It ’s an aggravation every gardener confront . You tick out your potted plant and , upon investigating , you discover pismire and thousands of eggs in the hatful .
Sometimes you see the critters come and become , and other times you might only see evidence of their bearing .
Either direction , discovering an ant nest in your potted plants is frustrative , so it ’s significant to figure out why this pass off and what to do to ward off it .
Why Are Ants Attracted to Potted Plants?
The simple answer is that they ’re just trying to live on . Potted plant ply ants with food for thought , protection , and warmheartedness . But of course of instruction , there ’s more to it than that .
Ants are n’t commonly after your plants . Often an ant infestation coincides with other insect plague attacking the works above soil level , or they ’re expect for somewhere hospitable to hang out . But an plague can indicate that your plant is n’t as sizeable as it should be .
Also , emmet plausibly are n’t make a potted flora their nursing home base . The likely have a main nest somewhere else , so your line is to further them to go there instead .
lease ’s look at some of the reasons ant might resolve to visit your potted plant .
Pest Insects
Aphids , mealybugs , whiteflies and diffuse scale insects all produce honeydew . This is a unenviable sweet excretion that emmet bump appealing . If you have an ant infestation in your potted flora , it may be because pests are feed in them .
Inconsistent Watering/Dry Soil
I come back home from a holiday in summer to chance a monolithic ant infestation in one of my potted flora . The tummy had dried so much that the soil shrunk due to dehydration , throw it the perfect environment for an ant dependency .
You do n’t even have to be away from home for this to hap . If you ’re watering is inconsistent and the soil gets dehydrate , ants will come knocking .
juiceless potting intermixture can also happen when some of the soil has escaped through the bottom of the pot and air has gotten in , dry out things out .
Old Potting Mix
commercial-grade potting mix often becomes a water repellent . Over meter , it dries out and body of water ca n’t rob in . This is what ’s called becominghydrophobic . Water should ooze around the edges of your plants and out the bottom .
or else , the water runs direct through without soaking in , which create a hospitable environs for ants in the soil .
Transferred by You
Ants often take up residence in compost because there ’s food in there for them or it ’s ironical and warm . Then , you transmit the compost to your pot as mulch or fertilizer and you introduce them to their new nursing home in your pot .
How to Get Rid of Ants in Potted Plants
For each job above there are chemic solutions and natural solution . Both can work equally well , so it count on what your needs and goal are .
Eliminate Pests
First , get disembarrass of the insects providing the ants with honeydew to eat . Use an insecticidal grievous bodily harm or pyrethrum spray .
If you have honeydew melon , you call for to wash the plant life or ants will keep returning . You want to remove the honeydew to forestall mould .
For a little plant , spray and pass over the leaves down with a soft textile . For bigger plants or tough plague , careen the plants and pour soapy pee on them and then rinse .
Soak the Soil
If dry dirt is the trouble , give your plants a serious soak . If the industrial plant is indoors , first take it out of doors or put it inside of a large plastic container .
Then , immix a solution of 3 tablespoonful of insecticidal goop with one quart of water . Make enough to fill the container . Pour the solvent onto the ground until it overflows out of the original pot . Leave everything to douse for 30 minutes . Pour out any excess .
Replace the Soil
Sometimes all you may do is exchange the dirt . Remove the plant from the smoke and sic by , but be careful as you will have an entire ant colony running in all direction . Move the pot to a emplacement where this wo n’t make a problem .
softly off as much of the stain around the roots of the plant life as possible using your hands , a brush , and a aristocratical spray of piddle .
Empty the pot of all soil and scrub clean if necessary .
Replant back into the can with new potting mixture and water with the insecticidal soap commixture .
From this peak on , keep the industrial plant salubrious and well - water .
Natural Deterrents
Ants do n’t care citrus fruit . Boil the skin of six oranges in body of water for half an hour , then flux everything together to make a library paste . swarm this around the plant in the pot .
you could also make a peppermint deterrent . Add a tablespoon of dish soap to a dry pint of water and several drops of peppermint vegetable oil . Pour this resolution around the base of the plant . You may need to do this several times before all ants are run entirely .
Other matter ants do n’t wish are :
Make a mix using any of these and position around the soil to secure the plant life pot becomes inhospitable .
Diatomaceous Earth
In my opinion , diatomaceous earth ( DE ) is the most effective remedy and prophylactic measure you could use .
fan out a thin level of DE over the airfoil of dry territory . Both the soil and the DE need to be juiceless to be effectual , as you want the DE to dehydrate the ants .
Bait
This is n’t my favorite solution . However , it may be necessary to get control over a orotund plague .
billet tantalize around the potted plant and go forth for the pismire to deplete . emmet usually corrode the bait and die either in the nest or nearby . Then , they ’ll be eaten by other ants who will also pop off .
Be aware not to permit children and pets get into the bait as it ’s toxic .
White Vinegar
I poured a l bottle of acetum into a particularly stubborn ant nest in one of my large stool . They left flat aside . Be wary of this method though . Some plants can pop off from the acidity of the vinegar .
Preventative Measures
Prevention is much better than finding a therapeutic , so remember the causes of infestations .
Ants are beneficial to your garden and plants . They prey on destructive insects , so do n’t make your goal to kill all ants . You want them out of your potted plants for the sake of the plant itself .
Often ants get into neglected plants , so take care of your plants to avert infestations and ensure you remove any undesirable plants fleetly , rather than let them die off in a pot .
Use Pot Feet
The worst plague of ants I ’ve had have been when the pot sits directly on the earth or deck . Use foot to raise the grass above the aerofoil . This ensures full air flow to the bottom of the pot .
Essential Oil
pose the sight in a saucer or larger container and pour water into the base container . Add a good amount of substantive oil like peppermint gum . you’re able to also habituate citrus tree or cinnamon oil as well .
You ’re effectively creating a water roadblock between the entrance to the pot and the emmet .
The Bottom Line
Ants can be an irritating problem in your potted plants , so keep an middle out for their presence . Do n’t wait to deal with an infestation because their Book of Numbers turn exponentially rapidly .
That said , it ’s not impossible to get rid of ants in your pot flora once you know what to face for and how to look at with the underlie publication .
Was this article helpful?
What went wrong?
This clause contains incorrect information
This article does not have the information I am look for
How can we improve it?
We appreciate your helpful feedback!
Your response will be used to better our content . The more feedback you give us , the better our Page can be .
