Help! Ants are eating my sunflower!?

Question

Help! My sunflowers are being devoured by ants!

Every time I check on my sunflowers, ants are crawling on the leaves and up and down the stalk.

Does anyone have any organic solutions as to what I should do to get rid of these ants? I also heard the ants my be eating honey left over from aphids, if so does anyone know how to get rid of aphids?

I have tried sprinkling cinnamon, paprika. I've also sprayed the plants with a dish detergent and cayanne pepper solution. The ant population has decreased a little bit, but not enough!

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Remove the ants - I use 1Tablespoon Boric Acid (from first aid section of pharmacy) 1Tablespoon sugar and 1/3cup water. You mix that, put it in some disposable jar lids around the garden near the sunflower and put a pot on top so animals do not mess around with it.  The ants will find and eat the mix and take it home to the nest - it will dessicate all the ants in the nest within 48 hours.  I use it for indoor and outdoor infestations and it is very effective.  Just rinse the leftovers down the drain - it is harmless when diluted and toxic just to ants.  It is easy and safe and very effective - you may want to keep it in a little jar and re-distribute it now and then as other nests expand into the area if your sunflower is that attractive to them - or you can just keep a lid of it out there close to the base, it lasts for weeks.

Answer 2

Use a mix of cinnamon and sugar. The ants will pick up the sugar, along with the cinnamon, and take it back to their queen. Ants can’t digest cinnamon and once the queen dies from not being able to digest the cinnamon the colony will die without her.  They won't just come to cinnamon, that's why you use the mix to fool them.

Answer 3

mix up in a spray bottle a tblsp of dawn dish soap and fill with water give your sunflower a light even spray evry day for 3 or 4 days they hate it and it doesnt hurt your flower this methode can be used on veg as well

Answer 4

One thing you can do is put dawn dish soap around the base, ants hate it and it kills them.  Don't dilute it with anything though. Just make sure you check it often to see that it has not washed away. Another thing you can try to get rid of the aphids is ladybugs.