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Ants on peppers are problematic. Not because they eat peppers or cause much damage themselves, but primarily because they encourage and nurture aphids. And it’s not just pepper plants. Almost any plant in your vegetable garden is at risk from this fascinating, freaky, and frustrating symbiotic relationship.
Basically, ants “farm” an aphid infestation on your pepper plants, protecting them from predators and catering to their every whim. It’s the aphids that cause the damage to your pepper plants. They suck out nutrients from the plant, causing all kinds of problems from stunted growth to lack of fruit. The ants eat the honeydew the aphids create. And your pepper plants suffer. Thankfully, there are a number of natural ways you can control both ants and aphids to minimize damage and keep your peppers healthy.
Do Ants Eat Pepper Plants?
Ants do not eat the peppers themselves, but instead eat the sweet honeydew produced by the aphids that feed off of the plant’s leaves and stems. If you’ve got ants on pepper plants, there’s a strong chance you’ve got an aphid infestation. And it’s the aphids that are causing the damage to your plants. Young pepper plants are more likely to succumb to aphid damage, but mature pepper plants are also at risk, but take longer to be irreparably damaged.
So, while ants don’t eat pepper plants, they do cause significant damage as a by-product of nurturing aphid colonies. Therefore, taking steps to get rid of ants naturally is critical for keeping your peppers healthy.
One notable exception is the leafcutter ant. These ants cut away sections of leaves and carry them back to their colonies. But they don’t actually eat the pepper plant leaves. Instead, they use the leaf sections to grow a specific fungus that they need to feed their young. And, in small numbers, leafcutter ants aren’t that problematic to mature pepper plants, but they can quickly kill young plants who don’t have enough foliage to withstand lots of leafcutter activity.
Also, if you fail to harvest all your peppers and any fall and start to rot, you’ll likely notice ants crawling on them, feeding on the natural sugars that are exuded from overripe and rotting pepper fruits.
When Do You Need to Take Action to Save Your Peppers From Ants?
There’s no reason to hate ants. They can be useful, to a degree. While having some ants in the garden isn’t always bad, an ant infestation quickly becomes problematic. If you notice an increase in ant activity around your pepper plants, then this is an indication they may have found a source of food or shelter nearby. So be vigilant. And, if you see the beginnings of an aphid problem and ants, it’s time to act. If you have both, you’ll need to employ multiple tactics for controlling aphids naturally, as well as getting rid of ants.
The Ant-Aphid Mutualistic Relationship
Ants farm aphids. It’s weirdly fascinating, kind of gross, and is essentially an insect horror movie. Yes, farmer ants, or worker ants farm aphids, providing protection from predators, carrying them around to new feeding locations, and generally caring for them.
The ant aphid connection is the perfect example of mutualism. Both species benefit from the relationship, and your pepper plants suffer.
Ants have been known to actively protect aphids from predators such as ladybugs or lacewings due to the mutually beneficial relationship between these two species. Aphids will produce a sweet substance called honeydew that is attractive to thirsty ants and acts as a reward for protecting them. This relationship means that if your pepper plants are hosting aphids then you may also find an abundance of ants nearby too.
Some ant species farm terrestrial aphids while others farm colonies of root aphids belowground. The ones you’ll see are the terrestrial aphid farms on the stems and the undersides of pepper plant leaves. You’ll notice ants crawling around and over these aphid colonies, defending them and playing nursemaid. What you don’t see is how the ants control the aphids. Several ant species bite off aphid wings so they can’t escape. Some use pheromones that control aphids. And they’ll eat aphid eggs as well as old or ill aphids, too.
And, to get rid of ants, you need to get rid of aphids. We’re not necessarily talking about killing ants, just deterring them and getting their population down to a manageable level.
Do Ants Kill Pepper Plants?
No, ants don’t generally kill pepper plants. Although leafcutter ants can cause so much damage that immature pepper plants do die. But, because ants team up with aphids, they do cause issues and weaken pepper plants, making them susceptible to other pests as well as leaving them open to disease and infection.
How Do I Keep Ants off My Pepper Plants?
You’ve got a few options for keeping ants off your pepper plants. One of the key tactics is to get rid of the aphids. But don’t use chemicals, please. Aphids are notoriously resistant to chemical pesticides, and those toxic chemicals pollute the ground and water, and they don’t discriminate – they’ll kill any insect, good or bad, along with birds and mammals.
The best way to get rid of aphids is to wash them off with the hose or a spray bottle. Aphids aren’t good at climbing and can only fly very short distances (or not at all if the ants bite off their wings). If you take away the aphids, you’ll stand a good chance of also getting rid of the ants.
Companion Planting
You can also repel ants on pepper plants with clever companion planting choices. Aside from deterring ants, companion planting peppers provides lots of other benefits, too.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is one of my favorite methods of controlling ants naturally. Food grade DE, like this good value offering, is safe to use in the garden, around pets, humans, and wildlife and is an effective way to kill ants without resorting to harsh chemicals. Diatomaceous earth dries out the ants by slicing their exoskeletons, killing them from the outside in. And, because it clings to them, as they head back to their colony, they carry it with them, passing it on to other members of the colony.
Is it a little brutal? Yes.
Is it effective? Very!
With DE, you can sprinkle it around the base of your plants or around the edges of beds in the vegetable garden. The other option is to mix it with powdered sugar and set it out as a natural ant killer in a bait station close to the nest.
Neem Oil
Neem oil is a great insecticide that both kills and deters ants. And it’s dog and human safe. But it’s toxic to cats. And it will kill other insect pests, too. But, thankfully, it doesn’t harm pollinators.
However, if you have cats, I strongly recommend you choose another option. I, for example, have two cat “helpers”, so I don’t use neem oil. I do, however, use neem leaf powder, which is safe for cats, to sprinkle around the edges of my vegetable garden beds.
To use neem oil, mix around 500 mls, or 16 oz of water with half a teaspoon of raw, cold pressed neem oil (this is a pretty good option), and a few drops of mild dish soap. I use castile soap like Dr. Bronner’s, because it’s a natural product. Put the mixture in a spray bottle, give it a good shake and go spray your pepper plants, paying particular attention to the underside of the leaves.
Other Options to Deter Ants on Pepper Plants
There are many other options for controlling an ant population. The key is to get on top of your ant problem without harming beneficial insects.
My favorite methods for controlling the ant population and other “bad” bugs in your garden, aside from those listed above, include:
- Using trap crops (in this case, you’d plant crops that aphids can’t resist to lure both the aphids and the ants to those plants and away from your peppers).
- Ground cinnamon powder – ants hate it and will not cross it, so it’s a good option for sprinkling liberally around your garden beds.
- 50/50 white vinegar and water solution – this will deter ants because of the strong scent. It also destroys their pheromone trails.
- Cayenne pepper destroys ants’ pheromone trails and leaves them unable to navigate back to the pepper plants.
- Nematodes are one of the most effective natural remedies to kill ants that I’ve encountered. You can buy ant nematodes online and release them in your garden and they’ll quickly destroy the ant population. But it’s not permanent. And a new colony will eventually move in.
Caution With Natural Pest Control
Not using chemicals is brilliant for the health of your soil, the planet, and your loved ones. But just because something is chemical-free doesn’t mean it’s a good choice.
Sticky traps, for example, are cruel and can trap beneficial insects like pollinators, spiders, ladybugs, and more. Please don’t use them unless you’ve exhausted other options.
And try to avoid indiscriminate natural remedies, like chrysanthemum dust, known as pyrethrin, as this kills insects of all types and is toxic to cats. Garlic fire spray is another homemade option that’s incredibly effective, but it kills most insects, good and bad.
So please, stop and think before you use anything on or around your pepper plants that may do more harm than good.