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  • Distracting ants from old food sources

    From [email protected]@21:1/5 to All on Wed May 28 16:56:20 2025
    I've got a pecan tree with an ant trail running up the trunk.
    Presumably the ants (argentine variety) are farming aphids or
    something up in the crown.

    Initially the ants were attracted to a bait station hung on
    the trunk, but after a failed experiment in bait recipes they
    lost interest. I've since replaced the bait and station, but
    they haven't shown any interest, trailing past the new bait.

    I'd like to distract them, even if only temporarily, from the
    old pheromone trails in hopes they're re-explore and discover
    the new bait station.

    I'm thinking about simply coating the trunk with dish soap
    somewhere above where the bait station is located. However,
    I don't want to drive them off the trunk entirely. There
    are many alternative paths for ants to reach the crown via
    nearby trees which are entirely out of my reach.

    Thoughts and stories would be most welcome....

    Thanks for reading,

    bob prohaska

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  • From Leon Fisk@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Wed May 28 14:05:24 2025
    On Wed, 28 May 2025 16:56:20 -0000 (UTC)
    [email protected] wrote:

    I've got a pecan tree with an ant trail running up the trunk.
    Presumably the ants (argentine variety) are farming aphids or
    something up in the crown.

    Initially the ants were attracted to a bait station hung on
    the trunk, but after a failed experiment in bait recipes they
    lost interest. I've since replaced the bait and station, but
    they haven't shown any interest, trailing past the new bait.

    I'd like to distract them, even if only temporarily, from the
    old pheromone trails in hopes they're re-explore and discover
    the new bait station.

    I'm thinking about simply coating the trunk with dish soap
    somewhere above where the bait station is located. However,
    I don't want to drive them off the trunk entirely. There
    are many alternative paths for ants to reach the crown via
    nearby trees which are entirely out of my reach.

    Thoughts and stories would be most welcome....

    A hummingbird feeder trick for ants is a moat. If your trunk is round
    enough it might be doable. Search on ant moat hummingbird if interested
    in seeing these.

    There's a product called Tanglefoot, sticky stuff that can trap
    insects climbing the trunk:

    https://www.evergreenseeds.com/what-is-tanglefoot/

    You could also apply stuff to a "rag" and tie it around the trunk.

    --
    Leon Fisk
    Grand Rapids MI

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Leon Fisk on Wed May 28 20:48:07 2025
    Leon Fisk <[email protected]d> wrote:

    Thoughts and stories would be most welcome....

    A hummingbird feeder trick for ants is a moat. If your trunk is round
    enough it might be doable. Search on ant moat hummingbird if interested
    in seeing these.

    The problem is bark roughness. I'd have to caulk the bark to the moat.
    Not impossible, but I'm hoping for something simpler.


    There's a product called Tanglefoot, sticky stuff that can trap
    insects climbing the trunk:

    https://www.evergreenseeds.com/what-is-tanglefoot/

    Again, sealing to the bark is the gotcha....

    I might start by applying detergent foam around the trunk. I've got
    that handy. Spraying the trunk with hydrogen peroxide is another idea,
    but I'd have to go out and buy that.

    Come to think of it, just spraying the trail with water is even
    easier...I don't expect it to work, but neither will it harm....

    Thanks for writing,

    bob prohaska

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Bob F on Thu May 29 00:30:59 2025
    Bob F <[email protected]> wrote:

    Tanglefoot might work if you first wrap the tree with a 1 1/2" wide
    strip of soft foam then wrap over that snugly all the way around with
    duct tape. Then put the tanglefoot on the duct tape.

    It looks like the detergent foam did the trick. The ants recovered
    their old trail within a couple of hours, but they also noticed the
    new bait station.

    Thanks for everybody's replies!

    bob prohaska

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