Corn – Ants

Q: I have some ants that are congregating at the top of my corn tassels. I’ve seen that mineral oil may rid me of them; your thoughts?

A: Ants congregate on corn to eat honeydew from aphids and sometimes to attack small corn earworms on the tip of the ear. Mineral oil might kill the earworms but it probably won’t hurt the ants. Instead, spray the ears with spinosad (Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew, etc) to kill both ants and aphids.