On Saturday morning, I noticed that the apple (Granny Smith) had busted into blossoms. Like all the other fruit trees in the garden, the blooms are one week ahead of the 2009 schedule.
Wait. The blossoms don’t look perfect. Random holes in the leaves of the petals of the apple tree are getting me steamed. There is a garden pest about. I inspected the rest of the trees for damage. 
WHAT? There is a hole gnawed into one of the peaches?! The nectarine has been hit as well. This calls for war. The offenders seem to be ants.
Although the insects outnumber humans by a quadzillion or more, I would like to think that I have the upper hand in my garden. It’s a delusion I’m comfortable with.
Farmer MacGregor brought out his artillery and blasted the trees with pyrethrum. He was in full G.I. Joe mode annihilating the enemy. Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of chrysanthemum (C. cinerariifolium and C. coccineum). Pyrethrum was used for centuries as an insecticide.
I’m certain the army of ants will send in another wave to attack again (They are probably already out there as I’m typing this.). We’ll continue the fight for the right to (garden) party.
Next: I believe the citrus have blight. This may be fatal.
4 comments:
I use pyrethrum too against ants, but I've had no luck when it comes to keeping them away from the small seeds I sow directly in the garden, like lettuce and carrots. Any advice?
Francesca - The ants were really never any problem until they started attacking the fruit trees. I've never had them bother any seeds.
I have used my tea kettle to pour hot water on their nests. That's a temporary fix.
A heap of ladybugs do the trick, too. Good luck!
I don't think ladybugs eat ants.
They do a great job on other soft body pests though.
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