How cool and weird is that! 9 Ways to Get Rid of Ants on Your Tomato Plants But if your tomato plants are excreting their own sugary substances, ants will defend the plants against aphids and other bugs that might end up harming them. Ants will protect aphids, even if they’re damaging your tomato plants. In return for the nectar, ants will aggressively defend your tomato plants against other herbivorous insects, like aphids, whiteflies, and caterpillars, which can cause significant damage to the plant. Like ants and aphids, ants and tomato plants also have a mutualistic relationship. These nectaries produce a sugary substance that attracts ants, which feed on the nectar. Tomato plants produce tantalizing nectar in extrafloral nectaries-knob-shaped small glands on the plant’s leaves and stems. The second reason why you might be seeing ants on your plants has to do with the extrafloral nectaries on your tomato plants. Additionally, the honeydew they excrete can lead to the growth of sooty mold on the leaves, further harming the plant. The puncture wounds made by the aphid’s mouthparts can provide entry points for plant pathogens, and the loss of sap can cause wilting and yellowing of the leaves. Simply put, the process of extracting sap from your tomato plants can cause damage to them. Why Do Ants Protect Aphids? 7 Things You Should Know.Do Ants Make Aphids Worse? 7 Behaviors to Understand.Do Ants Eat or Kill Aphids? 6 Environmental Factors.If you’d like to learn more about this before reading further, check out these articles: See those little white specks? Those are honeydew droplets. Borax, orange oil, and soapy water can also be used to kill off ants and their colonies. The best ways to get rid of ants on tomato plants are to use homemade barriers such as bands of diatomaceous earth or a ring of sticky petroleum jelly around the base of the plants to keep ants from climbing. If this has happened to you, you might be wondering: Why are ants on my tomatoes? And how do I get rid of them? Whether you like to grow a few plants in pots on your patio or have a section of your garden dedicated to tomatoes, you know how worrying it is when you go out to check on them and see a highway of ants running up and down your plants. They’re easy to grow and care for and provide a huge harvest of juicy and flavorful tomatoes from late spring to early winter here in North Texas. From seed selection to harvest, these delicious and versatile fruits are a staple in my garden. I love everything about growing tomatoes. Please see my disclosure to learn about the care I take when recommending products to my readers.
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