Ants eat cabbage: what to do and how to get rid of it, the best ways to fight it

Ants are one of the most common beneficial hymenopteran insects. However, their excessive quantity in the garden or vegetable garden can cause great damage to the future harvest. The fact is that garden ants prefer to build their nests in the roots of seedlings, gnawing them. Insects can be found especially often in strawberries and currants, as well as under plum, apple or pear trees. They often harm bell pepper, eggplant or cabbage seedlings by digging long tunnels in the ground. You will learn what to do if ants eat cabbage in this article.

Fighting ants on the site: pros and cons

The benefits of ants on the site:

Garden cleaners: destroy larvae, caterpillars, spider mites, and other pests.
They make the ground breathable due to passages under the ground.
Saturate the soil with soluble potassium, nitrogen, humus, and phosphorus. Microelements are easily absorbed by plants.

Harm:

They eat seeds and sprouts of young plants, which leads to the death of the crop.
They breed the most dangerous pest - aphids. For the winter they drag it to the depths.
They form colonies under the crop, thereby disrupting the root system.
Underground passages allow cold and insecticides to enter the soil.
They feast on the contents of buds and flowers.

A serious threat (aphids) forces gardeners and gardeners to fight ants.

Plant protection methods

If the owner notices that ants are eating cabbage, it is urgent to choose a method to combat the pest. Experienced summer residents identify the following methods:

If ants eat cabbage, then it is necessary to use folk recipes or chemical preparations from the first days (in case of a large colony). If you start planting, the individuals can infest all the plants and ruin the harvest. In addition to eating the above-ground parts, insects destroy the root system, moving from one plant to another. Careful and regular inspection of cabbage beds, as well as timely assistance, are the main aspects in achieving a positive result. The work invested will not be in vain and the owner will receive a high-quality and abundant harvest of heads of cabbage from his own garden.

Are ants dangerous for cabbage?

Ants love to feed on sweet nectar. It is not found in cabbage. But its production by aphids on the site is a direct threat to cabbage. Insects eat up the roots of a young plant or disrupt the root system while moving. As a result, the cabbage dies. Although experienced gardeners rule out such an action of ants, and are inclined to believe that in such cases it is necessary to fight the mole cricket.

Prevention measures

To prevent ants from causing damage to cabbage, preventive measures should be taken. It is important to prevent aphids from appearing on cabbage, which attract ants. You can reduce the likelihood of these insects appearing in your garden by keeping it clean, removing weeds in a timely manner and removing dead plants. It is important to do this in the fall, since females most often lay eggs on them during this period. There should be no stumps, boards or various objects suitable for arranging an anthill on the site.

Now you know how to prevent ants from appearing on cabbage and in your garden. We hope that this information will help protect your garden from pests and get a good harvest.

Signs and symptoms of cabbage insect damage

The leaves of seedlings are the first to react to damage. Aphids settle on the lower part of the leaf blade and drain the life-giving power of the plant. Over time, the leaf becomes transparent and light. A sticky mixture forms on the surface, which ants adore. The leaves are deformed and curled. At the first sign they fight pests. The ants will leave on their own, since there will be no food for them.

If the top part of the cabbage looks healthy, but falls down as if cut down, the cause may be an anthill. Its location can be right in the hole, close to it. When getting to their home, ants leave paths. If a young succulent root is caught on the way, insects spoil the root system.

Plant protection methods

If the owner notices that ants are eating cabbage, it is urgent to choose a method to combat the pest. Experienced summer residents identify the following methods:

Source

How to remove from the site

Ants are removed using various methods:

physical;
chemical;
combined;
industrial pesticides.

How to save culture is up to you.

Physical

In autumn and winter they dig deep into the soil. First remove all objects where a colony could settle: rags, old boards, tree stumps. During the digging process, you may encounter an anthill. When the queen is removed from the nest, the worker ants will leave the area.

Before planting, treat the soil with a solution: add 10 grams of soda and 60 grams of linseed oil to a bucket of water. In the summer, they constantly loosen the soil and fill the insect passages with soda, ash or mustard.

Chemical

Poisoned baits are placed on the site: boric acid with honey or jam, sugar.

They prepare decoctions with herbs - mint, garlic, mustard, wormwood - that repel ants.

Combined

Prepare a deep pan or any container, cover the bottom with a dark cloth. Pour a viscous sweet liquid on top: syrup, jam, honey. Place the dishes near the anthill. Not only the ants, but also the queen will end up here irrevocably.

Industrial pesticides

If you don’t want to fight ants using safe methods, industrially produced pesticides will come to the rescue. There is a wide choice, but do not forget about safety precautions. Be careful with poisons if you have children or pets in the house.

Cabbage whites

Already in early May you can see a white-winged butterfly with black spots on its wings fluttering merrily from plant to plant. But the vegetable grower is not too happy about such a beauty, because the voracious caterpillars of the cabbage butterfly can severely damage cabbage heads, often making them completely unfit for consumption. First, the caterpillars of the white butterfly eat the lower part of the leaves, and then move inside the head of cabbage, gnawing passages in it and leaving traces of their vital activity.

Protection:

The simplest means of control is to periodically inspect the leaves from the underside and manually collect caterpillars and egg clutches. Most pests can be destroyed by predatory insects and birds. Spraying with chemicals should be carried out only in large areas, where manual collection is impossible.

Another way to protect against cabbage whites is to cover the beds with agrofibre. The covering material reliably hides the cabbage from the butterfly's field of view and creates a microclimate that is very beneficial for plant growth.

Also, quite often, gardeners use a distracting maneuver for protection: they install low twigs between the cabbage plants, on which they put a white eggshell. This is a kind of signal for the white butterfly - there is already a competitor on the site!

Choosing an ant repellent

Industry and craftsmen offer many ways to get rid of ants on your property. If the question is how to treat crops, soil without harm to humans and plants, these are folk remedies. Aggressive but fast-acting drugs are pesticides.

Folk

The simplest method is repellent herbs. There are plants whose scent ants cannot stand:

garlic cloves;
carnation;
valerian;
onion;
marigold;
laurel;
parsley.

The plants are laid out between cabbage rows, planted on the plot, and decoctions are made from them.

Infusion from tomato tops

Due to the solanine content in the tops, ants die. For preparation you will need 10 liters of hot water, 4 kilograms of tops. Leaves and stems of tomatoes are finely chopped and poured with boiling water. After 2 days, filter and spray the cabbage.

The following substances are used to combat ant paths:

lime + tree bark + ash;
bone flour;
mustard powder;
coarse salt;
wood ash;
ground red pepper;
soot;
tobacco dust;
cinnamon powder.

Destruction of anthills

Simple means help you get rid of your home. Fill the anthill:

boiling water;
sunflower oil;
kerosene.

Potato peelings are scattered around the anthill. Their body is not able to digest starch, the insects die. The plots are fenced with ditches filled with water and small bricks.

Chemical

Pesticides contain diazolin or chlorpyrifos, which can kill insects. The first component, diazolin, blocks enzymes that make the nervous system work. Convulsions appear and the ant dies. The substance enters the roots of the plant and protects the plant from pests for 3 weeks.

Chlorpyrifos acts through the respiratory apparatus, paralyzing the nervous system. The result is death. The substance stays in the soil for 3 months and protects the plant from ants for 1-2 months.

Commonly used anti-ant drugs:

Antiant;
A great warrior;
Grom-2;
Absolute;
Medvetox;
Delicia;
Ant-eater;
Ant;
Muratox.

Effective drugs allow you to get rid of ants in the shortest possible time.

Causes of dandruff

The epidermis of the scalp must be regularly renewed, and normally this happens unnoticed either by the person himself or by others. With dandruff, there are too many exfoliated scales.

Most often, the culprit is the yeast-like fungi Malassezia. They live in the scalp of every person, but when the body works well, they do not show themselves in any way. However, as soon as the glands begin to produce more sebum, they become activated and actively multiply, causing irritation, itching and dandruff.
Increased activity of the sebaceous glands is often provoked by stress. Negative emotions suppress the immune system, as a result of which the body malfunctions and produces more fat, which fungi take advantage of. In this case, itching of the scalp is also felt. Moreover, the more a person itches, the more the need for this action increases. Dandruff that appears can further aggravate stress, turning into a psychological problem.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract also cause dandruff, as does poor nutrition, in which the body does not receive enough minerals and trace elements.
Dandruff can occur when the scalp becomes too dry. Such conditions arise from frequent use of a hairdryer turned on at high temperature, too dry air in the apartment, or the use of cosmetics with a drying effect. In this case, the scales are not very large and abundant.
Dandruff can also be caused by an allergic reaction, which manifests itself in the form of contact dermatitis, accompanied by severe itching. This reaction occurs to cosmetics, fragrances, materials from which hats, hair jewelry, and hair styling devices are made.
Unpleasant symptoms also appear with insufficient head hygiene. There is still an opinion among people that it is impossible to wash it too often. This approach is only relevant for dry hair, while oily hair needs this procedure more, since fat is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. At the same time, there is no clear answer to the question of how many times a week you need to wash your hair. It all depends on the type of skin, hair and styling products used. In any case, there is no need to wait until the hair sticks together. They should be cleaned with traditional good quality liquid shampoo, not dry aerosol shampoo. The latter serves as an emergency aid when your hair needs to be urgently tidied up before some unexpected event, since it itself can provoke dandruff.

Rules for processing bushes

After using pesticides, the question of how to get rid of the “orderlies” from the fields will not arise. Certain rules must be followed:

Observe treatment intervals. Instructions are included with each drug.
Do not overdose the product.
Spray after the dew has subsided or in the evening. The weather should be calm.
Use protection for your body and eyes.
Do not allow children or pets into the area.
After work, wash your clothes and rinse your mouth with soda solution.
Dispose of any remaining pesticides.
Process cabbage 30 days before harvest.
Pay attention to the expiration date.
Buy chemicals in a specialized store, do not take them from your hands.

Compliance with the requirements will help not harm the plant and maintain your health.

Electronic cigarettes won't help

Often, in an attempt to reduce nicotine addiction, people switch to electronic cigarettes. Alas, as recent research shows, this is far from a harmless device. Such devices support ritualistic behavior and contain nicotine [].

WHO does not recognize e-cigarettes as nicotine replacement therapy [].

Evidence-based medicine also questions acupuncture. This method involves inserting needles under the skin to relieve symptoms caused by withdrawal. For those who may find this process unpleasant, there are sham needles that do not penetrate the tissue. According to clinical studies, such therapy does not provide the desired result [].

Frequency of procedure

Herbal decoctions are used every 3 days for 15 days. Subsequently, the crop is sprayed once a month for preventive purposes. Poisoned baits are prepared every day and displayed for a month. When using chemicals, it is enough to carry out 1-2 treatments per season.

Maximum - three sprays, if the drug does not affect a certain type of insect.

Potent poisons are used after planting cabbage seedlings in open ground. The main thing is not to overdo it with the dosage, combine the ingredients according to the instructions. During cabbage ovaries, folk remedies or harmless drugs are used.