Normally when my corn has ants it's because the ants are herding aphids on the corn tassels. Mineral oil applied to the ear silks (6-7 drops after pollination) may keep the ants at bay as it does my earworms and sap beetles.

Well actually I did not have any aphids last year, the ants were all over the garden and when the corn came up they went to eating it they ate all the kernals off of most of the ears.

Dale

I have never seen this problem before, however I would think an application of Sevin spray would kill all the ants even on the ground.

Ants (especially "cornfield ants") are quite common in corn. While they often raise aphids on the plant (such as inside the husks, or on the tassels) they also build nests underneath the plants & raise large numbers of aphids on the roots. Look for their hills (or holes) in the ground near the stalks.

Ants & their aphid "cows" are not usually more than an annoyance on the corn... they do not chew on or damage the corn. But they CAN spread aphids to other plants throughout the garden. If the ant-carried aphids become too numerous, or if they are spreading disease plant-to-plant, then the ants will need to be dealt with first in order to control the aphids.

Occasionally, carpenter ants will enter the garden, and they can cause real damage. Unlike most ants, they will chew on & destroy some plants. A GW member posted photos last year of carpenter ants building nests inside corn stalks. Besides, they infested my garden once (from a nearby woodpile) and their bites are not to be taken lightly.

When disease has forced me to kill ants in the vegetable garden to halt the spread of infected aphids, I prefer the use of ant baits. These are placed under covers (to both keep them dry, and prevent "friendlies" from eating the poison). The bait kills the queen, then the nest, after which I remove it. This method is target-specific (only kills ants), highly effective, and is a safer alternative (in the food garden) to the use of more toxic measures. Of course, the use of _any_ poison in the vegetable garden should be only as a last resort.

But Pod, I don't believe the catastrophic damage you describe was caused by ants. Once the husks have been torn open & the kernels damaged by other pests (raccoons or birds, for example) the ants will feed on the sweet sap; but I think you are missing the real culprit. Raccoons will usually pull some of the ears down. If the ears were still upright with the husks shredded, I would first suspect birds - probably blackbirds.

Yes, you can believe that the damage comes from the ants.

After my corn seeds were planted, I noticed a fine

powdery substance on the ground. The ants were eating/

destroying the seed.

The next planting, I sprinkled cornmeal in the rows and

kept the ants busy until the corn sprouted and more around

the stalks

until harvest. The corn left on the stalks were over-ran

with ants. I assume they are fireants.

zeedman, actually the ants were the only cause of the problem the ears looked perfect until you peeled back the husk and they were loaded with ants caught in the act of eating.

Dale

I have also learned that ants can cause damage and kill plants. Some like to call them beneficials, I do not consider them beneficial when they eat my produce or kill my plants, and as some others have mentioned, sometimes it is obvious and no chance that it was "accidental" or scavaging operations.
That is my .02
Bill P.

Well, well... you learn something new every day.

I knew carpenter ants were destructive, and have heard the same said of fire ants by people I know in the South... so no argument there. But this is the first that I have heard about Northern ants (other than the carpenters) destroying vegetables directly. Never in all my years gardening - in Washington, California, and Wisconsin - have I had small ants cause damage to mature plants.

It seems there's a piece missing from this puzzle... Dale, did you by any chance take any photos? Could you describe the ants? I would like to identify the species responsible.

I _have_ seen ants within the husk on some of my corn, but they were attacking earworms that were near the tip. It was fascinating to watch... those earworms really put up a fight.

Since I live just across the Lake from you in Wisconsin, I hope those corn-eating ants don't come my way!

No pics but they were just the small brown ones that are a nuisance everywhere. I was thinking that because they only did it to one of the two varieties that I'm growing that maybe it was just a very sweet corn.

Dale

zeedman, that's how I'll take care of ants too. Terro bait is cheap and easy to use for sweet loving ants.

{{gwi:10227}}

I live in the south and we have fire ants. They can not live in close contact with any other living thing so far as I know. I have not had them eat plants because they are opportunistic and seem to prefer other living things, from small insects ot baby livestock and wild game. Where there are lots of them they kill off the turkey, quail, deer etc and in also baby calves, horses etc., given the opportunity. I have read that if you have lots of fire ants, they will eat all the ticks and chiggers so I guess that would be one beneficial act, at whatever cost.

The ants that killed my plants were the little black ants that frequent okra. They occasionally bore a hole in a pod of okra near the base, causing it to become deformed and curl over. However the most damage was when they killed all my dill plants two years in a row, some other plants and a beautiful little miniature rose bush that I had growing in a planter box that I built for my wife. They did not eat the plants, but hollowed out all around the roots making their nests and tunnels to where the plants died from lack of being able to take up moisture or nutrients. It is hard to tell this, especially if there is mulch around the plants, until you see them wilting and investigate. By then the damage is done and it is too late.

I would also recommend some ant baits or control on the outter pereimeters of your beds. Other measures like keeping the ground moist and stirred up has a limited and temporary inpact on them.
That is my experience and first hand observations.
Bill P.

alrite well i just started planting some corn(sweet, blue, feild) just to experiment as its my first time growing plants. 2 months later i noticed the corn was already starting to polinate and mature but on the sweet corn, the leaves were covered with fire ants but them seem just to be in the same place.Why are they only on the sweet corn, will it hurt the plants, and how do i get rid of them? if it helps im in texas and its pretty hot and dry this time of year

I'm with Dale - no aphids and for 2 years in a row, the sugar (aka, piss) ants are devouring the kernels. I have read some about grits and maltomeal, but I view that as a pretty ineffective candidate. Maybe that is all I have, as I don't want to contaminate my crops w poison.

Sorry to disappoint y'all, but I am slowely losing my supersweet corn to the red devils too! AND yes, they are eating the corn, and have chewed the husks off to get to it! I am trying 'come-and-git-it' today, hopefully to checkmate these crumbs.

I have tried to upload a pic but doesn't come up?

I've also had issues with ants, they were eating some of the seeds I planted and were killing some newly sprouted corn

My sprouted corn were fighting but after reading the comments, I'm heading out to pull from the garden was trying nutrients to hold on while using need oil every 7 days. No luck now seeing what's happening to my purple peas.... I'm thinking corn damage relation the ants are everywhere!