Ants using my Metroxylon to harvest Aphids

[sarasota alex]

For the last few weeks I've been noticing some Florida Carpenter Ant activity on and around my Metroxylon vitiense. Now that the tip of the new spear is out I can see that they've been busy harvesting Aphids. And the activity stretches all the way inside down to the meristem. I've manually removed what I could reach. Painful by the way. Of all the palms this could've happened to - it had to be a spiny Calamoid! Any recommendations on how to permanently fix this problem without harming the palm? 

[Zeeth]

I had issues with aphids and scale on some of my larger-leaf Pritchardias. Imidacloprid seems to work pretty well and it lasts a while if you get enough of the rootball. 

[PalmatierMeg]

An imidacloprid drench should kill off the aphids when they feed and can last 2-3 months. It's diluted (~12%) when sold as a liquid in garden centers. If you use it often consider buying Merit powder (75%) in 2 oz. bottles One bottle can make 100 gallons of liquid imidacloprid.

[sarasota alex]

Thanks Keith and Meg! Wouldn't I need to wait for them to hatch though before the systemic stuff would work? And also does that mean that I have an aphid infestation inside, if the spear emerged with these things?

[Steve Mac]

"permanently"  Haha, you have set a high bar there. For a permanent solution you would need to exterminate your ants permanently. What we do every couple of months preferably when no rain is expected is spray onto the plant and into the gap between the leaf and stem 'Outdoor surface spray'. We have used several brands and not done any damage to any of our plants. We usually target any areas where we see ants at the same time. This is the easiest and cheapest way for us to control aphids, we just control the ants.

[PalmatierMeg]

3 hours ago, sarasota alex said:

Thanks Keith and Meg! Wouldn't I need to wait for them to hatch though before the systemic stuff would work? And also does that mean that I have an aphid infestation inside, if the spear emerged with these things?

The drench does take time to be absorbed through the roots, so yes. In the meantime, you could apply a topical spray of insecticidal soap if you don't want to broadcast insecticides all over the palm.