About Ants In A Greenhouse, Harmful Or Beneficial?

Question

I have a small greenhouse attached to our kitchen. There are tiny, fast moving ants in it in great quantities. Are they beneficial or harmful to the plants? The ivy has scales and the ants are all over it. Are they eating the scales? I can’t tell. Thank You in advance, Virginia [e-mail]

Answer 1

The ants are eating the sap that the scale is releasing from the plants. They are both very harmful to your plants. Ants will be easy to get rid of, but scale is another thing.

Scale will need to be removed, manually, and THEN treated with a pesticide. Simply treating, alone, will not kill them since they seal themselves to your plants.

Here are some articles that will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/control-plant-scale.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/greenhouses/ridding-greenhouse-of-ants.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/what-are-organic-pesticides.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/natural-home-pesticides-organic-garden-pest-control.htm