I have ants in my mandarin tree. there is oil or something painted around the branches? Any idea what this is?

Question

I have just moved into an old established property and there are ants in the mandarin and orange tree. There is an oil or something painted around the branches but its over 2 years since anyone did anything with these trees. Does anyone know what this oil is and is it effective for ants?

Answer 1

The oil /grease is probably meant to stop the insects from climbing the tree you can also buy grease strips which you wrap round the trunk and branches to do the same job. The grease that is there now needs to be wiped away and replaced and the greased strips are less messy. As for the ants spray or powder will get rid of them they are probably feeding off other insects in the tree.

Answer 2

The ants are eating the small white fly infestations you get on the tree.They are eating bugs that make the tree sick.They are the good guys.Kill the microscopic bugs and the ants will shimmy off elsewhere

Answer 3

Are you sure thats not tree sap?

Answer 4

If a tree has ant problems, the best way to deal with it is to use Tanglefoot, which is a pest barrier available at many garden supply stores.  It's an extremely goopy, sticky and oily substance that ants get stuck in.  Scientists who study ant-plant interactions regularly use Tanglefoot as an experimental manipulation to exclude ants from a plant.

I would bet that this oily ring is leftover residue from an old Tanglefoot application that was put directly on the bark of the tree.  Usually, experienced people tape a ring of paper or some other surface to the tree, and put the tanglefoot on this surface, so as to not mark the tree over the long term.

If you want to fix the ant problem, get thee some Tanglefoot on the base of the tree, and prune to make sure that the ants don't have another route to get into the tree.  Be sure to apply it with a stick or something else, as you don't want to get the Tanglefoot on your fingers or anything else.