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How to stop ants living amoung cacti

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Hey all, ive got a few ant nests which keep being moved from loph to loph, trich to trich. Ive flushed them out with water a couple of times. It makes them move on but they only move the next couple of pots over lol. Does anyone know of any natural ways to deter ants from plant pots? If not will ant poison harm my cacti in any way? Thanks, its time to fight back :)

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Ant sand, its a poison but its efficient.

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I find if you annoy them enough and don't have any food for them close to your pots they usually stay away

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Find granules sold from soil insects (they contain diazinon, typed on packet in small letters).

Add them to the top of the soil, and ants are gone.

P.S.- diazinon is not systemic, very low toxicity to humans, not water soluble, has no effect on plants.

Can be also used to kill mealy bugs.

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The ants like something in your soil. Give them something they dont like, Diatomaceous earth

Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, mild abrasive, mechanical insecticide

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If your plants are potted it might pay you to knock a few pots off (without disturbing the rootball) to check for the dreaded root mealys, the trail of ants often betrays their presence :ana:

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believe it or not the ants can live INSIDE your cactus... little buggers..

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The ants like something in your soil. Give them something they dont like, Diatomaceous earth

 

can this be added to the top of cactus planted in the ground and still be effective?

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believe it or not the ants can live INSIDE your cactus... little buggers..

 

Yep I've had this happen before

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have some inside a mike bridgesoid, looks similiar to termites in a way. Cunning little minds.

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Shit guys, i better act quick, ive got them nesting around a koehresii at the moment. Last couple of days they just keep on rebuilding. Ill go to bunnings tomorrow and see what i can find to do the job, quick n easy. Cheers for the info fellas :) And happy bday to ya jwert

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Thanks gt

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More info on insects killers.

I wrote about diazinon - it is very effective, and sold in granules and sand forms (about 5% active compound in preparations).

It is sold under different brand names - so it is needed to see on the packet what is is active compound.

Another effective insecticide (which is not harmful to birds - if you care) is deltamethrin - pyretroid, which kills insects in 2 minutes.

It is sold locally (where i live) by the name Decis (Bayer Crop protection). I have found, that is very effective (I also used diazinon) to kill mealy bugs, and every other bug (everything that crawls), and is not harmful to plants growth.

Dont use insectcides those contain imidacloprid to water plants, it is phytotoxic (it is now used very often).

I used this on home plants, and a lot of leaves on plants died and dropped.

P.S.- one more advice, because all insecticides are sold under brand name, look for what is typed in small letters, which substance they contain.

Better look for solid forms (not liquid concentrates), they dont contain phytotoxic additives.

Some liquids can contain kerosine, and malodorants.

You can read also this article: http://www.bugsaway.com/diazinon.htm

 

Alternative insecticides to Diazinon Granules

 

 

 

 

Millions of pounds of Diazinon and Dursban Granules are used in the United States each year for the treatment of various grass insects including beetle grubs, fleas, ticks and ants. Diazinon Granules contain an organophosphate type of insecticide and as such are fairly toxic to non-target wildlife. Birds especially are very susceptible if they feed on freshly applied Diazinon or Dursban granules. In addition Diazinon has been found in ground water in various parts of the country.

 

We recommend two very effective alternative granular formulations to Diazinon Granules. Both of these products are in the synthetic pyrethroid family of chemicals and as such are very safe to non-target wildlife, including birds. Below are descriptions for both of these products.

 

  • DeltaGard G (a.i. Deltamethrin): Deltagard is a granular insecticide which utilizes a unique, water soluble carrier. Its irregularly shaped granules dissolve completely (leaving no particles that might be picked up by birds and other non-target species!), delivering the maximum dose of DeltaGard to the target insects. Packaged in convenient 10 lb. bags which, at the treatment rate of just 2 lb. per thousand square feet, will treat 5000 square feet. This is considerably less than traditional granules, and means you carry a lot less bulk while still getting the job done properly. Normal residual is up to 4 weeks, depending on environmental conditions and targeted pests.
  • Talstar (a.i. Bifinthrin) Talstar is a synthetic pyrethroid that is available in both granular and liquid concentrate forms. It is very safe towards non-target animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals. Talstar lasts much longer than organophosphate pesticides such as Dursban, Diazinon, Malathion and Acephate. We have had many reported cases of Talstar controlling molecrickets for up to two months, chinch bugs, ants and fire ants for three months! Only 1 or 2 applications are needed each year for mole crickets. No special site preparation is needed when treating for mole crickets with Talstar. Talstar is very effective in controlling ants, fleas, mole crickets, chinch bugs and other turf and ornamental pests.

 

Edited by BBGONE

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boric acid mixed with sugar/or fats like peanut butter

de is a good topical treatment though

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I have this problem also atm , and yesterday purchased " ant granules " beleiving them to contain Diazonon . At home , with my reading specs on , I discover these particular granules contain Chlorpyrifos as the active ingredient . AFAIK chlorpyrifos is chemically related to Dieldrin , as is similarly very nasty stuff . I once worked for a huge wholesale nursery [ supplier to Bunnings , etc ] , and Chlorpyrifos was the only pesticide they used , and nothing lived on their plants whatsoever . To be fair , they sent plants all over Oz , and overseas , and would have had to meet stringent requirements to do so . Nevertheless , Chlorpyrifos was the only pesticide used in that nursery . Chlorpyrifos is also used as a long-acting termite poison for house stumps , etc , so it must persist in the environment for some time . I am going to return the unopened granules for something safer [ Diazonon ? ] , but would like to know more about chlorpyrifos - toxicity , persistence in soil , etc . Can anyone advise re : Clorpyrifos ? thanks , Tom

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Diazinon and Chloryryfos almost identical in chemical structure (they are both thiaphosphiric acid esters).

the latter a little more active. http://bss.sfsu.edu/cdavidson/contaminant/sparling%20OP%20oxons%20and%20Rana%20boylii%20env%20pol%2007.pdf

But they are both safe to plants and are not accumulated in plants tissue,

because plants readyly metabolize them (although their metabolites can be present in plants). They are active only in soil and on surface of leaves (if sprayed on leaves),

and after 2 months they are almost totally disintegrated into nonactive compounds.

Chlorpyrifos is used also (like diazinon) against fleas on home animals:

http://www.chlorpyrifos.org/

http://search.nufarm...EC_24107726.pdf

Edited by BBGONE

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Mate ants hate wet soil and so do mealy bugs , have you lifted one yet to see if ants have a mealy bug farm on the roots of your plants? Cos as soon as those chemicals lose there effect the ants will be back I have sandy soil down at nowheresville where I reside and I got rid of the ants by adding clay from my work pants ( I lay sewers for work) after a month or to I have gotten rid of both ants amd mealy bugs ( clean pants too!). The clay seems to have workd its way in a bit, the and the ants have moved on , chems are a short term solution

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i make boric acid traps, never looked further.

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I'm a big fan of limonene as an insecticide for ants and mites and such. Its naturally derived from citrus rinds as orange oil and biodegradable. Its fairly safe and smells great. Usually I mix a cap full of limonene with an equal portion of 90% + and dilute this mixture with a liter of water. A little goes a long way. I've ousted a few fire ant nests that were behind my outdoor cactus pots. Saturated the ground and no trace of them since. Trichos don't seem to mind being sprayed with this mixture. Also most citrus rinds are supposed to repel ants. Personally i'd stay all natural for pest control, some synthetics are pretty harsh on the environment

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They hate cloves/clove oil, but this is a repellent, not a poison. Don't know if it'd work if they were already settled in. I've also only tried it indoors (or around doorways, etc - covered areas anyway), it may not work so well outside exposed to rain & wind.

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They hate cloves/clove oil, but this is a repellent, not a poison. Don't know if it'd work if they were already settled in. I've also only tried it indoors (or around doorways, etc - covered areas anyway), it may not work so well outside exposed to rain & wind.

 

Hmm that's interesting I bet it would make a good additive to my ant and insect repellent its basically just chilly and garlic with a few other bits and pieces mixed with water

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If you put the infected pot on top of a brick within some kind of plate/saucer filled with water you have created a moat around the pot and the ants cannot come or go.

Used this trick to stop ants from stealing fruits off my smaller cacti.

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If you put the infected pot on top of a brick within some kind of plate/saucer filled with water you have created a moat around the pot and the ants cannot come or go.

Used this trick to stop ants from stealing fruits off my smaller cacti.

 

Ha i've used this for a worm farm and they kept building bridges across the water... dam smart ants

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Ha i've used this for a worm farm and they kept building bridges across the water... dam smart ants

 

Hah what did they build a bridge out of? Sticks?

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Yea leaves and sticks

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