Ants on my potatoes

[Doggler]

One of my Maris Peer plants (in a barrel) seems to have an awful lot of ants climbing all over it and there are some little black bits all over where the flowers shoot. I'm at work so don't have a photo yet but can anyone tell me if the ants will affect the potatoes I'm hoping are growing in the soil?

[WiZeR]

ants do cause damage to plants, sucking the sap from the stems. However I should think the potatoes are tough enough to handle it. You could put some powder around the outside of the barrel if you wanted. This would stop them getting up to the plant but also keep the powder away from the soil.

[leona]

could the black bits be black fly and thats why the ants are there to collect the sap from them?

[Squirrel]

That was my thought when I read about the black bits!

[Doggler]

Ooh, perhaps. What do I do with black fly then? Organically of course

[Doggler]

Just had a closer look at the black beasties. They look like tiny little beetle/ticks rather than flies. Any advice on how to get rid of them?