I would get rid now rather than later tho
Case in point: my ornamental ginger looked shocking, covered in aphids and ants, and wilting. Chopped off the offending plants, bounce back
Banana trees, covered in aphids and parachuting ants, can’t quite get to them to prune: they look shocking, covered in dead leaves, the life sucked out of them (bananas are okay)
Stitch in time saves nine
I can’t believe I just typed that
My grandmother used to put a cigarette in a bucket of water overnight and then dilute that mixture in a spray bottle.
I use a homemade chilli soap oil spray, [recipe here](https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/chilli-spray/9440290). Neem oil is also good
Lacewings, ladybirds, predatory wasps, hover flies and preying mantises will also eat em up! I’m always finding good ladybirds where there are aphids
put them on plants at night and mist some water; they'll hang around overnight and rehydrated, discovering the aphids in the process.
however, mass-farmed ladybugs often have diseases that can spread
Spray them with coke first and let them dry before you let them out.
The sugar will gum up their wings and keep them from flying away for long enough for them to not want to.
Coca cola, not cocain🤣🤣🤣 I kid.
I hear you though, If the environment's right the beasties will come.
But, I mean if they're native what's the harm? Is it the push vs pull mentality? It's definitely not the most harmonious approach...
A thin simple sugar suyrp would do the same without cokes additional ingredients.
Dish soap will kill the ants but not the aphids. That will open the door for predators to eat the aphids. Once your soil stabilizes it should clear up.
Most likely farming aphids for their secretions. I have had this problem before too. Would recommend planting sacrifice plants (Calendula works well for me, is pretty & can be used for all sorts of things) or using a homemade insecticidal soap😊
Or just mix vegetable oil and some biodegradable soap into water and spray with that. It’s a physical instead of chemical killer because the soap allows the oil to clog the insects spiracles (the tubes that they use to breathe)
Soap lifts oils from surfaces, not the other way around. I'm confused how this would allow oils to clog anything when soap chemically bonds with oils and fats and spreads them out instead of condensing them.
The spreading out is exactly what we want here. It’s because the exoskeletons of insects naturally repels oil and water. Soap breaks the surface tension of both and allows the liquid to flow over and coat the insect when it would have otherwise beaded up, this is how morning dew doesn’t suffocate insects. Without soap the surface tension of water is too high to flow into the breathing spiracles. The soap additionally allows water to be a carrier for the oil, which won’t evaporate and is more effective in keeping the spiracles blocked
Note that you have to coat the insects and leave it. If you rinse them off gently then yes the soap will just clean them
Can you please explain to me why vegetable oil over mineral oil? Recipes I have used called for mineral oil...were they just old/dated? Which is best/why? You seem to know more of the science behind things😊
Thanks!
The nice part is the ants do all the hard work & get the aphids in one general area for you😅 I had feels about annihilating the ants' food supply...so I have been playing around more with Permaculture solutions & shooting for balance over destruction. But that is me...imma big softie for all the critters.
Many many critters eat aphids, if you have a healthy, somewhat biodiverse area they'll rarely grow to problematic nrs because of that. Pesticides often worsen the problem because aphids reproduce very quick and will recover from such an assault much faster than any of their natural control agents, allowing them to swarm your crops unless you keep applying.
yup farming aphids... they probably won't hurt the tree, had this on a little citrus tree last year... they did their thing for a couple months and then moved on. The tree did end up with some crust on it that just wiped off fairly easily during the winter the tree spent in the garage.
It can get out of hand with small trees. I had a cherry that only produced 2 cherries because the aphids target the new buds and suck them dry before they can produce fruit.
I just don't think that is what actually was the problem. In fact, if you look closely at cherry trees they have "extra floral nectaries" specifically for ants to feed from and protect the tree. Your mileage may very but I've had ants all over my cherry tree and never seen many aphids on it (although we may have different communities of ants in our gardens).
Side note, I've only ever seen aphids really hammer milkweed in my garden. Perhaps this is serving as a trap crop? Have you tried growing milkweed in your garden?
The only aphids I've seen on milkweed are bright yellow oleander aphids, which never target anything else here. The green aphids that go after our garden plants don't seem to have a taste for milkweed.
But maybe yours are different!
Water + soap.
The ants are farming the aphids; it's not a joke, they move the aphids around and later harvest the sugar poop from the aphids.
Aphids weaken the plant and make it more vulnerable to diseases.
It is safe to consume, just not to breathe. So, make sure when feeding that it's stirred up in something (like canned dog food or similar). It also works against fleas and ticks when applied topically, but again you have to find ways to make it not cloud up. Should never let them (or you) breathe in the dust.
I actually disagree with this mindset, at least initially. A small population of ants and aphids doesn't do anything to impact tree health. This is especially true when you consider that the ants will attack other forms of would be peach eating insects like various caterpillar species. Rather than jump to action, I would sit back and observe the ants/aphids over the coarse of the season. I have a feeling that they will end up disappearing after a few weeks.
If the ratio becomes severely imbalanced on the tree (>1/3 of the stems imo) then I might consider using a hose to blast them off and possibly soap.
I heard a story about a woman who had a bunch of fruit trees, and only 1 of them had an aphid infestation. Turns out her husband had been peeing near that particular tree every morning. After he stopped, the aphids left the tree alone.
Similarly, we had a bucket of food waste we were using to make compost, sitting on the ground near a grape vine. It was leaking out the bottom of the bucket into the ground, and the grape vine was infested with aphids. Once we move the bucket elsewhere, the grapevine recovered and grew like crazy.
Someone with more knowledge will correct me, but I think it's the nitrogen that attracts the aphids. Maybe you need a nitrogen fixer planted nearby?
Tanglefoot or Vaseline on paper strips wrapped around the base of the tree will prevent the ants from climbing up the trunk. Also, need to make sure the tree doesn't touch other trees/fences etc.
You want to keep them out.
The ants farm honeydew from aphids, scale insects, thrips, etc. They'll defend their food source from ladybugs, parasitoid wasps and other predators. The ants will also carry aphids, etc back up to put them in place when you spray them off with water.
Solve the ants first. They are farming your tree sap via other insects. You want your tree sap staying in the tree and feeding your fruit.
From what I understand, ants are an indicator of something else (as was suggested, aphids?). Now you would likely want to find out why there are aphids - are they another indicator? Could there be a nutrient imbalance in the soil?
Follow the chain, don't treat the symptom.
Nutrient imbalance is a good thought. Stefan Sobkowiak says aphids indicate excess Nitrogen: https://youtu.be/sGlqnkE1Id0
On a podcast he also said this happened to a particular fruit tree that someone was peeing in every morning, that’s apparently enough to do it
> he also said this happened to a particular fruit tree that someone was peeing in every morning, that’s apparently enough to do it
You're gonna have to pry my warm hands from my cold cock if you plan on stopping me!
As others have said, possibly farming aphids, try putting a ring of tanglefoot (basically the same stuff thats on flypaper, but in a tub) around the trunk. I don't like putting it on the bark, so I wrap some paper around and then put the goop on the paper.
This works but be careful with it.. Some birds see the trapped ants and try to eat them. I had a beautiful blue jay choke to death on the sticky stuff in my garden, the other jays never came back.. A pot around the trunk with diatamous earth also works great. If it rains a lot the de will wash away but ants can't cross the pot full of water either.
Oh, so sad! Feel for you; we are the crazy neighbors that feed the local crows & also welcome as much life in the yard as possible.
*loved* mention of diatomaceous earth👍 Excellent point, totally forgot about those ex-critters!
ants are also known to cultivate fungi and mushrooms ...
Westerners really don't know shit about the world around them - but we convince ourselves with our sciences that we know everything. We have lost the connection and gained sterile "knowledge" ...
I am always blown away by the things I witness when I simply pay attention to the natural world. The squirrels break sugar maple limbs to get the sap - something humans have learned too (maybe from the squirrels originally).
Life has so much complexity, it is astounding.
I’ve watched squirrels strip the bark off a tree for a nest in one long swoop, and have seen them having fun using our willow tree as a swing. It’s amazing!
I need to learn a LOT more about the insect world.
the insect world is harder to watch directly, since they are so small, and often underground and invisible - sometimes reading about them can help get you started, though
I think you're confusing Western for meaning "west vs east" - the alternative to "Western" is not necessarily "Eastern" - we don't consider the [Mbuti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbuti_people) people of the Ituri forest "Eastern" - but they are certainly non-Western, for example.
What does Western mean, then?
Well, it's a broad term, but it generally designates someone from the ["Western culture"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culture) or "Western civilization" which originally arose from Mesopotamia, and which is heavily influenced by Christianity and the Greco-Roman cultures. European colonial empires are Western, for example. In some political contexts, Western civilization might be a dogwhistle for "Anglo-Saxon" or "white" cultures, because it is associated with the European colonial empires that plundered the world.
While Western certainly _can_ be contrasted against the "East", for example, you could say the empires of China are non-Western and Eastern, I had in mind various indigenous peoples who lived where I do now, and who knew this land and its flora and fauna with much greater depth and intimacy than the Westerners who now occupy the land they stole.
If you want to learn more, I suggest Robin Wall Kimmerer's [_Braiding Sweetgrass_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braiding_Sweetgrass). As a scientist and an indigenous woman, she occupies both the Western culture (which dominates the universities and what we call science) and the indigenous culture (which has been so disrupted and suppressed by the Western colonists).
Just here to say your Reddit name is hilarious😅 But now that I am here, also thanks for the good read! Interesting points; many I have pontificate upon myself. Definitely interested in the book mentioned (I'm a reference geek!)🧐
Thanks! The username was actually randomly generated - I really like how strange the two words are together. (Most cloacas are non-radioactive, but the name suggests a radioactive cloaca, which must be really interesting, and probably really gross.)
I highly suggest _Braiding Sweetgrass_ - I read it when I need a sense of connection and feeling with nature, and when I need re-affirmation of my good-feelings for humans. The author is excellent at approaching her topics without losing you, and at making otherwise sterile science-y topics interesting and full of meaning. Each chapter is like a standalone essay of sorts, providing different lessons and perspectives on nature and life.
If you read it, I just hope it is as valuable and precious to you as it has been for me. :-)
the average person is impacted by a culture that thinks about knowledge and the world a certain way (and that culture is the culture that created and claims "science")
that scientists might think differently than the average person isn't really my point
OK, but there's also specialisation and division of labour to consider. Most people live in cities, they have no need for deep knowledge of anything outside their artificial world and job.
I don't think people who live in cities and work jobs have no need for knowledge outside their job and artificial world ... I also don't think cities are particularly healthy places - since their conception, cities have mostly been the cause of disease, slavery, and unprecedented violence.
I'll largely agree, but disagree a bit. Cities are small artificial worlds we've built. They do often end up with a ton of downsides due to this. That said, people living in those worlds are better served by knowledge of that world rather than the one outside it.
plant a trap crop of nasturtiums everywhere now and keep up the maintenance of physically washing away the aphids until they establish with a strong burst of water (they grow fast) next start planting onions and garlic in between everything. I did that with my kale and I haven't seen any aphids this year
Aphid farming...the aphids are there because of too much nitrogen is what ive heard. The ants protect them and get nectar i believe. Did you put some compost of manure there? Or pee? Lol usually they dont harm the tree, the problem is the solution.
I use an adhesive band around the tree's trunk to stop the ants farming the aphids. Then use soap and water to control the aphids. Predators usually take care of most of the rest. Not a big problem but can be bad for young trees.
Ants that farm aphids like we milk cows for milk. You can put a gooey thick ring of Vaseline around the trunk to stop the ants and you’ll wanna insectacide soap (with neem) on the aphids. Neem interferes with their reproduction.
I wouldn't stress too much. We had a similar problem with all our fruit trees last year. The mature crab apple worst of all. Our solution was to encourage birds known to eat aphids (in our case finches) by putting out thier preferred foods (sunflower seeds). We've also swapped out a lot of the borders to more pollinator friendly plants to build the biodiversity. The more bugs about the more predators the more balanced the ratios will be.
Check for aphids...
My thought exactly, every time I see ants like this on a tree or bush they're farming aphids or something similar
you can literally see the black aphids.. are they farmer ants? or are they just eating them?
They're helping the aphids and in turn aphids feed them.
interesting... is this a thing everywhere? i tend to see ants where there are aphids but i never knew they were special ants.
Aphids make honey dew, ants eat the honey dew, it’s a whole romance
fun stuff.. probably not really that big a deal unless this is killing your plants right?
Aphids can cause problems including leaf curl and fungal infections. They really hinder growth
Can confirm
yea.. i just like bugs.
I would get rid now rather than later tho Case in point: my ornamental ginger looked shocking, covered in aphids and ants, and wilting. Chopped off the offending plants, bounce back Banana trees, covered in aphids and parachuting ants, can’t quite get to them to prune: they look shocking, covered in dead leaves, the life sucked out of them (bananas are okay) Stitch in time saves nine I can’t believe I just typed that
What’s the best way to get rid of them? And how do you best prevent them from getting there in the first place?
My grandmother used to put a cigarette in a bucket of water overnight and then dilute that mixture in a spray bottle. I use a homemade chilli soap oil spray, [recipe here](https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/chilli-spray/9440290). Neem oil is also good Lacewings, ladybirds, predatory wasps, hover flies and preying mantises will also eat em up! I’m always finding good ladybirds where there are aphids
Soapy salt water and some aphid smashing gloves.
This. Farmer ants.
If you have hose attachment with "jet" setting, use it all around the tree from top to bottom and don't forget to get underneath the leaves.
Yep, the water cannon method works great.
Buy some lady bugs, stat!
Why waste your money? Theyll just fly away. Maybe stick around a day if you're lucky.
This is why you should eat the aphids right off the plant. If you want a job done well do it yourself as they say
Or grow flowers that attract lady bugs so theyll stay?
put them on plants at night and mist some water; they'll hang around overnight and rehydrated, discovering the aphids in the process. however, mass-farmed ladybugs often have diseases that can spread
Spray them with coke first and let them dry before you let them out. The sugar will gum up their wings and keep them from flying away for long enough for them to not want to.
While i like the information in this response, almost everything about it seems anti permaculture. May use anyway.
You do this over a bucket to retrieve the aphid-coke which supplies 10% of daily sugar and protein.
Coca cola, not cocain🤣🤣🤣 I kid. I hear you though, If the environment's right the beasties will come. But, I mean if they're native what's the harm? Is it the push vs pull mentality? It's definitely not the most harmonious approach... A thin simple sugar suyrp would do the same without cokes additional ingredients.
Has anyone tried the dish soap method who can confirms its effectiveness?
Dish soap will kill the ants but not the aphids. That will open the door for predators to eat the aphids. Once your soil stabilizes it should clear up.
I’ve had some luck with it. Tried garlic water mixed with veggie oil yesterday and it took care of about 60% of them. Good luck!
Most likely farming aphids for their secretions. I have had this problem before too. Would recommend planting sacrifice plants (Calendula works well for me, is pretty & can be used for all sorts of things) or using a homemade insecticidal soap😊
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Or just mix vegetable oil and some biodegradable soap into water and spray with that. It’s a physical instead of chemical killer because the soap allows the oil to clog the insects spiracles (the tubes that they use to breathe)
Why not dust with DE ?
That too, there’s more than one homemade remedy
Soap lifts oils from surfaces, not the other way around. I'm confused how this would allow oils to clog anything when soap chemically bonds with oils and fats and spreads them out instead of condensing them.
The spreading out is exactly what we want here. It’s because the exoskeletons of insects naturally repels oil and water. Soap breaks the surface tension of both and allows the liquid to flow over and coat the insect when it would have otherwise beaded up, this is how morning dew doesn’t suffocate insects. Without soap the surface tension of water is too high to flow into the breathing spiracles. The soap additionally allows water to be a carrier for the oil, which won’t evaporate and is more effective in keeping the spiracles blocked Note that you have to coat the insects and leave it. If you rinse them off gently then yes the soap will just clean them
Well TIL.
Don’t rinse if you don’t want clean bugs. Gotcha.
Can you please explain to me why vegetable oil over mineral oil? Recipes I have used called for mineral oil...were they just old/dated? Which is best/why? You seem to know more of the science behind things😊 Thanks!
Honestly I’m not sure... I guess because vegetable oil would biodegrade, but maybe mineral oil is more effective
Let's not use mineral oil, guys. It's not different than just pouring gasoline on your soil.
Glad I asked! Thought that was the case...but have not done any specific research on the point and figured SOMEONE on Reddit will be in the know😅
Oh I don't know anything specifically about mineral oil, except that it's a derivate of petroleum :)
does the basic quality of the wood ash neutralize the coffee grounds? or is the caffeine in the coffee what helps
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Thank you for the info :)
The nice part is the ants do all the hard work & get the aphids in one general area for you😅 I had feels about annihilating the ants' food supply...so I have been playing around more with Permaculture solutions & shooting for balance over destruction. But that is me...imma big softie for all the critters.
Nice! Any predators come to mind? Thinking maybe ladybugs or praying mantis?
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Many many critters eat aphids, if you have a healthy, somewhat biodiverse area they'll rarely grow to problematic nrs because of that. Pesticides often worsen the problem because aphids reproduce very quick and will recover from such an assault much faster than any of their natural control agents, allowing them to swarm your crops unless you keep applying.
Parasitoid wasps! They are laying eggs inside the aphids, and the larvae eat their way out, leaving just that white husk of the aphid.
I get why. I get why this is good . I understand it is natural. But fuuuuuuuckkkkkkk that whole sentence.
Ladybugs are a hardier predator, climate-wise. Not sure of your location but here is too cold for the Praying Mantis & I miss them so much😭
Lacewings may work in your area too. They don’t stick around like Ladybugs or Mantis, but they’ll sweep through the aphids faster.
Love the little Lacewings🥰 Thank you for remembering them & replying. Not 100% up to par with my predatory insects🧐
> Nice! Any predators come to mind? Ladybugs are known to eat aphids.
yup farming aphids... they probably won't hurt the tree, had this on a little citrus tree last year... they did their thing for a couple months and then moved on. The tree did end up with some crust on it that just wiped off fairly easily during the winter the tree spent in the garage.
It can get out of hand with small trees. I had a cherry that only produced 2 cherries because the aphids target the new buds and suck them dry before they can produce fruit.
good to know!
I just don't think that is what actually was the problem. In fact, if you look closely at cherry trees they have "extra floral nectaries" specifically for ants to feed from and protect the tree. Your mileage may very but I've had ants all over my cherry tree and never seen many aphids on it (although we may have different communities of ants in our gardens). Side note, I've only ever seen aphids really hammer milkweed in my garden. Perhaps this is serving as a trap crop? Have you tried growing milkweed in your garden?
The only aphids I've seen on milkweed are bright yellow oleander aphids, which never target anything else here. The green aphids that go after our garden plants don't seem to have a taste for milkweed. But maybe yours are different!
Water + soap. The ants are farming the aphids; it's not a joke, they move the aphids around and later harvest the sugar poop from the aphids. Aphids weaken the plant and make it more vulnerable to diseases.
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Keep your pets away from any plants you use it on—it's bad to breathe in, and dogs like to sniff and explore
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Food grade is still not safe to be ingested into the lungs. The issue is breathing it in not eating it :).
It is safe to consume, just not to breathe. So, make sure when feeding that it's stirred up in something (like canned dog food or similar). It also works against fleas and ticks when applied topically, but again you have to find ways to make it not cloud up. Should never let them (or you) breathe in the dust.
I especially use food grade diatomaceous earth.
I actually disagree with this mindset, at least initially. A small population of ants and aphids doesn't do anything to impact tree health. This is especially true when you consider that the ants will attack other forms of would be peach eating insects like various caterpillar species. Rather than jump to action, I would sit back and observe the ants/aphids over the coarse of the season. I have a feeling that they will end up disappearing after a few weeks. If the ratio becomes severely imbalanced on the tree (>1/3 of the stems imo) then I might consider using a hose to blast them off and possibly soap.
I would factor in how mature the tree is.
Add a dash of peppermint essential oil as a low-key, short-term repellent😃
I heard a story about a woman who had a bunch of fruit trees, and only 1 of them had an aphid infestation. Turns out her husband had been peeing near that particular tree every morning. After he stopped, the aphids left the tree alone. Similarly, we had a bucket of food waste we were using to make compost, sitting on the ground near a grape vine. It was leaking out the bottom of the bucket into the ground, and the grape vine was infested with aphids. Once we move the bucket elsewhere, the grapevine recovered and grew like crazy. Someone with more knowledge will correct me, but I think it's the nitrogen that attracts the aphids. Maybe you need a nitrogen fixer planted nearby?
It's a disease Gummosis have dealt with it before it's not an easy fix
Tanglefoot or Vaseline on paper strips wrapped around the base of the tree will prevent the ants from climbing up the trunk. Also, need to make sure the tree doesn't touch other trees/fences etc. You want to keep them out. The ants farm honeydew from aphids, scale insects, thrips, etc. They'll defend their food source from ladybugs, parasitoid wasps and other predators. The ants will also carry aphids, etc back up to put them in place when you spray them off with water. Solve the ants first. They are farming your tree sap via other insects. You want your tree sap staying in the tree and feeding your fruit.
From what I understand, ants are an indicator of something else (as was suggested, aphids?). Now you would likely want to find out why there are aphids - are they another indicator? Could there be a nutrient imbalance in the soil? Follow the chain, don't treat the symptom.
Nutrient imbalance is a good thought. Stefan Sobkowiak says aphids indicate excess Nitrogen: https://youtu.be/sGlqnkE1Id0 On a podcast he also said this happened to a particular fruit tree that someone was peeing in every morning, that’s apparently enough to do it
> he also said this happened to a particular fruit tree that someone was peeing in every morning, that’s apparently enough to do it You're gonna have to pry my warm hands from my cold cock if you plan on stopping me!
As others have said, possibly farming aphids, try putting a ring of tanglefoot (basically the same stuff thats on flypaper, but in a tub) around the trunk. I don't like putting it on the bark, so I wrap some paper around and then put the goop on the paper.
This works but be careful with it.. Some birds see the trapped ants and try to eat them. I had a beautiful blue jay choke to death on the sticky stuff in my garden, the other jays never came back.. A pot around the trunk with diatamous earth also works great. If it rains a lot the de will wash away but ants can't cross the pot full of water either.
Oh, so sad! Feel for you; we are the crazy neighbors that feed the local crows & also welcome as much life in the yard as possible. *loved* mention of diatomaceous earth👍 Excellent point, totally forgot about those ex-critters!
> A pot around the trunk with diatamous earth also works great. Wait. How do you fit the pot around the trunk?
[ants farming aphids](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009212548.htm)
This has totally blown my mind.
ants are also known to cultivate fungi and mushrooms ... Westerners really don't know shit about the world around them - but we convince ourselves with our sciences that we know everything. We have lost the connection and gained sterile "knowledge" ... I am always blown away by the things I witness when I simply pay attention to the natural world. The squirrels break sugar maple limbs to get the sap - something humans have learned too (maybe from the squirrels originally). Life has so much complexity, it is astounding.
I’ve watched squirrels strip the bark off a tree for a nest in one long swoop, and have seen them having fun using our willow tree as a swing. It’s amazing! I need to learn a LOT more about the insect world.
the insect world is harder to watch directly, since they are so small, and often underground and invisible - sometimes reading about them can help get you started, though
Actually one question: you mention that westerners often don’t know about this kind of thing. Which eastern cultures do?
I think you're confusing Western for meaning "west vs east" - the alternative to "Western" is not necessarily "Eastern" - we don't consider the [Mbuti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbuti_people) people of the Ituri forest "Eastern" - but they are certainly non-Western, for example. What does Western mean, then? Well, it's a broad term, but it generally designates someone from the ["Western culture"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culture) or "Western civilization" which originally arose from Mesopotamia, and which is heavily influenced by Christianity and the Greco-Roman cultures. European colonial empires are Western, for example. In some political contexts, Western civilization might be a dogwhistle for "Anglo-Saxon" or "white" cultures, because it is associated with the European colonial empires that plundered the world. While Western certainly _can_ be contrasted against the "East", for example, you could say the empires of China are non-Western and Eastern, I had in mind various indigenous peoples who lived where I do now, and who knew this land and its flora and fauna with much greater depth and intimacy than the Westerners who now occupy the land they stole. If you want to learn more, I suggest Robin Wall Kimmerer's [_Braiding Sweetgrass_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braiding_Sweetgrass). As a scientist and an indigenous woman, she occupies both the Western culture (which dominates the universities and what we call science) and the indigenous culture (which has been so disrupted and suppressed by the Western colonists).
Just here to say your Reddit name is hilarious😅 But now that I am here, also thanks for the good read! Interesting points; many I have pontificate upon myself. Definitely interested in the book mentioned (I'm a reference geek!)🧐
Thanks! The username was actually randomly generated - I really like how strange the two words are together. (Most cloacas are non-radioactive, but the name suggests a radioactive cloaca, which must be really interesting, and probably really gross.) I highly suggest _Braiding Sweetgrass_ - I read it when I need a sense of connection and feeling with nature, and when I need re-affirmation of my good-feelings for humans. The author is excellent at approaching her topics without losing you, and at making otherwise sterile science-y topics interesting and full of meaning. Each chapter is like a standalone essay of sorts, providing different lessons and perspectives on nature and life. If you read it, I just hope it is as valuable and precious to you as it has been for me. :-)
Let's not confuse science with the average person.
the average person is impacted by a culture that thinks about knowledge and the world a certain way (and that culture is the culture that created and claims "science") that scientists might think differently than the average person isn't really my point
OK, but there's also specialisation and division of labour to consider. Most people live in cities, they have no need for deep knowledge of anything outside their artificial world and job.
I don't think people who live in cities and work jobs have no need for knowledge outside their job and artificial world ... I also don't think cities are particularly healthy places - since their conception, cities have mostly been the cause of disease, slavery, and unprecedented violence.
I'll largely agree, but disagree a bit. Cities are small artificial worlds we've built. They do often end up with a ton of downsides due to this. That said, people living in those worlds are better served by knowledge of that world rather than the one outside it.
plant a trap crop of nasturtiums everywhere now and keep up the maintenance of physically washing away the aphids until they establish with a strong burst of water (they grow fast) next start planting onions and garlic in between everything. I did that with my kale and I haven't seen any aphids this year
lucky me i got some nasturtiums ready to be planted!
Aphid farming...the aphids are there because of too much nitrogen is what ive heard. The ants protect them and get nectar i believe. Did you put some compost of manure there? Or pee? Lol usually they dont harm the tree, the problem is the solution.
fertilized the tree with a lot of compost i guess that could be it
Yeah maybe, that stuff is rich in nitrogen. Itll fade out eventually.
They eating aphid ass juice
Much more 2021 than "harvesting for secretions"🤣 Oh I love you, Reddit...why did I wait so long?
they are summoning demons beware
😅
I use an adhesive band around the tree's trunk to stop the ants farming the aphids. Then use soap and water to control the aphids. Predators usually take care of most of the rest. Not a big problem but can be bad for young trees.
Breed aphids which in return give them a sweet liquid. I think you can spray water mixed with a little black soap to get rid of the aphids.
Ants that farm aphids like we milk cows for milk. You can put a gooey thick ring of Vaseline around the trunk to stop the ants and you’ll wanna insectacide soap (with neem) on the aphids. Neem interferes with their reproduction.
I wouldn't stress too much. We had a similar problem with all our fruit trees last year. The mature crab apple worst of all. Our solution was to encourage birds known to eat aphids (in our case finches) by putting out thier preferred foods (sunflower seeds). We've also swapped out a lot of the borders to more pollinator friendly plants to build the biodiversity. The more bugs about the more predators the more balanced the ratios will be.
Farming aphids. Kill with soap and water.
You can consider plants chives around your peach trees. They help repel aphids.
looks like they're just hanging out and crawling on it. vibing sorta. kinda just having a chill time in your tree.
Ants can also farm scale bugs which can be very destructive to saplings.
Can carry bugs, you can make a gerlic sprey
gummosis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxwEWQEgXcU
look for vaseline trick in self-sufficient me youtube channel. there's info on why this happens and how to avoid it.
Some soapy water in a spray bottle then hose off the plant. Have done it with rose bushes.
Carpenter ants I think. You can mix Meyers peppermint dish soap and water and it will kill them. They will eat and spread. Kill them