I had this problem with a new orange tree I planted - they are after the scale I think. We mulched heavily and that seemed to get rid of the ants. The tree suffered - probably from the bugs the ants were after rather than the ants themselves. You could try spraying the tree with white oil, but maybe others who are more knowledgeable on citrus trees will tell you something else. Cheers. Barb

Yes, that's right. Spray with white oil. There will no doubt be scale on your stems and leaves. The scale produces a sugary exudate that the ants love. Sometimes a black soot will follow the scale/ant activity but this will disappear after you have sprayed.

Hi I'v got the same problem (Ithink). There's certainly lots of little black blobs at the new shoots, and thousands of ants. Is there any home remedy I can use?

Inspect the leaves for scale. These are usually a hard pink or white blob about 2mm in diameter. If scale is present spray with white oil about once a fortnight for a month or two until the scale breeding cycle has been broken. It is almost impossible to kill the adult scale due to the waxy coating they have but by spraying fortnightly you will kill the new crawlers as they emerge. Apparently the adult scale breed once and then dies so by killing the emerging young breaks the cycle.
The white oil will also kill the sooty mould as well.

I am not sure on this but I citrus should not be sprayed till after flowering and the fruit has set. Check with your local nursery on this.

Doug.

And you can help discourage the ant farmers by painting a thick paste of garden lime and water around the trunk: of course the tree can't touch fences, other trees etc.

Often getting rid of the aphids and scale won't get rid of the ants, and the ants will spread the sticky scale and aphid 'honey' which then feeds sooty mould. Ants will also protect and encourage more aphids and scale, so attack both pests - I agree with the tree-trunk method of keeping the ants off the tree - I have even resorted to surface spray to keep ants from my citrus trees. Once the ants have been stopped and the scale/aphids given a spray (I used pyrethrum) the bugs that eat aphids and scale will be able to keep the tree fairly clean. A good dose of fertiliser will also help the tree fight off disease.
Robyn

I was told that detergent, water and eucalypts oil make a nice organic spray for scale.
Leyla

I forgot to mention in my earlier post you do have to treat the ants as well otherwise it becomes a vicious circle. I tried the lime some years ago to keep the ants off but I found I had to apply the lime at least every week or so. I ended up using an ant powder but even that doesn't last long.

A good cheap spray for the sooty mould and soft scale (not the hard Pink or White Scale)is about 30 grams of LUX laundry flakes dissolved in 5 litres of hot water. This can then be diluted to make about 20 litres of spray. Spray every week until the problem has completely dissappeared. Do not make it stronger than necessary and do not mix any more than you can use immediately as it does not keep well. If you make it too strong the whole solution will turn to jelly.
Lux runs rings around detergent when it is used for mould and soft scale insects. I also have a suspicion that it may help the ant problem but THAT is unverified.

Doug.

I have the same problem too, but I don't see any green aphids on my potted dwarf lemon tree lately. No obvious scales or red spider mites either, but perhaps a few spidery like insects (not sure what they are). But I have a constant amount of ants on my flowers. I think they're coming from in the ground. I was wondering if ants feed on the tree roots?

I know this post is a bit old, but it came up during a search :)

Hi weeddummie,
What colour are the insects and what size are they?
Cheers,
Dee.

They're more of black dots (less than half a mm), spider like, i.e. round shaped bodies. I think they form tiny web strands around, but not sure if it's by them. The recent rain (yayy!) has washed off and drowned most of them though. So I hope my battle with ants is nearly over (me on the winning side preferred).

I recently purchased a hose end high pressure water sprayer. The spray out at a 90 degrees (sort of like a parasolor shimney sweep brush.) The spray does not hurt the leaves or flower but it sure knocks the dickens out of teh scale and white fly. The only drawback I have found is that ya get mighty wet using it. If you want a picture I would be glad to post it.

I have similar problems with my lemon tree. Does anyone know where I can get the white oil? Thanks.

g'day kiki,

you can make your own we have a recipe available on our remedies page at our site.

or you can buy white oil in 2 forms one is clear, from any garden centre or produce agency even comes in an aerosol can.

but no good treating aphids/scale/mealies until you have moved the ants on.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

I have the perfect organic, won't hurt you or your food, solution to the ants, the aphids and the scale - even adult scale:)

HOLY COW
It is a a USDA approved environmentally friendly household cleaner/degreaser made in Oregon.

I sprayed it on as the sun was setting and powerhosed it off in the morning before the heat of the day. My little orange tree had been covered in ants and scale. They all washed off. Earlier in the year, I had used this on my roses to get rid of the aphids - very effective, gentle on the plant and nontoxic tohumans and animals.

For more information about Holy Cow and to order go to the Holy Cow website at www.holycowproducts.com

The ants are driving me nutty. They are so persistant. I rake over their holes but they come back in minutes. Im sure there are enormous cavities under the house and garden made by them. Ive tried many of the above on my lemon tree but was wondering if I could lure them away with bait. I have some honey smeared on a id which they are sofar ignoring

Has anyone ever heard of long nosed weavels and earwigs attacking young citrus?

I've already lost one Meyer lemon, and replanted a new one only for it to be suffering as well.

They've completely eaten the leaves and seem to have sucked the stem?

Can I just spray with available bug spray for quick results in an area where ingredients for white oil may be hard to obtain? What will happen to the newly planted orange tree (about 4-5 ft. tall) if about half of its leaves are already gone, eaten by some mofos?

r u people joking or am i in illusion the black ants r there to look after your plants. For the love of god stop killing these helpers. They don't hurt when they bite. They r actually completely harmless. If u take the time to have a look they try and make out they r spiders so they can freak u out but in fact they r completely harmless. Leave them alone they r amazing the way they make a nest out of leaves and branches. Only God knows what goes on in inside their little city. Just let them be and they will help u out. These black ants r the most amazing ants I have ever come across. They r the blackest of black, they are the most harmless of all the ants in Australia and for some reason u want to kill them. Only God Knows why. 4 the love of God leave them be and enjoy the little surrade they put on trying to make out they are spiders because thats all they've got.

Can the white oil be made with olive oil or does it need to be vegetable oil?

I'm sorry apriori108 but ants are NOT always harmless. I was stung by one and went into anaphylactic shock. Am now on anti venom injections which will be over a 5 year period to desensitise me