I've been trying to repot some plants I salvaged from the house we just sold & when I went to repot one, I panicked. I pulled it out of the pot & ants went everywhere, and there were eggs, too! I thought they were fire ants & had just resigned myself to getting stung since they were so prolific... but it never happened. Now, I don't think they were fire ants at all, but I don't know what else they could have been... anyone else have ants? (Also, I wonder if the recent monsoon season here has made them seek shelter in the pots.)
Any thoughts?
Ants in my plants?
I get them in my pots too. Not much you can do about it in my case because they are setting on the ground. I just leave them alone until I decide to repot or take the daylily out of the pot and plant it in the ground. Now if they were fire ants I think I would have to try some sort of pesticide to get rid of them.
elsieme,
Every once in a while I will pull up a plant pot or brick and find a nest and all I do is sprinkle them with Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and then hose down the area with a garden hose, wait about an hour and go about my business. I do the same thing for termites when they get into the mulch. They love rotted wood. lol.
When it rains a lot they come into the house also, they drive us crazy, but I do not like to spray bug spray in the house unless it is an emergency. I put down Diatomaceous Earth and they go away in a few days. I get the 'food grade' and you can use it around food and pets. There are some warnings about inhaling it.
You can also use Diatomaceous Earth for ants in the garden, you can sprinkle the powder around where you see trails, and you can make your own bait by mixing it with sugar and water to form a paste. They will eat this and take it back to their nest. Don't kill too many, just control them so you can be comfortable in your home and garden.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/carpenter-ants-a-safe-alternative-control-method.aspx
I like the Diatomaceous Earth better than the pesticides because it is non toxic for animals and humans, plus they will not get immune to it like they would a pesticide. Don't use too much, you do not want to kill all the ants because they are native and may be good defense for non native bugs like red fire ants. (see quote below, with link)
"Many native ant species are fierce competitors of fire ants, so avoid the use of pesticides that might harm native ants, and choose diverse native landscaping to provide shelter for native insects."
http://www.toxicfreenc.org/informed/fall08/fireants.html
*~*
hemlady,
So far no fire ants here, but they are common in my city since they arrived on a container ship. I have seen the mound they are 12 inches high and a couple of feet wide. I do have a trillion native ants so maybe that will work in my favor. lol. It this point I believe I will go with the hot water method, ( see link above) if I see one because I have no plans of getting stung.
I run into ants all the time. They don't like me. I deal with them according to their location.