black-eyed peas (really ants)

[Karen Kolling]

> I've heard that ants are good guys. Earlier this season I had lots
> of ants on my corn. A gardening friend told me to look closer and
> see if there was something the ants were eating. There were aphids.
> I'm not sure if ants are good guys in all situations, but I'd
> suggest looking to see if there are some harder to see bad guys
> that the ants are feeding on. Good luck.

Ants are not good guys. Ants and aphids have a master-slave
relationship; the ants feed on the sweet sticky stuff the aphids
produce. However, if the original poster has an ants-and-aphids
situation, a solution is to hose off the plants. This washes off the
ants, aphids, and sticky stuff, and discourages them for awhile.

Karen

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