I have a very clever nest of ants in my garden who have been farming aphids. They started on my cucumbers, which was no biggie because organic neem oil wiped out the aphid population. Seeking a change of venue for their sap sucking, sweet excreting crop, the ants moved aphids to my Vigna Caracalla (corkscrew vine). I saw an ant proudly carrying her little cash crop up the vine; they both were promptly squished.

Who knew ants could exhibit such ingenuity...

My problem is twofold:

1. They have set up their farm INSIDE the vigna flowers, and

2. Vigna caracalla is pollinated by ants.

I can't get inside the flowers with the neem oil because of the corkscrew shape, and they do not appreciate being sprayed with neem. I don't want to kill the ants, because then the vine won't be pollinated, thus no seed pods this year. The aphids are sucking the sap from the flowers, which drop quickly with no hope of seed pods forming. A Catch 22 perhaps...

So, the question is, do I need to spray the neem directly on the aphids to kill them, or if it is on the leaves will that be sufficient to disrupt them? I always spray the tops and undersides of leaves when I use neem, and since this is not possible, is it even worth it?

In your experience, does neem kill little black ants (I'm in Nor. Cal)? I've read mixed things online, and never tried it myself.

Spraying them with water isn't feasible either (I know this is a common approach).

Thanks for your time and feedback!