onz Posted February 15, 2007 hello. About 6 days ago it started to rain. Great. So I took my plants from the window sill and stuck'em outside. Problem was, when I went to retrieve my lycium I was astonished to find hundreds of ants had occupied the pot (porcelan) (16cm wide at top) and weren't happy with me moving it. Like many problems I just left it there hoping it'll fix itself. It didn't, and now my lycium is looking a quite upset. Are these ants a problem? They seem to be shifting the soil out from the bottom of the pot, and they're multiplying. I tried washing them off in saopy water, but there in the soil so i can't do much. The strange thing is the very same pot had a different plant in it 3 months ago and was infested by earwigs, I'm talking about a community of these bloody things!!! I successfully drowned the bastards but the ants are tougher. So what would attract ear-wigs and ants to the same pot, or is it just coincidence? Any help much appreciated, I already lost my Jiaogulan (and 2 others) from not telling my flatmates to water whilste i was away . I really really don't want to fail my goji plant. thanx heaps Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted February 15, 2007 Drown em! Put the bot in a bucket for 10 minutes. I doubt anything will survive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KlUe Posted February 15, 2007 Or you could do the island type fix where you can put the pot on a brick in a saucer or something to hold water in. Another thing I use is a poison granule product and water it through. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ace Posted February 15, 2007 Definately a combo of the two above - Apo's first then KlUes as a preventative for next time. But to get rid of em safely - just drown em in a big bucket full of water. Make sure the entire rootball and ideally the whole plant to get rid of em all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
onz Posted February 15, 2007 cheers guys, I already tried drowning them but the pot wasn't fully submerged and after 3 minutes I gave up, so I'll try again for 10 minutes. Poison granule product? Whats it called? I'll eventually be eating the fruit, is this safe. The ear-wigs are still tripping me out, I find them every now and then in dvd cases and such. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liftyourskinnyfists Posted February 18, 2007 (edited) good luck with your goji berry plants. I got mine last year, but I'll have to see if they make it through this winter. I think they are suppose to be able to handle 10-20 below F, but weve had a few days that have dropped to -30F. I hate this damn winter and can't wait for coming spring. I've considered moving to Australia, but I'm not sure I could put up with the orwellian book laws you have there. We certainly have our share of shitty laws in the US, but you can atleast buy and read any damn literature you want. I'm sure it would be a headache to try to get my cats and plants allowed in to. Surely some of you have nightmare stories of moving to OZ. If so, share them. Anyways good luck with your plants, I hope both of ours pull through, and sorry for getting so off topic. I have a way doing that. Edited February 18, 2007 by liftyourskinnyfists Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KlUe Posted February 18, 2007 cheers guys,I already tried drowning them but the pot wasn't fully submerged and after 3 minutes I gave up, so I'll try again for 10 minutes. Poison granule product? Whats it called? I'll eventually be eating the fruit, is this safe. The ear-wigs are still tripping me out, I find them every now and then in dvd cases and such. Munns lawn pest killer, along the lines of that. Its in a long tube. You'll find it in most nurseries. As for safeness of eating fruit... the product IS poisonous, make sure its all been washed through thoroughly before you consume any part of the plant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vapour Posted February 23, 2007 Why do you have to kill the ants? I used to live in an apartment with a balcony garden and after a while I noticed all kinds of other life being attracted to my plants, especially insects and fungi. I soon learned that it was pointless trying to fight them. Probably the most useful verse in the bible is proverbs 6:6 which says "go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise". there might be a reason why the ants are attracted to your lycium. Often ants are busy farming other insects like sap suckers - aphids or mealy bugs. Have a close look at your plant or the plants around it to see what the ants are interested in. If you remove the things the ants are interested in then the ants will go elsewhere for food. Maybe the last plant that the pot contained was stressed by a detrimental fungus and was therefore attractive to earwigs. if the pot wasn't properly sterilised the lycium might now be suffering from the same fungal problem, particularly if it is overwatered, and could be vulnerable to other insect attack. My experience with ants is that they have lots of time and a collective sentience with immense processing power and inventiveness. They will always win. They won't harm your plants - but their forms of agriculture might. Maybe you could water the plants less or give them some sulphur and seasol to help fight the fungus. If you find the sap suckers you could manually remove them. pesticides should never be used if you plan to eat the fruits from the plant! No disrespect intended, and good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
onz Posted February 25, 2007 (edited) Vapour: Months ago when the ants first started cruising around our house, my flatmates were really pissed off about it but I was all like "let them cruise, they're just cleaning up the crums'n food that we drop". But after a while it became too much and you couldn't be in the lounge room or kitchen without having ants crawl all over your legs. What would the ants do if I started cruising around thier home? They wouldn't have put up with it as long as I've put up with them. So yes, the ants must die! Also it has no pests on it and I didn't want the ants to start farming. But the last plant I had in that pot practicly never grew, so the fungus theory sounds valid. However, due to the happy appearance of my Lycium I am to believe such a fungus is no longer there - and the ants are only after the water. Seasol is used. Poison is only a LAST resort. And in most (this case) cases won't be used. Ants are quite amazing creatures, but there fuck'n annoying. Edit: spelling Edited February 25, 2007 by onz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jesus On Peyote Posted February 25, 2007 (edited) Ah, ants have been invading my house since summer started and at first it wasent so bad but then they started fuking around in the kitchen around the food and iv started a guerrilla war against em, LET NONE LIVE! vermin. And i agree also,if your gonna consume any plant in any way dont use any poisonous chems unless the problem is way outa control Edited February 25, 2007 by Jesus On Peyote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vapour Posted February 26, 2007 "What would the ants do if I started cruising around their home?" We are cruising around their homes! Ants were here long before us and they also have a greater moral justification in that they perform a more valuable service to the biosphere than humans. Maybe the reason why urban "developed" people refuse to share their space with "pests", "weeds" and other "invaders" is because we identify with them and feel uneasy. They provide a mirror for us - and we don't like what we see! Love the ant! In indigenous cultures the ant is often considered sacred. For noongars in the southwest, minga the ant spirit is entrusted with looking after the dead and traditionally they are left to do their work unmolested. Interestingly noongars regard european settlers as "janga", which loosely translated means "the restless undead". Maybe that's why ants are so attracted to our houses? That and the fact that we have excess food which we leave lying around as an open invitation... Sorry to go about it Onz, I know this isn't really helping you with your problem. But as you say, the lycium is looking happy. I just thought it raised some interesting issues - the kind of stuff I get when communing with entheogenic plants. Acacia in particular has a deep and ancient partnership with ants. Or maybe this post belongs in the 'spirituality and philosophy' section... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benzito Posted February 26, 2007 cheers guys,I already tried drowning them but the pot wasn't fully submerged and after 3 minutes I gave up, so I'll try again for 10 minutes. Okay, easy solution to your problem: Submerge the pot FULLY for a good period of time. I say half an hour to be safe. The plant won't mind. Main problem: You haven't tried this simple solution yet. Try submerging the pot, as everyone is suggesting. I guarantee it will work. You can always put your pot-plants on a table, and put each table leg in a bucket of water. This should have your plants quite safe without increasing humidity, or affecting yuour watering schedule. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
onz Posted February 28, 2007 (edited) From my first post: "Like many problems I just left it there hoping it'll fix itself. It didn't, and now my lycium is looking a quite upset." I forgot to mention that a 15 minute bath eleminated the problem - it was a few days later my lycium started to look happy again. Vapour, I get the impression from your post you haven't had an invasion from ants before. C'mon mate, if you had ants crawling all over you and your dinner plate, coming out of the piping and taps in your bathroom, you wouldn't be talking the same as you are now. yes? As I said ants are incredibly amazing creatures - I agree with you whole heartedly - but that has nothing to do with wanting to watch TV in peace/eat dinner in peace/have a shower in peace/read forums in peace. I myself, don't leave any food out anymore - but my flatmates do, though I've tried telling them, its a fine line between constructive critisism and being bossy. Edit: I transplanted my lycium yesturday, and there was extreme water logging in the pot. The top 3/4 of the soil was dry, but the bottom 1/4 was like mud. Edited February 28, 2007 by onz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
