occidentalis Posted March 24, 2003 I have a serious ant problem in my house and garden. One of my very SDpecial plants has a bad infestation in the pot. I repotted last week but they appear to be coming back with a vengeance. They are excavating tunnels through the soil in the pot and generally causing trouble. The plant is not looking particularly well but got knocked around a bit in the summer heat so I don't know if the ants are to blame or not. Actually I wonder if ants could be beneficial to a point because they aerate and possibly fertilise the soil. Obviously if they dig too much you end up without any soil in the pot which would be a problem. What do you all think? Does anyone know any good ways of getting rid of the bastards? I would prefer not to use poisonous chemical shite, especially if it is likely to be taken up by the plant, but if it is the only option I will consider it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
infinite_monkey Posted March 25, 2003 i do agree i also have a small ant problem and the little bastards keep bringing in aphids, apparently garlic is meant to be good, although i have found submerging the pot for a few hours with a little bit of a detergent in the water seems to do the trick, oh and i mean a really really small bit of detergent so as to not burn the roots, you just want enough to break surface tension so it can get all through the pot and in the little bastards chambers, a drop or two per bucket is usually enough Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nabraxas Posted March 25, 2003 "sex music for ant people"- i actually have a big soft spot for ants- growing up in the jungle. (note- i am refering to black ants, -fire ants or crazy yellow ants[?] must be dealt w/by the proper authority) they probably aren't doing your plants much good- they like to farm & milk the aphids, or if you've used 'blood & bone' in your potting mix they'll be taking that. try cutting their route to your pots by surrounding them w/a chemical barrier- ants follow chemical scent trails, so if you use a mix ov garlic/tobacco/chilli- that should confuse them. or try putting something more attractive down for them, like honey- so they goto that instead. as for ants in the house- you're lucky. black ants will stop mice, rats, birds, possums & termites from invading your home. as long as you keep your shelves, cupboards etc clean- keep sweet things in antproof containers etc, i know they still swarm over the rubbish bin & you'll see 'em around water- looking for a drink?- but really i don't think they should be much ov a problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Posted March 30, 2003 I was living somewhere recently and had a cacti colection in large pots. I used to feed them bones, meat scraps, watermelon rind, and various things. This attracted many ants and they had nests in the pots. I reckon ants are cool and I enjoy having them living with me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plantsoma Posted March 31, 2003 I have had some ant problems and read that crushing pennyroyal (mint family) leaves and sprinkling around keeps them away. I tried it and it seems to keep the ants away from my plant pots. Im not sure if this can help your soil problem, but a natural solution based on this might work with some more experimenting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted March 31, 2003 the elephant ate too much acacia and the ants attacked... the phant shook off all the ants but, charly... he was hanging on... and the crowd of ants everywhere started shouting: charly, chooke him! ants realy keep the worst pests off. i like how ants build shelter for amphids on mitragyna speciosa... ants, they know whats good, they even have burriel chambers, storage rooms, eggs under moved/cleaned pots after seconds... shamans learn from all. [ 31. March 2003, 15:25: Message edited by: planthelper ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tree Posted October 25, 2003 quote: i like how ants build shelter for amphids on mitragyna speciosa... I have black ants on mine at the moment. They seem to congregate on the leaves (and around any scale). How do they effect the health of the plant. Your comments are appreciated. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slarty Fart Blaster Posted October 25, 2003 If you have ants why not accept it and give them their own plants as food sources and hope that that keeps them happy. nectaries Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr b.caapi Posted October 25, 2003 i know excactly where your comin from creach! damn insects!!! every morning i enter my hothouse i pick of about ten or so slugs from my HBWR! then i go to my brugmansia and pick of a dozen inch-worms then i go to my ipomoeas and pick of a dozen inch-worms. when i get home from work i enter my hothouse and kill ants, spray gnats. then i go to my brugmansia and ....pick of more fu$#$%# inch-worms. arrgghhhhhh! it never ends!!! its a constant battle. then aphids come along and its a whole new ball game. last year aphids spread from some hibiscus we have to my chillis. my better half made up a detergent/garlic/chilli deterrent which worked. then the next generation came along and it didnt even shake `em. >sigh< my poor ,poor babies. one day we will all be free from those nasty no good insects. who just happen to be part of the food chain and eco system,but we wont go into that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest d0tb0y Posted October 25, 2003 I had this problem the past few days with my catha edulis and trich's. I banged the pots on the ground to make the dudes scurry out of the pot, then i put it in a pot-saucer (dont know what they are called?) and filled it with 1cm of water. They don't even TRY to bride the gap. Also, i think 1cm of water at the bottom isnt an issue even for plants that are meant to be kept dry, it is mostly evaporated by sun instead of sucked up by the soil/roots Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thelema Posted October 25, 2003 black ants are OK, but creach, if you have brown coastal ants then you have to get rid of the fuckers. they wont do you any good at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smogs Posted October 25, 2003 if you want to get rid of them (i like ants also but big infestations are really anoying) just buy a product called "antrid" it works VERY well. you put a few drops on a bit of plastic or something and they come and take it back to their nest and the nest dies (yes cruel but sometimes you have no choice!) OR if you have some borax... just mix it with a bit of honey (does the same thing pretty much) thats if you want to get rid of them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rev Posted October 25, 2003 drown the fuckers submerge the pot in water to drive them out for a day then followup with baits of borax and sugar or antrid to clean up the nests. ants are cool but in moderation and when thet wont stay in the pavement and decide to take up a holiday house with SD - theyve got to be evicted Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
occidentalis Posted October 25, 2003 It's not really a problem anymore, once summer was over they kind of dispersed, and the SD is no longer with us... This summer I think I'll keep as many potted plants as possible on a table and stick the feet of the table in buckets of water. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skulking Lurker Posted October 26, 2003 If anyone else has this problem. Get some Imidacloprid (Confidor powder). Mix to the specifications, and flood your pots with the solution. It disables the pest's defence against common soil-borne fungi, and they basically succumb to them. I use it for fungus gnats, termites, ants, and anything that's giving me the shits. Has no visible effects on plants. [ 26. October 2003, 01:19: Message edited by: Skulking Lurker ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thelema Posted October 26, 2003 brown coastal ants will not touch ANTRID Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
