I saw ants on my sunflower leaves, too; but when I looked closely, I thought they were eating or attending to an aphid type insect. Didn't notice much actual leaf damage, as we're having such dry conditions and heat here that I assumed the occasional yellow and wilt was due to that. I know aphids will suck leaf stems ,tho. I just thought the ants were not the problem.

i would prefer a picture.. and an actual ID of the pest .. before we rely on the diagnosis ... killing scale with oil.. is extremely hit and miss ... and timing is imperative ... ignore the ants.. if in fact the problem is scale.. than the ants are eating the honeydew they produce... get id of the scale.. [or aphids].. and the ants go mind their own business ... if you can not post a pic.. then cut off a small branch.. and take it to a local high end nursery ... as compared to bigboxstore ... ken

Short reply from NW Iowa with a poor connection! Every spring I have a bad problem with tiny ants, and last year I decided to try something I read about online somewhere. I poured ammonia, straight out of the bottle, directly into the openings of the nests. A few weeks ago, when they started to reappear this year, I did it again, and it seems to be working! There were fewer of them this year than last, and hopefully even fewer still around next year. Last year one of the worst nests was directly under one of the perennials and I kind of wondered what it would do to the plant, but the plant was completely unaffected, even tho I poured straight ammonia (a lot of it!) right at the base of the plant! I don't know if there are some plants it might hurt, so if you try it, do a "test plant" first. I've also used it on a couple nests in the lawn, and the grass was unaffected. Before trying the ammonia I had been using "ant & roach" aerosol spray for 3 years---with virtually no effect! I tried the ammonia in desperation---and I'm glad I did! Before I left home a week ago, I "re-treated" the few nests that were coming back after this year's first "treatment," and most of them seemed to be gone---for the rest of this year at least---by the time I left. I think it's at least worth a try in a small area to see if it works on "your kind" of ants. Good luck, Skybird

Oh big deal. These sugar ant pretty small, with many rains this year they are searching for a safe home. Spray around the foundation, done https://www.amazon.com/FUSE-Termiticide-Insecticide-27-5-oz/dp/B00J9Q22OI and bifen is pretty good too. https://www.amazon.com/Bifen-Insecticide-Bifenthrin-Equivalent-Talstar-Gallon/dp/B00C4Y27H4/ Problem solved. Vs dealing with the corrupt, dirty [judges and/or arbitration], shyster attorneys.