Mycot Posted December 14, 2011 (edited) My experience has been that it doesn't take many applications to do its job. According to my reading it was frequently used by gardeners of old. Nicotine is a fairly volatile alkaloid so it should break down fairly rapidly. I'm guessing but I think that if one gives the plants a couple of showers to get rid of any surface residue and give it a fortnight then things should be cool. Edited December 14, 2011 by Mycot Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bush Turkey Posted January 2, 2012 so how are they going tipz? Are ants still on them??? Ive rocked up home to find ants all over my P.carth. They have made these little brown/black pods all up the stems. They are very small ants. Ive tried flooding them out to no avail. Have the ants affected your caapi in any way tipz??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipz Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) there are still heaps of little ants cruising around and feeding on the nectary glands. They are somewhat smaller, like sugar ants. They have not done any harm to the plant at all. It is growing at a prodigious rate ( an inch and half to two inches a day at each tip ) and is looking healthier than ever Edited January 2, 2012 by tipz 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LokStok Posted January 2, 2012 They have made these little brown/black pods all up the stems you sure these pods aren't a scale? Ants are notorious for bring them to plants and farming them- their pay-off being the scales sweet secretions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted January 2, 2012 yer never heard of an "ant-pod". you better go crush/scrape them off if there are heaps of them and then come up with a control plan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bush Turkey Posted January 2, 2012 yeah i think they are farming something, ill take pics Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted January 2, 2012 its called scale insect. it's a lump of wax produced by the tiny bug which is protected inside. that is a decent infestation and won't be doing your plant any good. you crush them all in a couple of minutes but the ants will keep trying to renew their farm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bush Turkey Posted January 2, 2012 cheers Thunder The thing is the plant is loving it! ive never seen it that green before. They do bother me though. Any tips on how to get rid of them??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted January 3, 2012 Any tips on how to get rid of them??? yes! 1, get hi 2, scrape as many as you can off with your fingers and nails (don't bruse the tissue) 3, mix a mild, white oil mixture, but even olive oils is ok! google, term, white oil. (a few ml olive oil, 3 drops of detergent, a bit of water) 4, apply white oil mixture with a mister, wait 4min or so, do this in the shade, white oil makesd plants phototoxic for a while. 5, gently remove and massage off, all scales and critters, use the mister, filled with fresh water. hose off all the residue. basicly, one can use a jet of water, as a cleaning tool, for plants.... 6, kill, any ants in the pot, or let them live. use just water, and drown them (totally emerge pot into a bucket of water) some people might use pyrethrum at this stage, mixed into the water. the ant is one of my primary totems. funny enough, if you have many caapi & viridis plants, the ant's don't attack all plants, maybe the ant is even practicing, some type of, enviromental controlls, the ant's way of, "no tree, no me", hehehe. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bush Turkey Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks PH! ill give it ago today. If not i might just destroy the plant but take leaf cuttings first. Ive been blasting them off with a water jet 3 times a day but they always come back Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LokStok Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) Dont destroy the plant!! . Deal with the ants and you'll deal with the scale. Some ant granule products work, just sprinkle around the pot and on their trail. Or give em a sacrificial plant. Ants love farming black & brown scale on all Ficus & most Syzygium (lilly pillies.) Or get a big plant pot saucer (bigger than your carth pot), fill with water, put a few brick in the middles, and then sit your pot on top. Then kill the scale by spraying the heavily diluted oil mix as per PH's instructions. Once youve sprayed them, they will suffocate as the oil blocks their little breather hole in their outer waxy layer. Just make sure you shake the hell out of the mix just b4 spraying so as to atomize the oil & water. Edited January 3, 2012 by LokStok Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quetzalt Posted January 3, 2012 My ant problem also perseveres... Its a nightmare, I'd never seen ants this time of year, one would think its too cold. They're farming allright, I didn't know about these scale bugs but I've detected them recently (I've been finger crushing them), so the ants are farming these scale bugs + Cochineal (which are some kind of scale bug too) and seem to be all over, not just one plant. I'm going to try this olive oil concoction. Will neem oil work as well or even better? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted January 4, 2012 Will neem oil work as well or even better? i haven't used neem oil for a while, but it is very good stuff. but for those wax scales white oil is much better, i think the strong coat of those scales, would protect them against this insect poison. in other words they might be a bit immune against, neem and pyrethrum. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zaka Posted January 13, 2012 Irie, I've just been trying to combat ants on my grapefruit trees.... I think I've found a solution!??? I smeared a ring of petroleum jelly, right around the trunk. The idea is to cut the ants off from a water source!!! It's early days, but it's looking positive! Respect, Z Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
