How do I deter ants from citrus trees. 

• The ants are there feeding off honey dew excreted by sap sucking insects such as scale insect, aphids or mealy bug. 
• To get rid of the ants, you need to get rid of the insect pests that are attracting them.
• Scale insect will look like small raised bumps on the stem and underside of leaves and could be brown or cream coloured.
• Aphids will be on the growing tips and new shoots, they are small insects that could be green, brown or black.
• Mealy bug are small white fluffy insects that are in leaf buds and around flowers.
• Scale insect, aphids and mealy bug can all be controlled with a pyrethrum based insecticide spray or botanical plant spraying oil, talk to your local garden centre or hardware store for a suitable control.
• Aphids can sometimes be controlled by hosing off or squishing between your fingers, this can sometimes be just as effective as sprays.
• Check for ant nests nearby by following the ants, they can be controlled using Ant Sand which they take back into their nest, available from Hardware stores and garden centres.

Read the Tui Citrus Grow Guide

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