ants

[Elgin]

 Ants will not "keep down the green fly" quite the opposite - ants farm greenfly and other aphids.  Aphids such the sap from plamts and then excrete a sweet stick fluid with ants love - so much so that that they will put aphids on your plants and the guard them against predators (ladybirds etc.).

[maireh]

Thank you, falcon, will have a go.

[falcon]

Maybe you should use a systemic pesticide on the roses
If you look up "ant" on a browser you find that they have massive colonies up to 100 million ants that leaves huge hole when they leave as you will find in the campo when a large hole appears

[maireh]

It worries me as well.  I have millions of them all over my rose bushes. I did think they would keep down the greenfly and so didn't worry... but now, not so sure as my rose buds don't seem to be opening as they should.

[falcon]

If you have fruit trees they can devistate the fruit better to put an insect band round the tree trunk
You can make a band out of sticky tape or simply cover a small strip of the trunk with vaseline
I assume that as they take so much material underground that any damage done to the treat is compensated for by the fertilzer effect

[beverley man]

HI question do ants damage plants  or do they do some good as i have never had so many as this year. thans peter