Autocorrect.

Costas, I just brush it on with a pastry brush, not all of it will stick. I forgot to mention, I also sprinkle a little on the unripen figs. And its seems like if you are a little heavy handed like I am, the cinnamon will stay even after a shower or two.

@ Hershell - Do you mean predictive text perhaps? I'd switch that damn nuisance off. Still, amusing what it comes up with sometimes.

Orange peels around the base. It works.

@ twovkay - Thx, useful to know.

@ FF

You can find Tanglefoot at home and garden stores or feed and seed stores. Just be careful and not get it where you don't want it, it is messy and hard to get off of your hands or anything else. It is a great solution though. I actually like ants in the soil surrounding my plants though, as part of the life in the soil that areates and brings organic matter into the earth. Someone even suggested that ants deter nematodes, though I don't know if it is true. Watch out for fire ants though if they are in your area since they will sting.

Mike in Hanover, VA

Taking notes.  We have fire ants and some really obnoxious other kind that recently migrated in.   

@ MGorski - Well, I don't necessarily wanna kill the &*%$£rs; just keep 'em off my figs. Pretty sure we don't have fire ants here in the UK. Ours are pretty tame by comparison with some of the exotic species you have over there. I was stung the other day by an ant, & it was barely noticeable.

Anyway, found some Vitax grease in the garage. It's almost black in color, looks very icky, & smells oily. Guess it will do until I can get hold of some Tanglefoot. But £75 (around $120) for a 15oz tub? What's all that about? Sounds a bit exorbitant to me. Is it made from Beluga Caviar?

Hey Costas, I forgot that your were in the U.K., not sure if Tanglefoot is available there in stores. Ants will get stuck to the tanglefoot, so some will die, but it wont be a toxin wiping out an ant colony. I think tanglefoot is some kind of modified tree resin. I've never heard of Vitax greese. That price you found can't possibly be right...I have bought it, and I seldom buy anything that seems too high priced. Have you looked on eBay? In my experience products on Amazon are often more expensive than on eBay.

Mike in Hanover, VA

Re: permethrin for ants

Permethrin should not be ingested but it is a pretty safe chemical to touch - it is used topically as a medicine against lice and scabies in humans

Hey Mike,

It's available from Amazon thru a seller shown as Keren Best Shop, here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tanglefoot-300000684-Tree-Outdoor-Maintenance/dp/B00KHJJICA/ref=sr_1_6?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1406501696&sr=1-6&keywords=Tanglefoot

Also now showing as being in stock, but still listed at £75.00 for a 15oz tub. That looks like an outrageous price to me - $126.00 approx. equivalent. As you say, can't possibly be right, but there it is. Love my figs, but dunno if I wanna spend that much to keep the blighters off. I'll check other sellers just to make sure this is the 'right' price for the UK. Maybe shipping bumps it up quite a bit?

Yeah, I get how it works - basically the same as the Vitax grease here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vitax-Fruit-Tree-Grease-200g/dp/B004FB4S3U/ref=sr_1_2?s=outdoors&ie=UTF8&qid=1406501696&sr=1-2&keywords=Tanglefoot

Only problem I have is that it doesn't mention ants, so not sure if it's effective against them. Still, I guess it's worth a try. And at least the price is not stratospheric. Probably have just enough to treat my trees anyway, & I think this one is oil-based rather than tree resin.

The other thing that worries me about the grease is long-term damage to the bark/trunk, but I think I can mitigate that by using the duct tape idea with it.

As usual, thx for all the tips guys (& gals). There are a lot of ideas there I can try before I resort to spraying.

Hi loquat1,
Did you recently throw some lemons away as well ?
Buy lemons, and put the juice on the bark and leave the peals around the base of the trees.
Last year, the ants got 2 dalmatie brebas and they couldn't touch them this year.
Ants do communicate through acid/chemic messages and lemon juice disturbs that, causing them to attack one another ...

Wow jdsf, that is some tip! No, we never throw fruit away - as long as it's still edible. I was referring to the orange/tangerine peel and mint that we recently threw out around fig-ripening time. I now know better.

Yes, we have plenty of lemons, and the idea of disrupting their information superhighway is very appealing. Making them fight among themselves is better still. Thanks a lot for the tip - one more weapon to add to my chemical arsenal. 

PS I assume you're not ribbin' me???

That's funny but my Meyer lemon tree is always full of ants!
Are they a special breed?

AHA! So jdsf was ribbin' me? Shame. It sounded such a neat idea.

Even so, I think I'm beginning to detect a pattern here. Foodstuffs with pungent or volatile constituents (orange peel, mint, cinnamon, Tabasco, etc) can disrupt ant signalling agents. So I hafta wonder, could onion or garlic work on the same premise? Might try that as well just out of curiosity, & possibly add yet another chemical weapon to my list of options.

What? $126 for - 15 oz Tub? I paid exactly $12.14 for - 15 oz Tub. Of Tanglefoot. You may wanna look it up on eBay.

Yeah I know - crazy price. But that's what it says. Will def. look for alternative sources. I'm sure I can do better than that.

Hi loquat1,
I didn't see your question earlier: I was serious . At least, I'm doing it - it is night already here, I can't snap a pic but I do do it . I have lemon quarts near plants that get infected by ants.
Especially I did lay some near my "dalmatie tree1" and all I can say is that no breba was touched by an ant this year.
But you're free not to do . Give it a try and let me know .
@greenfig: I suppose your Meyer's is not making split open lemons ... or ?

Hmm, well in that case............sure, I'll try that too. Sorry I ever doubted you. The devil made me do it.

if you have lizards around, encourage them. i've been watching them here. ants seem to make up most, if not all of their diet.

it's cool to watch a lizard's head dart down, over n over when he locates some ants. since these ants are teeny, i bet it takes thousands every day to feed a lizard.

No lizards around here I'm afraid Susie, except for those tiny salamander thingummy watchamacallthem type. This is London suburbia, don't forget, not the Gobi desert. No, I think my best bets are chemical disruption/warfare and/or physical barrier-type solutions.

But thx for the tip. Next time I see a lizzie, I'll be sure to introduce myself & make it feel at home.

If you use Tanglefoot, be sure to read the label. It says that it should not be applied directly to young or fruit bearing trees. You are supposed to wrap the trunk with waterproof paper and only apply the Tanglefoot to the paper. 

The ingredients say it is 25% natural gum resins and 75% carnauba wax. Doesn't sound very toxic to me, but there must be some reason for the warning. 

Thx for heads-up CyberF. Yeah, got that info. reading around a few sites. I intended to adapt one of the ideas above that suggested duct tape, & splodge it all over that. Just gotta be careful I don't inadvertently girdle the tree.

Surprised I couldn't find any UK suppliers offering it for less than $100 tho. Amazon shows unavailable again, & only source at a reasonable price (around $30 after shipping & import duties are added) is a US supplier. But before I order any, gonna give my grease a try - might well work.

jdsf says: