ANTS!! HELP! PLEASE - Orchid Board

Call_Me_Bob · #1 03-20-2011, 10:54 PM

please help!

so today when i was watering, i was water a phal ( in low spike ) and out poured millions of ants! i brought it to the sink, and filled the sink with water. then finished water by the end, the sink has like 6-8 orchids that had pots full of ants. im not sure what i should do. i really dont have the time to repot. and they are kept in the house, so i cant just ignore it. id like to repot, but that would mean ants everywhere

im absolutely stunned and clue less!! WHAT SHOULD I DO? as i type, i feel as if there are ants crawling all over me D:

is there anything plant safe to get rid of the ants? so i dont have to repot

susiep · #2 03-20-2011, 10:59 PM

I have actually used Raid on the pot and top of the medium, then rinsed the dead ants out after a few minutes. I can't guarantee the Raid won't hurt your orchids, but it didn't damage my dendrobium.

Call_Me_Bob · #3 03-20-2011, 11:01 PM

i have a some dens, phals, laelias, and oncs. and a neo affected. what do ya think? i sprayed windex on the humidity tray and stuff around them, and thdey are soaking in the sink. idk what to do!

silken · #4 03-20-2011, 11:17 PM

Some Malathion would do a quick job. I've used it on a few orchids with no ill side effects. It should kill the ants fairly quickly and you likely don't need to spray the leaves. So then you could re-pot after the ants are dead, or flush the pot really well. There could be eggs too. (Use at your own risk of course!)

silken · #5 03-20-2011, 11:18 PM

I should mention Malathion stinks to high hell, but it works.

Call_Me_Bob · #6 03-20-2011, 11:25 PM

i just read an old thread where dorothy said to use cinnamon. i think ill give that a try. hopefully it works, and i will be able to sleep and not feel this itchy crawly feeling anymore!

silken · #7 03-20-2011, 11:29 PM

Let us know how it works. Good luck. Pests are a pain!

Call_Me_Bob · #8 03-20-2011, 11:30 PM

thanks if you want, i can dig up the thread.

on another note, my keiki equestris just opened

Orchid126 · #9 03-21-2011, 03:40 PM

Soak the pots in water up to the brim, and left long enough, the ants will abandon ship. Be sure to use fresh water for each plant. A squirt of dish detergent in the water would accellerate the exodus.

Call_Me_Bob · #10 03-21-2011, 03:51 PM

I did that last night. Them left all the plants in the sink and sprinkled pepper in the pots. This am I rinsed the pepper our. Added coffee grounds and put them in the bathtub to wait till I figure something else out

You can call me Bob