Hello, everyone!

I have a two part question here, which may or may not be related:

I have problems with my Boston Ivy and I just can't figure it out. We've had it for 7 years, and for the last three summers, the leaves have been growing in beautifully green but shortly after they turn brown and crumble up.

They seem to turn brown from the inside out. (Photo included below.) It starts with holes in the leaves that overtake it, eventually it ends up just a crumbled brown dead leaf, as though it's a leaf at the end of autumn, if you know what I mean.

Any idea what might be causing this? I would hate to have to pull out the ivy plants (we have three) but I am worried that we have to start from scratch.

So the second part is that our backyard has a TON of ants. I read through all the message boards, and I know it's outside and the ants serve a purpose (versus having them indoors) but these guys are tiny, black and kind of aggressive. You can't step or sit near one of their paths without having your feet just overtaken by them.

Here's where my questions converge: So today, I was looking closely at the ivy and noticed that it's COVERED in ants, which all seem to be congregating around or moving toward these tiny white dots, which are in clumps on tendrils of the ivy. (Tried to include an image, wouldn't let me do two, will include in a separate post.)

Is any of this related? Would the ants be the reason that the ivy is dying? Or are these separate ailments?

Thanks in advance for your help. This is such a knowledgeable community, and I am so grateful for your time!