My Clemson Spineless okra just started blooming and I’m starting to see ants crawling around the plants. Are the ants a problem? Do they do damage? If they are a problem how do you control them?
The ants are likely feeding on “ pearl body’s “
Little round balls of nutrients on the leafs ,that the plant makes as ant snacks. Probably of little concern.
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The problem for me are them hosting aphids.
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Spray the stem with permethrin or zeta-cypermethrin (liquid sevin). Or could use Malathion, which will work on aphids and ants. It should discourage the ants temporarily. You could try DA, but not sure if that would work. After spraying the stems, then squash the aphids by hand. Don’t squash the aphids by hand if you spray under the leaves with malathion. Do not hit the blooms with these insecticides (yes, I know there are probably ants in there).
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They can be a problem. Fire ants love to tunnel into okra pods and eat the seed from the inside. If there are fire ant nests near your garden, put out something to kill the nest.
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@Vault22dweller
Spray the stem with permethrin or zeta-cypermethrin (liquid sevin). Or could use Malathion.
Has anyone attempted spraying the lower trunk of the okra plant to eliminate the ants going up to the pods and was it effective? I’m okay with spraying down low but I don’t want it on the pods. It appears to me that it could work if replenished occasionally. Any thoughts and comments are welcome.
The last time I grew okra , 3yrs ago, I pinched the top bud out,causing it to branch into multiple stems , seems like I got more okra , may have been a little smaller , but more.
Might try this on a few plants to see how it works for you ?
Ants have not been a problem here .
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Auburn, spraying the stem will help, but getting rid of the nest will help much more. I found with years of experience that the nest is the source of the problem. Spraying the plants is just a bandaid until the nest is dealt with.
Also, other ant species will place aphids on okra plants and harvest the honeydew. If this is the type ants you have, spraying the plants will help.
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Yes, I agree. I will be looking the area over for the ant beds.
I will usually put terro with a little dabbed out from the trap (to make it really obvious) on a scrap of plastic at the base/ in the path they’re walking of whatever they’re crawling up (my plants are fenced away from my dogs because they’d definitely grab the bait traps and the card…). They get distracted by this great food, take it back to the nest, and eliminate the nest. I don’t mind ants and leave them be unless they’re specifically farming aphids or eating my produce.
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