Ants in Containers

What can I do to keep ants from getting into my containers(pots)?
I don't mean just a few,the whole container is full of ants more ants than soil.
What happen to the soil do they eat it?
I still have scars from some of the bites. I plan on trying some of Bob's grow bags with coco coir,I wondered if the coco coir would keep them at bay?

Christmas Cactus: Try crumbling up some chalk and placing around the stem of the plants, it's good for the soil and ants won't cross a chalk line. Lay out some grits, cream of wheat or coffee grounds or perhaps some minute rice, they will ingest the stuff and explode. Pepper repels ants so does chili powder and cinnamon. Salt will work also.
To get the ones you have already in the soil; mix up 1/3 cup of molasses, 6 tbsp of brown sugar and 6 Tbsp of yeast into a paste, coat strips of cardboard with it, place in and around infested areas, they will get stuck, then dispose of the cardboard and ants.
These are just a few of the tips I've found thus far.
joy112854

Cristmascactus - i don't know how the coco coir will take care of the ants but joy seems to have some interesting ideas. I know last year I had a ant problem and this year I don't but it is also different time of year.

BocaBob

The ants are coming up from the bottom of the container & coming all the way to the top.These containers are sitting on a cement patio so they are not in direct contact with the ground.
I have dusted the tops but when it rains or I water they are back with a vengenace. They don't bother the regular or smaller size pots just the very large pots & the whiskey barrels. I'm having to rely more & more on container gardening & would be sad to have to give up gardening all together.

Try all joy's ideas. One might work real well

BocaBob

You could also put contact paper or packaging tape with the sticky side out all around the container, they wouldn't be able to climb into the container, or just put some vaseline around the bottom of the planter, they won't be able to climb up, you could also mix ! Tbsp of Peppermint soap (Dr Brunner's) with 2 cups of water, pour into a 16 oz trigger spray bottle and spray on the plants and ants, this will not only repel them but kill them also. Ants are usually attracted to plants that have aphids as aphids excrete a sweet fluid called honeydew which is the ant's favorite food. So; once the ants are done away with make sure you treat the plant for aphids.
joy112854

All great points joy112854!! I had a aphid problem last spring and then came the ants. This year I'm staying ahead of them with weekly spraying of organic pesticide.

BocaBob

I will try the peppermint soap mix.
They are coming in from the bottom(sides) working their way up thru the soil(never on the outside of the container) to just under the top of the soil,don't know they are there until I start work around in the pot. I don't think it's the plant they want they are making their home in the soil & laying eggs.

No,no aphids.
They aren't interested in the plants,it's soil where they are making their home & reproducing.

I say take the plants out of the pot, rid the pot of the ants and then start over, maybe getting rid of the soil?
joy112854

Boca Bob: Here is what I've found on aphids:
mix 4 tsp lemonade powdered drink mix and 2 c water put in 16 oz spray bottle and spray the plants, the limonades kill the things.
You could also mix 1 part sugar with 10 parts water and spray on the plants, only draw back is that it might attract ants.
Mix 1 Tbsp peppermint soap with 2 c water and spray on plants to repel the aphids, mint drives them away, notice peppermint soap pretty much does the same to ants?
Mix 1/2 oz dishwashing soap with 2 c water and spray both sides of infested plant leaves, let sit for an hour and then spray clean with water.
2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dishwashing liquid, 2 tsp Tabasco and 2 cups of water mixed together and sprayed on leaves of plant repel aphids too
joy112854

I did that.
I think they like it because the potting mix is easy digging~~no hard clay to dig thru. My potting mix is not the cheap kind either.
I think the size must attract them because they don't bother the small pots & they have the exact same potting mix & some of the same plants.
Only thing I can think of different is the large & huge pots have bottom side drainage holes(this is where they are coming in) where the smaller & regular size pots only have bottom hole drainage. I look & can see where they came (tunnel) from the ground & into these side drainage holes. I just don't like getting bite everytime I'm around my planters.
Joy,you have been a jewel trying to help me,thank you so much.

Christmas Cactus: No problem that is what we are all here for, my dad left me some books when he passed away a few years, he was a great gardener, used to grow tomatoes (beef steaks), as big as grapefruit and corn just as good as you please, these books of his are fabulous.
joy112854

I had an ant epiphany last year. Ants are not much of a problem here but they came out of nowhere and crawled all over my Zucchino da Fiore--a zucchini which produces few zucchini but does put out masses of huge blossoms. I would brush the ants off outside and then find more when, getting ready to cook , I washed off the blossoms inside. I was starting to become annoyed by it all one day when it struck me the plants have the big showy blossoms they do for one reason: to attract ants, other insects and ME. To the plant, I was just another bug.

Now if fire ants were involved I wouldn't have been so amused....

These were fire ants.
They never bother the plants just loved living in the potting mix.
They didn't care for the smaller pots just the huge roomy ones.
They all had the same potting mix,same plants just different size pots.
The plants were beautiful & healthy,the ants just wanted the nice soft rich potting mix to live in. Those bites are very painfull,still have the scars from some of them.

Boy, I hate fire ants!

I'd go ballistic, there used to be ant stuff named Diazinon that worked really well, but it's very bad for people too, I see it's being taken off the market.

Here's a link to professional help, a Bayer company, but they won't let you do it yourself.

http://www.backedbybayer.com/Bayer/CropScience/BackedByBayer.nsf/id/EN_NoFireAnts_How_TopChoice_R_Works

Out on the ground, I mix clorox 50/50 with watr and dump a quart down their main hole.

Man, I hate fire ants! Poor you!

Christmas Cactus: Here are two tonics that will take care of them:
Tonic #1:
4-5 TB of cornmeal
3 TB of bacon grease
3 TB of baking powder
3 pkg of baker's yeast
Mix cornmeal and bacon grease into a paste, then add baking powder and yeast. Dab the gooey mix on the sides of jar lids, and set them out close to the ants. The ants will love this stuff and it will kill them, when they are dead take out the jar lid and dispose of it.
Tonic #2
This one you need to keep out of reach of children and pets now, so make sure that neither get a hold of it ok?
1 c sugar
3 cups of water
1 TB boric acid powder
Add sugar to water, and bring to a boil. Add the boric acid and place the mix in the jar lids, set them in the middle of the ant trails. This will kill em dead for sure.
The first tonic is only poisonous to the ants the second one you gotta be careful with; but both are supposed to work well.
Remember that ants hate mint, so if you just want to shoo them out of the pots, make up a batch of strong mint tea and spray away, they'll leave lickety split.
If you want to prevent this from happening again and you like spices, try planting some Tansy as ants hate the smell of them as do most flying insects, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, and stiped cucumber beetles.
joy112854

christmascactus, are you in Texas? Are you growing anything edible in your planters?

Fire ants are a horror. There's no comparison to any other ant or insect. They can infested cattle range to something like 40 million ants per acre!

I hate fire ants!

Let us know if one of these suggestions works for you. I like the bacon grease recipe! There are fire ants at the little beach where I go. You don't know you're standing near a burrow until all of a sudden you realize you're getting stings on your ankles, and by then you have thirty bites. The bites itch worse that poison ivy. The next day, there's a little white 'bump' that I pick off, then the bite can heal into a little scab. Itch, itch, itch!

I'm going to try that bacon grease recipe! Thanks, Joy!

~Melissa

Unless you kill the queen you will not accomplish anything. Go to your local supermarket and buy the ant traps that are white and circular. They are packed three to the box I think. The worker ants go in bring the bait to the queen, she dies, they all die and it is that easy!

Molomola: You are welcome, I try to stay away from too many pesticides if I can, as you can overdue it with the pesticides and create a worse problem then you started with from what I'm hearing from others.
joy112854

Pesticides are a last resort.

I am trying to recover from over exposure to nerve poisons, which are pesticides. Rental residences here are soaked monthly by professionals to control cokroaches and centipedes.

I had to throw out all of my veggies, potted on my patio, when I saw the man mindlessly spraying them. When he was done, he kind of stopped and looked at them, duh. Tomatoes, chard, parsley. I believe he was unconscious when he did that, thinking about something else. I'm glad that I was home and just barely saw him outside my window as he was finishing. grrrr. The stuff they use here is really toxic. My feet are tingling right now from a place I lived three years ago, I cannot feel half my toes. Very frightening and uncomfortable! From going barefoot in a rented apartment.

I have friends that are very ill from bug spray. I used to use Diazinon for ants, everyone did. Sprinkle it on your whole yard! or all over the park! or all over the school grounds!! I see where they recently decided it's too poisonous for humans.

One shot to be rid of fire ants is all I said, and would say NO!! to veggies. Fire ants are horrible!

I'm little miss broccoli for the most part.

I'm really enjoying all the gardening books my dad left me, as I'm a book worm. Two of these books are great at showing diseases, bugs and how to control them naturally without all the poisons. There are some good potions too; such as a compost tea and such that will help plants. I can tell where TPlant and Boca Bob come up with the dolomite lime and the epsom salts and the gypsom now, as I'm learning how all three are important to growing anything just about. There are also some spices that you can grow in with your veggies that help keep certain bugs away also and found that interesting as there is also certain things you can plant that certain critters won't go near either. I'm having a ball reading these books and now know why my dad was such a good farmer, he even had his own compost.
joy112854

Good for you, joy112854! There's a lot to it, and always something to learn.

Unhealthy plants are usually the ones that bugs attack. And due to previous poor farming practices, some places have very worn out soil.

Molamola: My yard is in bad shape; but this book I'm reading is telling me how I can get it in tip top shape this fall while waiting for Spring to get here. I also knew there were different types of soil; but, never knew much about soil amendments such as adding nutrients and minerals into it, I am learning that now also. I'm glad I hesitated at ordering and receiving shrubs this past Spring can you imagine? LOL
joy112854

I plan on trying some of your tips but right now it's cold & wet.
Thanks everyone for sharing.

Christmas Cactus: I'm getting weather that won't decide whether it wants to be cold or hot, grrrrr. My poor canna bed is a mess. I moved back home today as my friend had the stitches removed from his head yesterday and is feeling a little better now. I have a senior citizen friend/neighbor who got mugged and the villian hit him over the head with a baseball bat, has had me worried about him; but, he is doing so much better now.
joy112854

Oh,no how terrible.
I hope your friend will be ok.
He's lucky to have such a good friend as you to check in on him.
Don't forget to take him chicken soup,it's true chicken soup always help.

Christmascactus: I've been at his house for the past two weeks now, he had stitches out yesterday and is now getting up an around, he was the closest thing my youngest daughter ever had to a father, and lived right next door to my dad's for the past 20 plus years, so, is like part of the family, a really dear person, one whom I consider my best friend and has always been there for me. Thing is, he would give someone the shirt off his back if they needed it, so this was so unnecessary. I hate it when people attack the senior citizens or the disabled, they are real cowards to do so, if they want to pick on someone let them pick on someone their own size and age. But, we all know God sees everything, so the guy will get his one day.
joy112854

I hope the police found the person that did this & have him locked up.

Christmascactus: Me too dear, as this is lowdown, when people attack our senior citizens and attack the handicapped it is rotten and low down.
joy112854

Most amazing, and horrible.

I live where most people are new, or leaving, and there are no ties. So sad.

Old folk aren't valued in American society as they should be,

joy112854, Tell your neighbor that there's an old lady in the Caribbean who thinks he's terriffic, OK? I might even have a crush on him.

Molamola, aka Melissa

Melissa: Thanks sweetie I will do that. He has been such a good neighbor to everyone in the neighborhood, he had a few health issues, like the shingles and a few other minor things and then this happened. We are supposed to look out for our elderly and for the handicapped, not take advantage of them and beat them down, very cowardly behavior; but behavior we see more and more frequently these days I'm afraid.
joy112854

Oh, Lordy!!! My mother came down with the shingles, and she was MISERABLE!!! Seems to be a re-attack of chicken pox.

Tell your neighbor he has a secret girlfreind on a tropical island!

Hi ChristmasCactus ~ these fireants move into pots for me too. Those sitting on the front porch as well as on soil. They are not after the plant or roots but only in search of good housing. Unfortunately, they will harm the roots of the plants by doing so. The only way to prevent them is do keep a liberal sprinkling of ant deterrent around or under the bottom of the pot. You may have trouble doing that with the oak barrel halves. I took mine and propped it up on bricks around the barrel edges before filling it and that will keep it from rotting. It makes it easier to sprinkle ant poison around the bricks too.

Now, to redeem myself for having used ant poison (as there is no good organic solution for these horrible buddies), if you get bit, put ice cubes in a washcloth and hold it on the bites for a few minutes. You will find they will quit burning and don't fester or get infected. That's as organic as I can get with fireants! Grrrrrrr

Good Morning Pod,
Thank you so much for your tips.
Do you mind telling me which ant poison you use?
I'm going to have to use whatever it takes to get rid of them.

I honestly don't know the name. The paper bag came apart so I put it in a coffee can. Just sprinkle it lightly. Those buddies can be wicked. I think they are looking for winter haven. I also noticed they swarmed for higher ground after a (finally) good soaking rain.

podster -- I gave you a simple and inexpensive answer above with Ant Bait Traps. Kill the Queen and the colony dies. Do you disagree or did not read it. Place under and on the pot. It works. Available at your local supermarket. No fuss---No muss!

No argument there but it takes a bit of time to errradicate them from the pot in that manner. When they move in, I need them gone, now! Yours is a good solution to erradicate the colony but my means will elimate the immediate threat. Perhaps the combination will work well for Christmascactus. Certainly didn't mean to undermine your answer either. I know in FL you have had experience as well.

Tplant,I did check out the baits you were talking about & they would be great & so simple to use but fire ants were not on their list of which ants the bait would work/kill. I think fire ants are a breed of their own.

Well I guess I was lucky as it worked for me and we sure do have fire ants here in Florida but I don't!