Ants in my plants!

Actually they're in my tree! And i think they're eating it! Is this possible? They look like standard black ants but there are loads crawling up and down the trunk and on the leaves!
How can i get rid of them?

fiacha

What type of tree is it ?

The most common species in gardens is the Lasius Niger. They are well known for farming aphids for food. There is a steady stream of ants up and down my potato plants. They are keeping the aphids in the top leaves. No damage done by either.




These ants won't cause any damage to a tree. It's a waste of time trying to kill a colony now anyway. The nuptial flights have started, so the new queens will be spreading out to start new colonies. The existing workers will kill any new queens that arrive in their territory ( there is only one queen in a Lasius Niger colony). If you kill these ants, they will be replaced by a new colony when they emerge next spring.

I'd leave them alone and enjoy watching some of the most amazing creatures we get in our gardens

upaho

Aphids cause huge damage not only sucking the life from plants but also spreading virus among them. The ants farm them as a source of sugar. If you bait the base of the plant with some nice sugary substitute, jam honey or syrup the ants will eat that and see the aphids as a source of protein and will eat them. Keep them supplied with sugar and they will dispose of the aphids, then switch the jam to "Nippon Ant Bait" and that will destroy the ants in the nest.