Was excited for first harvest of Sauzee Swirl peach only to find that every single peach (about 10) on this young tree had multiple ant holes with ants ‘living’ inside the fruit. I was able to cut the bad parts out and tasted a little fruit which was fantastic quality donut white peach, very aromatic flavor. Is ant damage common with peaches? Tanglefoot is so messy and I’m not sure how best to use it. Is there another way to rid the ants?
I think the actual holes were perhaps caused by birds and the ants just moved into the vacated space.
I have no idea about how to get rid of ants. I have the same issue here with my peaches at times. What I dread is getting those black wasps that I cannot see on the opposite side I am where I am grabbing to pick. OUCH!!!
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I did notice bird damage but those defect were more triangular shaped. I covered the whole tree in insect netting when I saw the birds had started on it. It’s possible something else made those holes. Just when I got the squirrels under control something else comes up. Wasps would probably cause me to stop growing fruit trees.
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MikeC is probably right that birds made the initial holes. Ants are opportunists, they’ll move into any opening in ripe fruit. The netting should sort the birds but if ants are still getting in after that, a sticky barrier around the trunk works better than tanglefoot directly on the bark. Wrap a band of tape first and put the sticky stuff on that so you can replace it without damaging the tree.
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