Ants In My Plants!

[ozsamurai]

I have been fighting a losing battle lately against a small black ant population. They move from pot plant to pot plants, leaving it very sick as they go. They deposit a white fungus like material in the base of the leaf and trunk or in the buds of the plant. It looks like coagulated spiderweb. Has anyone seen these, and or of course know how I can get the better of them?? Desperate for solutions....

Oz

[Gary A]

I have been fighting a losing battle lately against a small black ant population. They move from pot plant to pot plants, leaving it very sick as they go. They deposit a white fungus like material in the base of the leaf and trunk or in the buds of the plant. It looks like coagulated spiderweb. Has anyone seen these, and or of course know how I can get the better of them?? Desperate for solutions....

Oz

Like it or not, I think you're going to have to resort to poison. There is a brand of poison called ERA Powder Plus that does a good job. Dust around the base of the plants and the ants that try to cross will die quickly. I can't find the directions anymore but I think you can also mix it with water and spray it on. I also sprinkled the powder around any ant hills I found. It lasts until a heavy rain then you have to do it again.

[fruity]

I have been fighting a losing battle lately against a small black ant population. They move from pot plant to pot plants, leaving it very sick as they go. They deposit a white fungus like material in the base of the leaf and trunk or in the buds of the plant. It looks like coagulated spiderweb. Has anyone seen these, and or of course know how I can get the better of them?? Desperate for solutions....

Oz

Like it or not, I think you're going to have to resort to poison. There is a brand of poison called ERA Powder Plus that does a good job. Dust around the base of the plants and the ants that try to cross will die quickly. I can't find the directions anymore but I think you can also mix it with water and spray it on. I also sprinkled the powder around any ant hills I found. It lasts until a heavy rain then you have to do it again.

ERA also comes in solid 'chalk-like' blocks, be ideal to just mark around the rims of the plant pots. As Gary says, as soon as the ants walk over it, they are gonners! ERA easy to get & cheap, Big-C, Lotus everywhere.

[GungaDin]

Oz, report back please!

[dumball]

Those 'Chalk blocks ' realy do a good job , far better than those ant houses you can buy , I have used them for some years now . Should you just spay or eliminate the few you can see , more will be back "Tout-Suite ' , as Gungadin said "When the ants walk across it they die ", but more than that happens . Have you ever watched how ants operate ? A few 'Searcher ants ' appear and they search for usefull items , food/building materials etc , they call in the masses , and they cart off everything except your first born to the nest . They communicate with each other as they pass 'To and fro ' to the nest passing on traces of the poison , so the whole nest gets exterminated . When you see the ones 'On the job ' , look for the lines of the ones going to and fro , draw a chalk line around the object (your plants) and up each side of the returning ants so they are completely enclosed except where they disapear into the wall or where-ever , then put a couple of chalk lines across where they return to the nest . You will notice they are very reticent to cross the chalk , but within the hour most of them will be dead and doubt you will see any more coming out of thier nest to bother you . repeat where ever you find them , but you must also keep the area around your plants CLEAN , even hair is a source of nutrition to ants . Tally-Ho , good hunting !!!!!!!!

[ozsamurai]

Thanks guys!

This morning I cornered the ants in the potted palm and drew the line of battle with the ERA chalk of death, sat there with a smoke and watched them drop dead as a door post. hehehehe. However, the fungus they have deposited is now making a comeback on the plant on its own. I have googled of course, these guys are apparently a very clever little ant, being one of only a few species that 'farm' fungus for food. So the fungus now has to be removed even though the ants have since met their maker. Any brand names for fungi killer known to the forum? The battle is over but the war is still on.....

OZ

[Gary A]

I don't know anything about the fungus but it may be aphids that the ants farm. Look at it with a magnifying glass and if you can see any movement, the powder will take care of them too. If you don't like the powder mess, you can use Baygon spray for them.

[Foreverford]

Thanks guys!

This morning I cornered the ants in the potted palm and drew the line of battle with the ERA chalk of death, sat there with a smoke and watched them drop dead as a door post. hehehehe. However, the fungus they have deposited is now making a comeback on the plant on its own. I have googled of course, these guys are apparently a very clever little ant, being one of only a few species that 'farm' fungus for food. So the fungus now has to be removed even though the ants have since met their maker. Any brand names for fungi killer known to the forum? The battle is over but the war is still on.....

OZ

Fungus on golf course greens can be an extremely difficult problem but a very easy fix. In the US we use "Dawn" dish soap (liguid) that you can buy in a million super markets. I'll try to find what out what brand of soap Golf Superintendents use here from a friend who has a huge grass farm and update this for you but it will beat using other types of expensive and potential long lasting (enviromentally) chemicals. My dishsoap water has always been used in large banana plantings and I ad lots of organic matter back into it so if this is only for ornamentals shall work fine. On a green we would apply with a paint brush directly on the fungus but a diluted spray should suffice. A good rule of thumb is to use a very diluted amount first and then add to the concentration if you don't see the desired effects. sort of like Friday nights at the pub in the old days after a hard day on the job. Choke Dee

[drtreelove]

I don't know anything about the fungus but it may be aphids that the ants farm. Look at it with a magnifying glass and if you can see any movement, the powder will take care of them too. If you don't like the powder mess, you can use Baygon spray for them.

Gary A is probably on the right track; the "fungus" appearing substance, may be a wooly aphid, similar to wooly apple aphids that I am more familiar with in the US. It is very common for ants to "farm" an aphid population, moving them around to good feeding grounds, fighting off natural predators like lady beetles or lacewings, and harvesting the sweet honeydew that the aphids produce. The ants aren't doing direct damage, but by protecting the aphids they are indirectly responsible for the damage that a large population of the sucking insects can do.

Controlling the ants like you are doing will somewhat control the aphid infestation, but controlling the aphids will control both the pest and the nuisance of the ants. Aphids are usually easy to control, they can sometimes be hosed off to reduce the population, small areas can be wiped off with a cloth or gloved hand. Larger infestations can be controlled with the pesticides that have been mentioned, or less toxic alternatives. Insecticidal soap, or botanicals like neem oil, lemongrass are possibilities. Least toxic pesticide for the ants may be permethrin products like Chaindrite Stedfast 4.

[dumball]

That ant chalk realy does a job my wife gave me a cup of tea , I had two swigs and put the glass on the computer table , a few minutes later I picked up the glass for another swig , it was swarming with black ants . Quick trip to the kitchen for the chalk , encircled the critters and the glass , within 10 minutes all were dead , including the ones in the glass , Super Chalk .

With the aphids , if that is what they are (Good thought Gary) , we killed them off also with liquid detergent , as an adendum to this , 1 part of detergent to 3 parts of vinigar , kills vegetation (Weeds) . Boiling water kills both ants and vegetation .

[Alex8]

Control of aphids can be done very simply indeed. It is cheap, effective and eco-friendly. Boil some potatoes or any natural product containing starch (polysaccharide) until soft, mash to a pulp, mix and dilute with water then spray onto the colony of insects. As the sprayed liquid evaporates it encases the insects in an iron-like grip and prevents movement and feeding. The infestation rapidly dies. The sprayed material is natural and will later either flake off or be washed of by rainfall when applied outdoors.

[dumball]

Hey Alex8 , never heard of that remedy before , sounds logical so I will give it a go next time I find it neccessary , will write that in my handy-dandy reference book .