# Ants in My Plants



## debodun (Jun 30, 2017)

I have a cactus dish garden that had some plants set in it in small plastic pots. I wanted to plant those directly in the terracotta clay container. However, when I knocked them out of the plastic pots, there were hundred of little black ants in the bottom of each pot, and believe me, they were not happy at being disturbed. I ushered the garden outside, but the ants are still in the soil. I looked for advice on how to get rid of ants in a potted plant. Most say to fill a tub with water, then soak the plant's roots until the ants come out an float to the water's surface. I don't think soaking would be advised for cacti. Also, container is wide and shallow and probably wouldn't fit in a pail. Any suggestions?


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## Camper6 (Jun 30, 2017)

Yes. Get ant traps at the dollar store and put them on top of the plant.

The ants feed that poison to the larvae and the entire colony dies.

They obviously are reproducing and will kill the plant eventually.


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## debodun (Jun 30, 2017)

Camper6 said:


> They obviously are reproducing and will kill the plant eventually.



Obviously. When I disturbed them they were all carry little white waxy looking globs - I assume they were ant larva.


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## RadishRose (Jun 30, 2017)

Sorry, but the plants look dead already!


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## debodun (Jun 30, 2017)

Probably be easier to break off some of the old plants and start a new garden.


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## Camper6 (Jun 30, 2017)

debodun said:


> Obviously. When I disturbed them they were all carry little white waxy looking globs - I assume they were ant larva.



Those are eggs.  They will hatch into larvae and then an adult ant.


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## Ken N Tx (Jul 1, 2017)

My wife had potted plants up on the kitchen cabinets, took me months to figure where the ants where coming from on the counter tops!!!


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## debodun (Jul 2, 2017)

I went baited for bear and decided to re-pot the cactus. I got a large plastic bowl I had been using for a water catcher under a pot to dump the dirt out of the dish. I carefully removed the cacti with gloves and set them in a separate container. I dumped the dirt in the bowl and there was nary an ant to be seen - just a few earwigs. Maybe leaving it outside a few days, they took off for "greener" pastures. I'm still leaving the dirt out for a while to make sure and also hope the earwigs get the hint, too.


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## Camper6 (Jul 2, 2017)

Replanting.  Mix some boric acid in with the soil.   Boric acid is toxic to cockroaches as well.


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## debodun (Jul 2, 2017)

Camper6 said:


> Replanting.  Mix some boric acid in with the soil.   Boric acid is toxic to cockroaches as well.



Is that like Borax?


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## Camper6 (Jul 2, 2017)

debodun said:


> Is that like Borax?



No. It's the stuff you get at the pharmacy that we used to put on cuts in the old days.  Boracic acid I think it's called.

The bugs, including cockroaches pick it up and feed it to the larvae.  Borax is different.  It is a mining product.


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## Camper6 (Jul 2, 2017)

debodun said:


> Is that like Borax?



No. It's the stuff you get at the pharmacy that we used to put on cuts in the old days.  Boracic acid I think it's called.

The bugs, including cockroaches pick it up and feed it to the larvae.  Borax is different.  It is a mining product.


 You might have heard of boric acid being used as a natural pest control as well. It’s true. People have been fighting cockroaches with BA for nearly a century. It’s one of the most effective cockroach control agents ever developed, and it can be used as an alternative pest control for roaches and other unwanted invaders. The awesome thing is it’s less toxic to humans and pets than other harsh chemical pesticides, some of which have been linked to ADHD and other conditions, and it also has several beneficial uses beyond getting rid of pests.

https://draxe.com/boric-acid/


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## debodun (Jul 12, 2017)

Finally got around to re-potting the cacti. With whatever broke off in the process, I started another dish garden.


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## debbie in seattle (Jul 12, 2017)

RadishRose said:


> Sorry, but the plants look dead already!



I agree!


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## debodun (Jul 12, 2017)

Well, cacti aren't known for their lushness.


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## SeaBreeze (Jul 12, 2017)

Looks much better Deb, good luck with the ant problem.


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## Camper6 (Jul 12, 2017)

Repotting looks just great.  A new start for those plants will give you a nice result in about 6 months with cacti. So nice that those plants don't need much watering.  I'm going to start one myself.

On the right the parent plant.  On the left a recent cutting from the parent plant.  These are diefennbachia.  An easy plant to take care of.


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## rkunsaw (Nov 14, 2017)

This has been the worst year for ants in the house and garden. I've always used boric acid and have had pretty good results with it, but this year I was so overwhelmed with ants I was so desperate I even tried some HOT SHOT ant baits I found at Walmart.  Guess what! They work! Even better than boric acid. Here's an ad I found for them at Amazon.   https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Shot-Max...pID=61HY3dqimZL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


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## Meanderer (Nov 14, 2017)

Thanks for the tip & link, Larry! ....we have to outwit these little buggers.


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## debodun (Nov 25, 2017)

Update on the cacti - they seem to be holding their own. No great growth spurts, but not dead, either.


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## AZ Jim (Nov 25, 2017)

debodun said:


> Is that like Borax?


Borax works also.  If you mix it with sugar they take it to the nest and it wipes out the whole bunch.


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## OneEyedDiva (Dec 2, 2017)

My sister had told me about Ortho Home Defense when we got some very aggressive little black ants in the kitchen. We used to get ants but not like them. They were all over the place, even crawling up to my kitchen cabinets. I put the Ortho Home Defense (liquid) down in the floor opening they were coming from in the kitchen, sections of the living room and patio door and in the kitchen cabinets. It took a few days but I haven't seen one of those ants since and it's been two and a half years. Even tho OHD advertises working for an entire year, I put more down every couple of months. We got 2 gallons for a good price at Costco. My sister says she got hers from Home Depot.


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## JoseLindsey (Mar 24, 2018)

There are various products you can use that don't contain chemicals and won't hurt children or pets. Sprinkle cornmeal or a commercial oat like Cream of Wheat where you have seen ants congregating in your home or around the border of your garden. There are many natural pest repellants available as well that can help you get those ants out of your plants. If after using these products still you can't get rid of them, then you can also take help of some professional exterminator like Pest Control Brookfield CT to get better and effective results.


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## Camper6 (Mar 24, 2018)

Those plants look just fine.  That's how they are supposed to look.


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## debodun (Aug 23, 2019)

Update - all but one of the cacti did well.


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