloves on application. I use on my apple and fig trees!
I used polyfill wrapped around the truck and after that, I noticed a massive drop in the number of ants getting onto the trees...I wrapped about 10 to 15 cms in height of it.
The problem with the first 2 solutions is that it rains every 15 seconds in Florida in the summer--or so it seems. I've heard worm castings work well because ants *_hate_* it, so a thick layer around the base, which does not wash away like the grounds or DE, may be a good alternative. Very Best Regards, Tom Scott Author ● Speaker ● World's Leading Expert on the Corrupt U.S. Legal System _Our American Injustice System_ _Stack the Legal Odds in Your Favor_
Here are some additional strategies. To kill the little buggers, get some Opti-guard ant gel. I swear by it, put a bunch around where they are, they carry it back to the nest and 2 days later, bye bye ants. Also, white vinegar is another pheromone disruptor to ants, I use it along with essential oils such as lemon or peppermint. For rats, you can also put small jars with long wicks with potent peppermint essential oil. You have to put it early in the season and the rats will avoid the area, if they already know there's food, then its worthless. Also, I've put olive oil around the trunk like you've done with the tape, same strategy. Its worked for me. One last thing that works on every critter out there is taking the hottest pepper you have, boiling it for a few minutes along with garlic. Put the water in a spray bottle or spray tank along with a little bit of soap, which acts as a binding agent, and spray it around. Just like you're suggestions MG, rain and time does away with it. Effective against everything from ants to deer. My uncle lived in the woods and used that to keep everything away, he used habaneros and garlic. You just want potent stuff. You can also use spray oil as your binding agent, works a tad bit better IMHO. Another good video MG, thanks. I gave it a thumbs up. I'm flying out to Wilmington next week to check things out and make sure I can take the heat and humidity if I end up moving out there.
It's extremely hot right now. Peak heat and humidity. Dew point has consistently been between 76-81, highs between 91-95. It's steamy. Thanks for watching.
The problem with peppers is that as a spray it is dangerous as it will come back at you when you spray it so better ware full protective gear. If it lands on your skin or eyes it burns, even handling it is dangerous so better were disposable gloves. I gave up on peppers for this reason just too easy to get it on you.
I had ants on my fig tree 2 years ago. I found Tanglefoot and I also purchased the tape that gets banded around the tree. It worked like a charm so I did all my fruit trees and never had a problem. When I run out i will definitely try the tape method you showed. You just have to make sure you get the tape around the tree tight enough so they can't get under. I will definitely try the coffee grounds as well as the diatomatous earth too. Thanks for a great video.
I have Tanglefoot as well, which I've used for wounds. However, I wouldn't want it to dry on my trees unnecessarily. That gunk eventually dries to the trees, which can hold in moisture and be a potential rot-hazard. I wouldn't want to use it anymore than I'd have to. However, you may be able to do something like wrap tape around the tree, then apply the Tanglefoot, or something like petroleum jelly, so it doesn't contact the wood. You could just replace the tape with more gunk after it dries or washes off.
@@TheMillennialGardener that is what I do. I bought the crepe paper wrap and wrapped the trees and painted the Tanglefoot on to the wrap itself. After it gets nice and full of bugs I put a new one on and remove the old one
Thank you for this video. I have been trying to get ants aways from the cherry tree and grape vines. I use the Diamataceuos Earth but my irrigation often washes it away. I am going to use the coffee grounds and tape method now as well.
Great advice, thank you! This year (in UK) many of my flower and vegetable plants, especially the leaves and growing ends are infested with black ants. It will be tricky to wrap with packing tape. I am attracted to using DIATOMACEOUS earth (will have to search where to find it). Please advise if it safe to use on tender end of vegetable and flower plants.
Hi Shuja, I am not sure if you get a notice if someone replies to your comment. Just in case you do I am rewriting my comment to this video. Mix sugar syrup with boracic powder and apply this wherever you see a trail of ants. Because it is so sweet they will take it to their queen. It will sterilize her. After a couple of days your ant problem will be solved.
My problem is not ants but earwigs that bore into peaches. I wrap a piece of plastic wrap or plastic produce bag around the trunk, keep it in place with some tape, and smear on a bit of Tanglefoot. After the fruit is picked I take off the plastic and discard it. I don't find a lot of dead insects in the sticky Tanglefoot. After listening to this video I suspect I've eliminated the ability to create an odor trail so there hasn't been many attempts to climb the trunk.
Cucumber work well for weeks. Use all of the green part. Place the skins @ the base of the plants . Might want to see if it works around fruit tree. Like you said not one ant on my flowering plant the next day. PS any old or part of cucumber.
In addition to putting the tape around the tree I also found it helpful to put a little Tanglefoot on the tape so if somehow they made it onto there they're not going to make it past the tanglefoot
I just wipe or spray some vegetable oil around the bottom of the trunk. It also works on hummingbird feeders, applying it to the chain the feeder is hanging from. It doesn’t wash off for a long time. I had a huge colony of red ants in my back yard. I poured boiling water down the center and they disappeared.
I've been using spent coffee grounds around my fig tree the last several years with excellent results. It doesn't rain here much in the summer so once or twice a season works well. No more ants in the figs.
Does it have to be used grounds? I don't drink coffee, iced or otherwise so no coffee maker. Could the grounds just be soaked and the water and grounds be poured around the tree or can I just use fresh grounds without soaking.
@@DebGo4th I use spent grounds because I don't want to waste new grounds. You can use whatever you have with equal results. I'd expect you could get all the used grounds you would want from any coffee shop, if you asked. Good luck!
Mix some ant bait with a tablespoon of jam or jelly.. let them take that back to the colony. I have done the same thing with boric acid. It kills the colony FAST!
The adhesive on regular tape will wash off with the fitst rain. I use velcro tape that has adhesive on the back. Ants can seem to navigate it. Sticky backing attaches to the trunk really well. Also borax mixed with honey or jam works really well. Kills the nest.
Great video! I use to work in an urban entomology lab our ant tubs were painted with wax on the rims so the ants could not escape. I think this method would work for your potted trees. ❤
Agreed. OSHA and NIOSH have both evaluated it, and recommend avoiding breathing it in and contact with eyes: www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0552.pdf
Diatomaceous earth is diatom skeletons. You can also paint your tape with tanglefoot (they have it at home depot nursery). It's sticky stuff you can paint on plastic or paper, etc. Stops them in their tracks.
My neighbor's new Peachtree has many ants and I have packing tape and I will help him. Thanks I don't have coffee grounds Thanks and your videos was informative and you are a confident speaker. Thanks
Thank you! We have to get a new bed because the UV light from the sun eventually cooked the top and the winter storms shredded it. He loves his shade in the summertime!
im also one of the 299 thumbs down , dont get me wrong its not that i dont like ( hate) its just that i dont agree on his second method, they are just ants dont need to be so cruel, sorry
The tape works great. Sticky side out. Wipe tree tanglefoot on the tape when tape is not sticky. Don't use double sided tape. It will rip the bark off.
I think Pine Tar from the feed store also works. It has a strong smell and is very sticky. You can also use it after pruning to prevent disease and infection.
I hope you can help me. We have a pear tree that seems like it has grown straight up to the sky. There are not a lot of branches coming out of the tree as it goes up. The biggest pears were at the top and we had to bend the tree over to get the fruit this year. Could I cut the top out of the tree without hurting it and if I did ; would that help it to spread more outwardly and develop more branches. It is a Kiefer Pear tree. Loved this video.
The tape trick works excellent if you apply some tanglefoot to the tape, for those that don’t know tanglefoot is a very sticky liquid that’s water resistant and gooey enough that dust isn’t going to affect it
Nice presentation. You mentioned that you'd have to replace DE once it rains, but as soon as you water the plant? Wouldn't you have to replace DE daily?
Not if you're growing an in-ground tree. You shouldn't have to water in-ground trees much, if at all once they're established. If you're growing in containers, a way around this is to use drip irrigation.
Paper tape first. The ants can sometimes get underneath tape like that. Paper tape/masking tape and horticultural glue is good for ants and other pests (like codling moth, ugh).
Sharing is caring. I'll let the ants have some food too. Give them something else to eat like leftovers chicken, bread. They will leave your trees alone.
Great video as always and I love the organic concept. However can you recommend an affective pesticide that will kill them? I mean dead not get them to relocate! Thanks brother great channels!!🙏🏻
Thank you. I recommend three things: 1. Every 2 months or so, spread bifenthrin granules on your lawn. You can find those granules for about $10 a bag at Lowe's and Walmart. They're usually Amdro or similar brands. Sevin also makes a similar product. They keep the ant, cricket and beetle population in your lawn under control. 2. Purchase Amdro ant bait. You can use this bait to spot-treat ant hills. The ants take it to the queen and it destroys the colony in hours. I have this product linked in my Amazon Storefront. VERY effective. Those two things will help keep the ant population in your yard to a minimum. Then: 3. Use these *defensive* tips in this video to ensure stray ants don't find your fruit trees. When you do all 3 of these things, it's very effective at keeping ant damage to an absolute minimum.
In theory, yes, but they would have to walk all over the ground to come into contact with it, and that is not topical bee behavior. I've used DE to dust the leaves of many plants that attract bees to their flowers with no apparent ill-effect to my neighbor's hives.
That all sounds good but during the hot weather in my area , I'm watering almost every other day. I would be spreading DE and coffee grounds every other day. By the way, DE is a very dangerous dust to breath. I used it on a regular basis in my business
If it is an in-ground tree, you can spread the DE ring very close to the trunk and water away from the tree, or vice versa, so you don't wash it away. Setting up drip irrigation is also a good plan, because you will only accumulate water in little spots. The tape is the most effective thing, so even if DE doesn't work out, you'll still protect the trunk.
If you enjoyed this video, the biggest thanks you can give is to hit the LIKE button! Please share it to extend its reach and help as many people as possible!
@Stauriko-Linny • 99 years and hopefully you found the content helpful.
I subscribed to your channel. Thanks for the useful content.
How do you keep ants off sugar baby melons vines I notice them alot
I’ve been watching your channel for some time now. I would not have my tiny orchard if not for the information you’ve given out. 🙏 Thank you
The tape trick is the most effective thing I've used over the years and some 700+ trees. I don't know about the packing tape though. I'll have to give it a try. I always use painters tape and wrap it more so that the ants get stuck on the tape so its tight fitting and a large area maybe 8-10" wide. Also the painters tape easily breaks as the tree grows and won't suffocate the tree. Works amazing for catching and stopping aphid farming.
How about a band of Vaseline on the trunk? Haven't had to try it but some say it stops ants, my pest problems are much less than most see to have.
@@Mrbfgray it will kill the tree unless foil or some other protective barrier is first used under it.
Very Best Regards,
Tom Scott
Author ● Speaker ● World's Leading Expert on the Corrupt U.S. Legal System
_Our American Injustice System_
_Stack the Legal Odds in Your Favor_
I live in Australia in a Small Country town , just out of Mudgee (NSW)..I recently planted a number of Citrus trees on our Property and not long after planting I started noticing my Mandarin and lemon trees were getting attacked by ants..they especially liked to move up the stems towards the younger smaller leaves at the top of these trees.. The ants were then somehow rolling these younger leaves into a tube and were living inside these rolled leaves by the thousands. I've tried many different ways of getting rid of these ants but they just continue to come back..but after reading and watching your video on this problem I am happy to say that I am now getting on top of my ant problem..I found using your idea of the packing tape wrapped around the tree's stems base was a very successful way of dealing with my ant problem
That is awesome! It's such a simple sounding thing, but for some reason, the ants just don't want to cross that barrier. It's almost unbelievable until you witness it with your own eyes. You may want to check your citrus trees for aphids. Aphids are soft-bodied, green insects that often hide underneath citrus leaves. They excrete a sweet sap and ants are very attractive to them. They're known to colonize around the aphids and protect them as a source of food. Treating with a natural insecticide like pyrethrin or spinosad will wipe them out after a couple of treatments. Make sure to spray at night, not during the day because sun can react with the oils in the pesticides and burn your trees.
Ants also 'Herd" Aphids! They will tickle them and the Aphids produce dew or some sort of juice/fluid. The Ants gather this for food! Essentially they use the Aphids like Cattle!
I used the tape trick but the ants did make it onto the tape. The tape was sticky enough to stop them but only for a short while. Dust very quickly stuck to the tape and it lost its tackiness. I solved the problem by giving the tape a coating of Vaseline. (petroleum jelly) It traps what few ants try to cross it and is easy to reapply when necessary.
A cone above your tape keeps
Dryness
Try grease
Yep...thats what i was going to suggest...i used masking tape before...went up one way ...turned it around and came back down facing the sticky side out and then smeared vaseline on it and it works for ages but it does go ugly(the tape)combine the cellotape and do reasonably tight and then go vaseline on top...because the tape wont stay sticky for long and it wont leave an ugly mess on the trunk...i think i will try to combine the two......if using a pot....u can put pot on pot feet.....ants will often go into dry mixes from below and put a light smear of vaseline around the edge of pot as well......that should keep them out....good luck.
Tanglefoot insect barrier. In early spring the ants will eat the fruit blossoms which means no fruit on your trees. I know this happens in the northwest with fire ants.
@@mikenewell9217 Hi Mike. Thanks for the idea. I used it but took it one step farther.
I made a cone out of stiff clear plastic, flexible enough to make the cone but stiff enough not to collapse in the rain. I taped it to the tree trunk making sure I left no gaps for the ants to get through. Because it was plastic, I was able to spread petroleum jelly on the inside of the cone and do away with the tape entirely. Now the little buggers have to make it down the greasy sides of the cone before having to maneuver themselves to the outside of it. So far it's working just fine even though it is ugly. Next time, I'll try to find some opaque plastic. LOL
Hi, I put tape around the truck of my tree at first it looked like it was working but after a few days I noticed pieces of grit/dirt spanning across the tape. Eventually the ants had built a bridge across the tape with it, which allowed access to rest of the tree. They are so amazingly clever and determined, wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen for myself.
This story made me LOL. I've seen them do some wildly clever things too.
Yes, i can imagine that happening. I try to protect one plant at home, placed it on an elevation inside a bowl of water with washing detergent, the ants are still getting in, probably sliding on the water, horrible
I’ve got ants on my pear tree. Going to apply the coffee grounds and diatomaceous earth. The tape stopped them for a day or two but now they just walk over it happily. Great tips.
Don't know if it is bad or not but I have successfully put a layer of vaseline in a ring around the base of the tree and it lasts a really long time.
1. Coffee Grounds - masks scent
2. Diatomaceous earth - grinds their joints, kills them, but washes away with rain
3. Wrap trunk with packing tape, sticky side out.
How to? Starts at 7:56.
You’re welcome.
Lol I came here to post a TL;DR. Guess ya beat me to it! On behalf of ADHD gardners everywhere.. thank you.
Would sand help? I have heard it cuts the aunt's exoskeleton causing its death.
Tania L. Williamson why do ppl do this? I think it’s rude...I found his video very informative.
Thanks
I have lizards so I can't do the tape
I use orange oil based furniture polish as a repellant/scent mask. I had terrible problems with ants overwhelming my hummingbird feeders but a little spray on the support post stopped them completely! It also works sprayed on the trunk of a fruit tree and because it is oil-based it is resistant to rain. It does need reapplication occasionally as it will degrade with time and sunlight (I do it about once every month in summer).
That's interesting. I've heard similar results with peppermint oil and oil blended with cayenne pepper. It all comes down to the rain in your climate, though, as you mentioned. They can be washed away easily, and in climates like mine where it can rain every day in the summers, I'm pretty desperate to find tricks that last during and after rain.
Diatomaceous earth is not crushed mineral dust. It is the glass-like fossil skeletons of ancient diatoms (one-celled aquatic organisms).
Other than that, what you said about DE is correct.
By the way, diatomaceous earth is a fine enough dust that it can be inhaled into your lungs and cause silicosis, so when you apply it, it’s best to wear a respirator, or at least a dust mask.
Absolutely right. Greetings, fellow nerd.
It's fascinating to look at images of DE under a microscope. Complex forms, not just crystals
What about using food grade DE?
@@fatimaariza1596 same thing. Crystals and angles means microscopic razor blades. I won't use it for anything, especially not in soil.
@@downbntoutI've heard that its completely harmless unless you have an exoskeleton. Is that not true?
Beloved, how can anyone NOT love this guy? He is sooo my new best friend.
Thanks for watching!
Here’s another good trick.
Use the tape as with the sticky side towards the tree. Then smear petroleum jelly all over the surface of the tape. Stops them every time and you don’t need coffee grounds and diatomaceous earth (and it’s water proof). I should mention these are smaller brown ants. Have never lived where red ants are around.
I had an ant infestation in my house and did the Vaseline thing on the metal legs of my kitchen table. It kept them out of our food til I got rid of the ants ( Terro ant bait).
Thanks for info
Thanks for sharing these valuable information. I also wish to add up that besides petroleum jelly, greasing the trunk of the tree plays the trick very well. And this prevents even bigger ants and other insects from climbing over to the fruiting branches.
I used Vaseline last year on the trunk and major branches of an apricot tree after the fire (Red) ants discovered the fruit. No additional ants came after that day. I sprinkled DE on the ants and branches they already were on.
@@YSLRD Terro Ant Bait traps are no joke. Both the in-house and the out door.
Great tips! Yes that make sense. I am excited to try that. I love to listen to your speech. It’s always very clear and organized! Nothing more nothing less is needed in your talk. You are a natural born teacher . Question: when you put your dog tree from pot to ground, what size of hole do you dig? What kind stuff (soil mulch fertilizer?) will you put in the hole alone with your potted soil? And do you put in at first year or wait for them grow in pot for few years? Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. When I dig a hole for my trees, I dig them 3-4 times larger than what is needed, maybe even more, to break up the soil around the area, then backfill it to the necessary size. IF you have time, I have a detailed video on planting fig trees here: ua-cam.com/video/V7PJ0u1EDeE/v-deo.html
You can apply this method to almost any tree.
@@TheMillennialGardener Perfect, I just watched it. and found more links below. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I have a fruit tree that has been attacked by ants year after year and I didn’t know what to do but now I do. Be blessed
I make a cone out of cardboard to wrap around the tree trunk hold it in place with tape then and add the diatomaceous earth.
Great presentation, visuals, and audio! I am also careful to wash my hands after working with diatomaceous earth, and I wear a breathing mask and eye protection while working with diatomaceous earth if it is dusty.
Food grade d e ? Why are you so afraid, you can eat it or feed it to your dog. They use it in grain storage so the bugs don't eat the grain. Don't use the kind that's used for pool filters though, and don't throw it in the air and make a dust cloud. I've used it for over 20 years. Ants won't cross over it.
Love your 3 steps to rid ants. I was already using diamacious earth but didn't know abt pkg'ing tape or coffee. I will definitely try that around my blueberry bush. Thank you. Have a blessed day 🌈🙏🌈
I appreciate how you clearly explained, and demonstrated all steps. Thank you. please keep making those videos.
Thanks for watching!
I've been doing the coffee ground s because my grandma always did, but even with many grounds around my lime tree, I've seen no reduction in the ant traffic.
Yesterday I laid down a sugar borax trap and, WOW! Action to the traps right away.
Monitoring now.
you are absolutely correct, i tried the coffee ground and it does not work
Excellent video and tips thank you.
One thing I do is put little dishes of honey and yeast around the garden. The ants take it back to the nest and the yeast makes the larvae burst, thus destroying the nest future. Quite effective at reducing ant numbers and harmless to other creatures.
Interesting. I found a great ant bait product from Andro, but it's quite toxic. It does work well, though...ants where I live are relentless because my yard is basically on top of beach sand.
❤👍👍
Brewers yeast or bread making yeast??? Great suggestion. I will definitely try this....just curious which type of yeast.
@@annfairfax9797 I always used simple sachets of yeast from the supermarket, I guess it was bread.
What about the bees . Are they harmed ?
Hi. Hope your day is going well. Plant onions and garlic around all of your fruit trees. My family has done this for generations, and it helps tremendously with all kinds of insects including ants.
Thanks ua-cam.com/video/vN9GR6xRw24/v-deo.html
Thank you 😊
Thanks so very much! Immediately ran out to my young apple tree, crawling with ants, and emptied the coffee machine grounds. Found packing tape. Tomorrow I will buy the diatomaceous earth. I am so happy I came across your video.
Let me know how it works for you. If you have a problem with ant hills everywhere, I recommend also purchasing an ant bait product that is designed to kill the queen. I recommend both an offensive and defensive strategy. Protect your trees with the defensive strategies in this video, and treat your lawn with bifenthrin granules and target ant colonies with ant bait to reduce the population as much as possible.
An update: the coffee grounds worked, the packing tape didn't in my case. I didn't use diamotaceous earth because I have two small dogs sniffing around everything. Very few ants after coffee grounds and I put them out daily.
Interesting!My banana,mango trees were attracted by ants.I'try your 3 tips to rid off ants.
Orange oil and water on the mound works wonders. Kills the whole mound at one time. 1-2 oz. per gallon, 2.5 gallons per mound.
It don't work on Florida fire ants, I tried it several time.
@@freddypatterson8653 Bummer. It worked in my garden. Did you try increasing the concentration? If that does not work, I hear dry molasses works, but I never tried it.
I've poured 2 qts boing water on ant mound. Only one time did I have to repeat it twice. I like all the great info here, THX !
@@scoop2591 Yeah, boiling water works, but it can be dangerous. Best to have one of those outdoor propane burners so you don't have to carry it too far.
hey, i tried putting vaseline on the trunk like what you did with the tape... seems to work too!
Wrapping fly paper around the trunk works really well, too. It also stops tent caterpillars.
I like that idea! Does it hold up in the rain? Seems logical.
Great topic as I notice ants are harvesting on my mango seedling trees .....good points......only concern is that the sticky tape will kill all small lizards as their feet get stuck ......lizards are great for natural bug control ......
Yes, lizards are great but won't eat an ant unless it has wings as we see fa few times a year. They seem to see the difference between an ant and another insect of the same size from half a meter distance. Wonderful to watch them ( Portugal)
Seems like Vaseline or wax would be a better bet.
I read that applying a coating of vaselin around the tree trunk works as well
Ady Lee I would imagine that could work, but we get a lot of rain here in the southeast. I was trying to find a solution that I don’t have to reapply every rainstorm. So far, this has held up to the rain.
Edit: My original advice comment, I have decided to delete. Although intended to be helpful, the method I suggested of using petroleum jelly on the bark surface is controversial and potentially problematic for the health of the tree, as evident in the response comments received. I will be unsubscribing to this comment thread due to the high volume of responses. I wish everyone the best success in their endeavors.
Its also a toxic plastic to humans so I'd never think of putting it on a tree ;-)
It will eventually kill your tree.
@@petersam4182 I am seeing some research online that says it can burn the bark in Summer, so maybe it is a bad idea to use it excessively. Many people do like to collar the base of their pots or trunks in Spring to prevent ants and slugs from crossing the barrier. It contains wax and purified hydrocarbons, safe for covering clean wounds on both skin and plant grafts. What are your reasons why you think it will kill a tree?
@@radrickdavis I did it ad overtime the bark got black and died, my trees started to wither and die.
Yes in a cut it helps because we are not plants. I would advise using other methods.
@@petersam4182 Thanks for the response. One of my bonsai citrus died too. Very hard to grow in my climate without a greenhouse. Maybe the jelly is why it died. I think mine died because of winter stress when it has to adapt to indoors (less light, dry air, waterlogged and rootbound). Still learning. At least it kept the ants off.
Depends on which ants, Formica rufa, also known as the red wood ant, southern wood ant, or horse ant, is very key in controlling aphids on fruit farms. Natures balance.....make a point of studying a little more on the eco systems of these bugs and reduce dependency on deadly chemicals
Thank you for your advice. It sounds more like I was thinking. I watched littlest big farm. It was awesome. I learned so much from that movie.
I would recommend fruit tree grease band. It serves the same purpose as the packing tape except it's more weatherproof and it has stronger glue. Another option is using something like Tanglefoot insect barrier.
I used something similar to tangle foot it came in a tub, the tangle foot comes in a tube for a caulking gun in my pat of the world. Red vinyl flagging tape with the sticky stuff painted on works it is super effective. U can even encircle the pot with it to keep them from setting up camp in soil.
Be really careful with tanglefoot! We removed the tape in early spring and the bark was badly damaged. Quite a bit of it fell off. We are praying that it does not kill the tree. It blossomed and has set a lot of fruit, but the leaves are blistering and look diseased. So incredibly disappointing!
@@CBains You're not supposed to leave it year round. Apply at first sign of pest issue and remove in fall after harvesting and/or leaf drop.
@@bobg5362thank you! That makes sense. I wish the instructions on the product had said that.
What is fruit tree grease band? Can't find a product by this name
*Great video and content. Thank you for sharing. Diatomaceous earth also supplies the plants some supplemental silica - which helps cell development, nutrient uptake, and vigor. Word is it makes plants less palatable to pests as well.*
Since it is made of sedimentary rock, I would assume it adds some kind of nutrient value. I certainly wouldn't consider it fertilizer, but it probably adds some value. Thanks for watching!
I heard that it kills natural bacteria in the soil.
@@swannoir7949 *DE is natural occuring and derived from fossilized water plants etc. It is my underatanding that it will not harm beneficial microorganisms in the soil - especially when dusted onto onto plants or soil surface etc where these specific garden pests come in contact with it. I have seen no harm come to any of my plants and they Thriving. I use DE occasionally as needed. Once per year or every other year. Some utilize it much more frequently than myself. As with anything I would not recommend disbursing an excessive amount in any one area.*
@@Kinjo2008 But there are two kinds of DE -- one is food-grade DE. Is that the DE you use? Because it's the non-food-grade one that is the concern.
@@swannoir7949 *Understood and a fair point. I only use food grade DE for garden use.*
I've been saying several times this summer I need to do something about the ants, they are worse than year than before. Fortunately, we rarely get rain in the summer. But I'm not sure if I can implement all of these tips with so many trees. I surely can't drink enough coffee to meet my needs but maybe the DE is worth a shot. Thanks for speaking slow and clearly for me so I can understand you well.
There may be several things you can do. My trees aren't nearly as advanced as yours, but it seems that ants can't quite make it over barriers. When my trees get larger, I'm going to experiment by tying bungee cords around them and see if they can get over them, sort of like a moat. But for you, since you're rainless for ~3 months, yea, I'd coat the trunks in DE as a test. Thanks for watching, Harvey.
DE is very indiscriminate and will kill almost every insect it touches . I would try the borax/honey method first .
Get coffee grounds from restaraunts, coffee houses and neighbors...
wrap trunk with paper tape. Cover paper tape with pine tar. Keeps caterpillars out too.
Called Tanglefoot.
Caterpillars eggs are laid by moths and butterfly or the white ones that resemble butterfly’s
This is a great channel. Thank you very much.. I started a figs business last year and I am caring for 270 fig trees; Please accept my sincere thanks for the excellent information and knowledge you share with use I learned so much from you.
Regards,
Maalim
Saudi Arabia
That is so great to hear! Best of luck with all your trees. And thank you for watching!
You explain things so well. I'm a new subscriber and I'm learning a ton. You mentioned you have to reapply the coffee grounds and diatomaceous earth if it rains, but how do you go about water the tree when you have applied these things?
Thanks! Generally, it rains so much where I live in the summer that I do not need to water any of my in-ground trees. If you live in a location where you have to water your in-ground trees, keep in mind the root zone sticks out several feet. You can place the coffee grounds and DE around the trunks in a 12 inch circle and run your drip lines 18 inches away from the tree. The roots will easily find the water.
My most effective ant repellant is 50-50 borax and sugar. There are many channels describing this for ant control in the house so I also use it in the garden. I save plastic containers (hummus containers are my favorite :) punch a few small holes around the sides about 1/2'" inch above the floor, put about 1/4 cup (any measurement depending on how often you need to refill it with fresh) in the container and put the lid on. Set a container at the base of each tree in first week of April (spring in zone 7b) BEFORE they've invaded the yard and you'll have no ants on the trees.
My other pest problem is wasps that devour the fruit, but they wait for it to be fully ripe so I harvest every day, selecting the ones that are the ripe color and have JUST drooped on their little stem which is still green. Let them sit on the windowsill for a day before eating.
Birds are the 3rd raiders but my 10 yr old trees are so large that I'm happy to let them have the high fruit and there's plenty for me 7 ft and below :0
Borax and sugar isn't an ant repellent. It is an ant bait. It is designed to attract ants to the area, and then the ants carry the food back to their colony where the whole colony feeds and kills them. What you are describing is an offensive strategy to reduce overall population, and it is an effective method of destroying ant colonies, but it will not keep ants off your fruit trees. Keeping ants off your trees requires defensive strategies. You can kill every ant colony in your yard, but there will still be thousands of scouts searching for a food source. It's important to incorporate both offensive strategies that reduce or eliminate ant hills in your property, but also defensive strategies that make it difficult for ants to find your fruits. If they find fruits, they'll just keep building new colonies in your yard over and over again.
@@TheMillennialGardener You're right - my use of the word 'repellant' was careless and inaccurate. All I can say is that for 4 yrs of trying all the "defense" mechanisms and still had ants devouring the fruit before I could get to it, I've had NO ants on the trees since I started using borax. I put the bait directly under the trees this last 2 yrs and it is my belief that they are taking the bait BEFORE they climb up the tree and discover the fruit. But now that this experiment has proven itself, I'm going to try using the bait in a wider perimeter to keep them out of the garden and trees entirely. Sort of the same as using trap crops for flying insects.
birds eat my blueberries, even after I made a box out of pvc pipes covered with bird netting. Always find a way to get in. My yard is a warzone me against nature, the rabbits, the racoons, ground hocks and so many more
Amend the soil, repel the ants, and keep poisons out of the people food. Nature wins, people win! I like this!
I find your videos among the best instructional gardening videos on YT. Thank you for dedicating your time to your passion and sharing what you’ve discovered\learned with us. I’ve had big ant fruit issues and am excited to use these mitigations against them.
Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words. I'm glad the videos are helpful.
I have found that mixing borax and sugar equal amounts in water then soaking cotton balls and placing them in a container with small holes ,then placing the containers around the area I want to protect, works. I've been told that they suck up the water and take it back to their nest, which can kill the entire colony. Works for me
This is what I would consider an "offensive" strategy against ants. As gardeners, we should be trying to kill ant colonies. I spread bifenthrin granules every other month on my lawn and that generally keeps my ant colony problem to a minimum. However, there are always rogue ants searching for new food sources. If they find your trees, they'll call in their friends to build new colonies. This is where you want a "defensive" approach like in this video so the ants never find your trees. The best strategy is to include both an offensive and defensive stragey.
Ant wars help too. Introducing one colony to another, via shovel.
One idea is with the collar... You know bandage ace wraps? The kind for sprained ankles, etc.? It stretches. So if you place it on the trunk and place the tape on it, without overlapping the tape, it will add protection, without girdling the trees. To keep a consistent ring, place two rings (one on top of the other).
use ashes from a fire pit to get rid of ants. it works phenomenally well ants will straight up vacate the area nearly instantly and its far cheaper then coffee grounds or diatemacious earth, especially if you have a fire pit. then its free 😆, the ashes work for quite a long period of time as well i spread them early spring and they are still repelling ants nearly 4 months later
I was wondering..... Don't the ants just move to another spot in your yard?
Ash also repels snails and slugs effectively.
@@prasutifreislich6363 So my slugs and ants shouldn't be a problem this year. I thought the lack of rain and heat was the reason I hadn't seen slugs but it's been snowing ash here for weeks so perhaps that's part of it. Haven't seen a slug in over a month and the ants aren't very active either.
Great for potassium too
How long does the ash stay around enough to be effective when watering?
I'm going to try your methods on a ninebark shrub I'm growing in tree form.
Plagued with ants in the past, it was just this year I found a couple big black birds rifling through the mulch. Well, the mulch is totally mixed with the soil or ants did it. It sickens me to think there are that many ants around a non-fruiting tree.
Thanks you ,I was going to give you on one of my fruit tree too much ants in the fruits and it turn black then from full as they ripens,you've been a great help.
Thank you so much for that advice I've got heaps of coffee grounds which I get from a local coffeehouse house. I've got DE which I get from the local produce for my chooks, and packing tape I also have. So I will take up your advice and use these things. I'm impressed with your delivery, as some waffle on 2 to 3 minutes and say absolutely nothing. Where as you are to the point and very concise as I said you before thank you very much. I do not know if this is true but I read where if you put espresso coffee grounds on the ground, it will kill slugs and snails I giving them a heart attack. The temperature is that hot where I live we do not have those two pests. We makeup for it I having cane toads and fire ants which were both imported. The cane toads we're boarding to Australia for the cane Beatles. The toads have done irreparable damage by other animals and birds eating them and dying. The fire ants were accidentally introduced about 25 to 30 years ago
Thank you, I'm glad you like the delivery. I spend a lot of time editing myself to get to the point. Regarding your problem with snails and slugs, I suggest checking out my Amazon Storefront in the Pest Control section. I'm not sure if you can order from it given you're in Australia and I'm in the US, but it will at least show you the sample product called Snail Bait. The active ingredient is iron phosphate. Iron phosphate is very attractive to slugs and snails. They eat it and their insides rupture and they die. The best part is you just sprinkle it around your plants and you don't have to worry about harming any pollinators or good flying insects since it involves no spraying.
We in India apply Black Tar by melting it first in atin & apply a ring about one foot in height around The tree. You may do two rings from the base and after another 3 feet the second one. The stickiness of the tower TAR stops the ants from climbing up to the fruits and if they succeed in the first ring the second ring takes care of their further progress. Hope it works for you in theory it is exactly like your duck tape reverse application in.
My guava fruits are protected by the big brown ants who have nested in the tree. One hot year the tree was devoid of ants. That year all the guavas were infested by insects that make the fruits dry up brown before even they mature. I live in Sri Lanka and the guava I talk of is the pink variety.
I did that with ducktape( i also used double-sided tape) around my fig tree and it works,note check if the sticky on tape stay sticky otherwise replace the tape.But after a wile i notice that ants go on fig tree and i saw they walk on wall next to my fig tree because leaves from fig tree touch the wall.(little rascals)So check if the leaves dont touch ground or other plants,trees or walls......Also corn flower mixed with powder sugar (1 on 1) helps if you trow that next to nest of ants.they eat the sugar and also some corn flower,they cannot digest the corn flour and it will kill ants.In combo with your tips ,the ants will surrender,if they still can! 🤣
I've found that as well. They will crawl up leaves and branches touching the ground, they'll crawl up stakes and across string if you stake and tie your trees...you certainly need to cover all your bases!
tape only works so well- I did that and still had ants getting through- and after it rains too you have to re wrap!
Thanks. Going to try the cornflour and sugar. I haven't been able to source borax so this is a safe for me alternative. Thank you.
@@tiger38able diatomaceous earth will help to!
@@TheMillennialGardener diatomaceous earth will help to.
I had thought of the DA... but it would get washed away when watering the tree.. So, instead, I applied a thick coat of petroleum jelly around the trunk ( a couple of feet up from the ground) and no more ants. The DA works great around the base of my kitty cat's food. I sit one bowl inside a slightly bigger bowl to capture the thick ring of DA at the base of the bowl with the food. No more ants.
You also may have no more tree.... others have commented here that they did as you have and had the tree bark come off at the site of the P.J... and others said it killed the tree! Be careful...
This method worked great for my fig tree! Prior to doing this, I was getting ants in all of my figs as soon as they started to ripen. It's been 2 weeks since using this method, figs are ripening and have had no ants. Thanks!
Glad to hear it helped! Thank you for watching.
@Truth Only Yes, I used all three.
I used organza bags of appropriate size to keep the bugs off each individual fig. If u are loaded with figs u will need many organza net bags (They aren't expensive). U just slide over the fig and pull the drawstring over the stem. I even used organza bags to keep squirrels away by rubbing Habanero Juice all over the out side of the bag and letting it dry. It worked.
I take painters tape wrap around the base of the tree, then take sticky fly traps cut them into strips and with gloves wrap the fly strips around the painters tape. Very durable and very sticky! Very messy without gloves on application. I use on my apple and fig trees!
I came here to suggest the fly tape also, I think you might have a good idea, I'm going to try it.
I used polyfill wrapped around the truck and after that, I noticed a massive drop in the number of ants getting onto the trees...I wrapped about 10 to 15 cms in height of it.
It really works. They can't seem to climb over obstructions.
The problem with the first 2 solutions is that it rains every 15 seconds in Florida in the summer--or so it seems. I've heard worm castings work well because ants *_hate_* it, so a thick layer around the base, which does not wash away like the grounds or DE, may be a good alternative.
Very Best Regards,
Tom Scott
Author ● Speaker ● World's Leading Expert on the Corrupt U.S. Legal System
_Our American Injustice System_
_Stack the Legal Odds in Your Favor_
Here are some additional strategies. To kill the little buggers, get some Opti-guard ant gel. I swear by it, put a bunch around where they are, they carry it back to the nest and 2 days later, bye bye ants. Also, white vinegar is another pheromone disruptor to ants, I use it along with essential oils such as lemon or peppermint. For rats, you can also put small jars with long wicks with potent peppermint essential oil. You have to put it early in the season and the rats will avoid the area, if they already know there's food, then its worthless. Also, I've put olive oil around the trunk like you've done with the tape, same strategy. Its worked for me. One last thing that works on every critter out there is taking the hottest pepper you have, boiling it for a few minutes along with garlic. Put the water in a spray bottle or spray tank along with a little bit of soap, which acts as a binding agent, and spray it around. Just like you're suggestions MG, rain and time does away with it. Effective against everything from ants to deer. My uncle lived in the woods and used that to keep everything away, he used habaneros and garlic. You just want potent stuff. You can also use spray oil as your binding agent, works a tad bit better IMHO. Another good video MG, thanks. I gave it a thumbs up. I'm flying out to Wilmington next week to check things out and make sure I can take the heat and humidity if I end up moving out there.
It's extremely hot right now. Peak heat and humidity. Dew point has consistently been between 76-81, highs between 91-95. It's steamy. Thanks for watching.
The problem with peppers is that as a spray it is dangerous as it will come back at you when you spray it so better ware full protective gear. If it lands on your skin or eyes it burns, even handling it is dangerous so better were disposable gloves. I gave up on peppers for this reason just too easy to get it on you.
I had ants on my fig tree 2 years ago. I found Tanglefoot and I also purchased the tape that gets banded around the tree. It worked like a charm so I did all my fruit trees and never had a problem. When I run out i will definitely try the tape method you showed. You just have to make sure you get the tape around the tree tight enough so they can't get under. I will definitely try the coffee grounds as well as the diatomatous earth too. Thanks for a great video.
I have Tanglefoot as well, which I've used for wounds. However, I wouldn't want it to dry on my trees unnecessarily. That gunk eventually dries to the trees, which can hold in moisture and be a potential rot-hazard. I wouldn't want to use it anymore than I'd have to. However, you may be able to do something like wrap tape around the tree, then apply the Tanglefoot, or something like petroleum jelly, so it doesn't contact the wood. You could just replace the tape with more gunk after it dries or washes off.
@@TheMillennialGardener that is what I do. I bought the crepe paper wrap and wrapped the trees and painted the Tanglefoot on to the wrap itself. After it gets nice and full of bugs I put a new one on and remove the old one
I'm going to try your tips on my jujube trees to try to keep the ants from eating the leaves and the few remaining fruit. Thank you for the tips!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this video. I have been trying to get ants aways from the cherry tree and grape vines.
I use the Diamataceuos Earth but my irrigation often washes it away. I am going to use the coffee grounds and tape method now as well.
Great advice, thank you! This year (in UK) many of my flower and vegetable plants, especially the leaves and growing ends are infested with black ants. It will be tricky to wrap with packing tape. I am attracted to using DIATOMACEOUS earth (will have to search where to find it). Please advise if it safe to use on tender end of vegetable and flower plants.
Hi Shuja, I am not sure if you get a notice if someone replies to your comment. Just in case you do I am rewriting my comment to this video. Mix sugar syrup with boracic powder and apply this wherever you see a trail of ants. Because it is so sweet they will take it to their queen. It will sterilize her. After a couple of days your ant problem will be solved.
My problem is not ants but earwigs that bore into peaches. I wrap a piece of plastic wrap or plastic produce bag around the trunk, keep it in place with some tape, and smear on a bit of Tanglefoot. After the fruit is picked I take off the plastic and discard it.
I don't find a lot of dead insects in the sticky Tanglefoot. After listening to this video I suspect I've eliminated the ability to create an odor trail so there hasn't been many attempts to climb the trunk.
Cucumber work well for weeks. Use all of the green part. Place the skins @ the base of the plants . Might want to see if it works around fruit tree. Like you said not one ant on my flowering plant the next day. PS any old or part of cucumber.
In addition to putting the tape around the tree I also found it helpful to put a little Tanglefoot on the tape so if somehow they made it onto there they're not going to make it past the tanglefoot
Just make a ring of cemented u- shape to hold water around the trunk of tree. Ants won't coss it.
My ants have boats.
Mosquitoes will breed in it if it is stagnant water.
@@maecarpenter6735 since it is cemented water will not absorb into ground, you may spray over it to stop mosquitoes.
I just wipe or spray some vegetable oil around the bottom of the trunk. It also works on hummingbird feeders, applying it to the chain the feeder is hanging from. It doesn’t wash off for a long time. I had a huge colony of red ants in my back yard. I poured boiling water down the center and they disappeared.
New subscriber.new gardener.i got my 1st harvest of peaches weeks ago & the ants had a field day. Thanks for the gr8 tips.i will try these tips
Hopefully it helps your situation! Thanks for watching.
I've been using spent coffee grounds around my fig tree the last several years with excellent results. It doesn't rain here much in the summer so once or twice a season works well. No more ants in the figs.
Does it have to be used grounds? I don't drink coffee, iced or otherwise so no coffee maker. Could the grounds just be soaked and the water and grounds be poured around the tree or can I just use fresh grounds without soaking.
@@DebGo4th I use spent grounds because I don't want to waste new grounds. You can use whatever you have with equal results. I'd expect you could get all the used grounds you would want from any coffee shop, if you asked. Good luck!
Thank you 😊
I tried the packing tape collar. It's effective. The ants are still there, so I will try the diatomaceous earth. Thanks for sharing.
Glad it was helpful! It seems so silly that it would work, but it really does!
Mix some ant bait with a tablespoon of jam or jelly.. let them take that back to the colony.
I have done the same thing with boric acid. It kills the colony FAST!
The adhesive on regular tape will wash off with the fitst rain. I use velcro tape that has adhesive on the back. Ants can seem to navigate it. Sticky backing attaches to the trunk really well. Also borax mixed with honey or jam works really well. Kills the nest.
Great tips! My dad uses the collar method. Works wonderfully. DE and coffee grounds, 💪👍
Great video! I use to work in an urban entomology lab our ant tubs were painted with wax on the rims so the ants could not escape. I think this method would work for your potted trees. ❤
Which type of wax
Thank you so much for sharing , sounds great , I’m going to try it immediately .
Thanks for watching!
Good ideas to use. I have lost 2 years of cherries from ants. Thanks for the tips.
It might be wise to wear a mask and gloves when using diatomaceous earth so you do not breathe it in or put your hands on your face.
I eat it
Yes it's edible
There are 2 types food grade may be eaten/ put into liquids for great supplement, but no food grade could be very harmful!
Agreed. OSHA and NIOSH have both evaluated it, and recommend avoiding breathing it in and contact with eyes: www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0552.pdf
I eat the worms in fruits too. I feel enlightened
I love your concise explanations. Excellent trick!
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
Diatomaceous earth is diatom skeletons. You can also paint your tape with tanglefoot (they have it at home depot nursery). It's sticky stuff you can paint on plastic or paper, etc. Stops them in their tracks.
Excellent non-toxic advice to prevent ants infestation on my fruit trees. Will try it Kudos for video. New subscriber. Anticipating next one. Peace
Thanks for subscribing! I appreciate it.
Video starts at 2:25
This was one of the most informative videos ever, fascinating to learn. Thank you!
Heather Uva thank you. Thanks for watching!
My neighbor's new Peachtree has many ants and I have packing tape and I will help him.
Thanks I don't have coffee grounds
Thanks and your videos was informative and you are a confident speaker.
Thanks
Thanks for watching!
Something hi I cannot get my head around is how 298 people gave the thumbs down. And I love Dale's bed with the sun protection over the top
Thank you! We have to get a new bed because the UV light from the sun eventually cooked the top and the winter storms shredded it. He loves his shade in the summertime!
They've taken the side of the ants? ALM (Ants lives matter)
im also one of the 299 thumbs down , dont get me wrong its not that i dont like ( hate) its just that i dont agree on his second method, they are just ants dont need to be so cruel, sorry
They sell adhesive spray that you can spray directly onto the trunk of the tree and its easy to continue reapplying as needed.
What's the name of this product?
I just love your 3 treatnents/guard for ants.🙂
Glad to hear it. I appreciate you watching!
The tape works great. Sticky side out. Wipe tree tanglefoot on the tape when tape is not sticky. Don't use double sided tape. It will rip the bark off.
Wow! Thanks for the information! I was having problems with ants eating my cherry trees and peach trees....I hope this will work! I'll let you know...
Thanks for watching!
I think Pine Tar from the feed store also works. It has a strong smell and is very sticky. You can also use it after pruning to prevent disease and infection.
"Ash" is the best to block ants.
Will try
I hope you can help me. We have a pear tree that seems like it has grown straight up to the sky. There are not a lot of branches coming out of the tree as it goes up. The biggest pears were at the top and we had to bend the tree over to get the fruit this year. Could I cut the top out of the tree without hurting it and if I did ; would that help it to spread more outwardly and develop more branches. It is a Kiefer Pear tree. Loved this video.
Yes. I cut the top off to keep my fruit trees smaller, bushier, & easy to harvest.
From one millennial gardener to another, thank you for this video.
Just wish I would have found you sooner.
I'm glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching. I appreciate it.
Hi, I've rapped some sticky fly tape around the bottom of my apple tree and never had a ant for long time 👍
Hip hop?
Wrapped amigo!
The tape trick works excellent if you apply some tanglefoot to the tape, for those that don’t know tanglefoot is a very sticky liquid that’s water resistant and gooey enough that dust isn’t going to affect it
noted!!!
Nice presentation. You mentioned that you'd have to replace DE once it rains, but as soon as you water the plant? Wouldn't you have to replace DE daily?
Not if you're growing an in-ground tree. You shouldn't have to water in-ground trees much, if at all once they're established. If you're growing in containers, a way around this is to use drip irrigation.
The visual of your description is great!
Thank you! I appreciate it. Glad it was helpful.
ANTS ALSO HATE CINNAMON, I USE THE STICKS AND THE POWDER AND PLACE THE POTTED PLANT UNDER SHELTER LIKE A GREEN HOUSE OR SOMETHING.TO CONTROL WATERING.
Thanks for letting me io know
Thanks for watching!
Paper tape first. The ants can sometimes get underneath tape like that. Paper tape/masking tape and horticultural glue is good for ants and other pests (like codling moth, ugh).
I Love the way you explain things! Thanks for your posts!
Thanks for watching!
Sharing is caring. I'll let the ants have some food too. Give them something else to eat like leftovers chicken, bread. They will leave your trees alone.
@@LaoSoftware Not really, in the Southwest they seem to be everywhere at one time, which can be a headache.
the 1st two, i know, but the tape... is a new one, and thank you!
Thanks for watching!
Wonderful to have the fruits and very i formative that your lecture is. Thanks!
Jeong Kim thanks for watching!
Ants help pollinate the plants. Don't kill all of them off. Birds and other creatures eat ants as well so be careful.
.
Great video as always and I love the organic concept. However can you recommend an affective pesticide that will kill them? I mean dead not get them to relocate! Thanks brother great channels!!🙏🏻
Thank you. I recommend three things:
1. Every 2 months or so, spread bifenthrin granules on your lawn. You can find those granules for about $10 a bag at Lowe's and Walmart. They're usually Amdro or similar brands. Sevin also makes a similar product. They keep the ant, cricket and beetle population in your lawn under control.
2. Purchase Amdro ant bait. You can use this bait to spot-treat ant hills. The ants take it to the queen and it destroys the colony in hours. I have this product linked in my Amazon Storefront. VERY effective.
Those two things will help keep the ant population in your yard to a minimum. Then:
3. Use these *defensive* tips in this video to ensure stray ants don't find your fruit trees.
When you do all 3 of these things, it's very effective at keeping ant damage to an absolute minimum.
@@TheMillennialGardener thanks again for your time and expertise I will make an effort to utilize your Amazon storefront when possible!🙏🏻
Does the #2 dimetacious earth and #3 tape kill Or harm bee's?
I have Ants, fruit tree's and 3 beehives...🐝💦🌿
In theory, yes, but they would have to walk all over the ground to come into contact with it, and that is not topical bee behavior. I've used DE to dust the leaves of many plants that attract bees to their flowers with no apparent ill-effect to my neighbor's hives.
That all sounds good but during the hot weather in my area , I'm watering almost every other day. I would be spreading DE and coffee grounds every other day. By the way, DE is a very dangerous dust to breath. I used it on a regular basis in my business
Glad you mentioned, I was going to add- DE is really harmful if inhaled.
If it is an in-ground tree, you can spread the DE ring very close to the trunk and water away from the tree, or vice versa, so you don't wash it away. Setting up drip irrigation is also a good plan, because you will only accumulate water in little spots. The tape is the most effective thing, so even if DE doesn't work out, you'll still protect the trunk.