Ants on my yelow squash plants, what to do?

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Mredd00 Virginia Beach, VA Jun 12, 2015

Should I be worried about ants (black) on my squash plants? Do I just leave them alone.....I read one time that they are after another insect or eggs of one. Can I use a insect soap on the plant?

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 12, 2015

Ants themselves are not eating the plant.
But ants can take care of aphids the same way that we take care of cattle.
The ants get some sugary stuff the aphids produce (called honeydew) and the aphids are sucking the juice out of the plant.

So, control the ants to minimize the aphids.
I know that insecticidal soaps will work on aphids, I have not tried them on ants. Go for it!
If the ants do not come back, then that is fine. But if they keep coming back you may have to find the nest and destroy it.

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jmc1987 Cascade, VA(Zone 7a) Jun 12, 2015

also if you are only seeing them on the flowers, the ants are probably just after the flower nectar

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stephanietx Fort Worth, TX(Zone 8a) Jun 14, 2015

Those little black ants are excellent pollinators, so I just leave them be. They don't really do much damage. Now, if you have larger ants or see a mound, then it's time to do something about them.

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MaypopLaurel Cleveland,GA/Atlanta, GA(Zone 7b) Jun 14, 2015

Ants also drink the guttatation (a watery sap like plant sweat that some plants high in moisture exude) along the leaf edges doing no harm. I personally have never had squash botheted by aphids.

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