What do I do to stop those big red ants from eating my rose leaves?

My go to ant fighter is a mixture of sugar and borax. Sprinkle it along their path, the ants take it back to their nest, and the borax ends up killing the ants. Good luck!!

Plant 'garlic & chives' around the roses. This also helps protect the roses from other bugs.

The two suggestions above are good. Borax is deadly to ants, but unless you mix it with something for them to bring back to the nest you won't get rid of them all. Cinnamon will also deter the ants, put a circle of cinnamon around the base of the plant. I would also suggest checking the plants themselves for aphids, ants will farm the aphids for their honey dew. The honey dew will attract mold so look under the leaves for the aphids check for black spots. If you spot aphids, tiny insects, spray them off with a powerful spray of water. They rarely climb back up on the plants.

Thank you, Shoshana. I will be trying this as soon as I get the borax.

Jean.

Your problem isn't the ants, it's aphids. Ants feed on aphids Using dish soap and water to spray your roses will kill the aphids that the ants are being attracted to. They're only there enjoying it all because of the aphids. Once they're gone, the ants move on. Before it rains or while its raining, take a cheap bottle of dish soap and wizz it around on the ground about 5 ft from and up to and under the bushes. Its a quick fix. Repeat every few weeks or once a month. All kinds of aphids like roses, including the main rose-attacking aphids, rose aphids. Aphids suck the sap out of the rose tissues and they excrete a sweet material, called honeydew, that attracts ants and ants protect aphids from some of their natural predators. The honeydew promotes black mold on roses bushes. Although a healthy rose bush can withstand a moderate number of aphids, they reproduce quickly and extensive infestations can cause substantial harm. In warm climates, aphids may reproduce year-round. Dish soap ONLY! It removes the wax on the aphids and kills them. Don't forget to spray your bushes!!

I use borax and sugar, mix them up 50/50 and sprinkle around the base of the rose bushes, The sugar draws them and the borax kills them.