Allotments 4 All

Should I just leave them to get on with it or should I use something to clear them all off the plants?
If I need to clear them what should I use?
Thanks for any advise

The ants are "milking" the black aphid/fly which are sucking your globe artichokes dry.

Get rid of them....the aphid not the artichoke!

This happened to us last year. We were about to spray when the ladybirds arrived and cleaned up the lot. Within a few days, no blackfly! I haven't had to spray at all this year.

Leave it for a day or two and see what happens. (If nothing does, do something about it yourself!)

Thanks Trevor &  Fork
I will leave for a couple of days then my counter attack will begin in earnest LOL
Reckon the blackfly have migrated from my infested nasturtiums...sigh!

manicsousers ordered ladybird larvae somewhere online. Can't remember where though! ??? ???www.greengardener.co.uk The bain works slowly but gets there in the end. ;)

They're unsightly but don't do much harm. I always seem to get the off broad bean which is absolutely covered, but they still produce beans.

Thanks grawrc I like the idea of using ladybirds

Thanks Robert hopefully they wont do much harm to my crops either, i swing from wanting to retaliate to thinking I should let nature get on with it LOL   

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on June 15, 2008, 20:07:21
They're unsightly but don't do much harm. I always seem to get the off broad bean which is absolutely covered, but they still produce beans.

Herded blackfly have done a lot of damage to my runner beans but then they're not as robust as broad beans or artichokes

companion planting might work for some, such as growing tansy nearby, can get invasive but the blackfly love it and will detract them from your more precious crops

Bl**dy birds ate all my marigolds  >:(

The ants will attack aphid predators in order to protect their flock. I use horticultural glue, or vasaline around the base of the stem to keep the ants off and allow the predators to do their work without attack from ants.