ANT NEST!!!!!!! Help!!!

[lepetitmartien]

Many genus are either excreting sap to attract ants as protection (oncidiums, catts…) or event providing housing (myrmecophylla to name one…) with some sugar excretion to feed them or even depends on them for pollination (Leporella fimbriata).

I don't see the issue if they don't raise an aphid colony for their own. Now if you don't want them to install themselves in pots, simple means will get them out without killing them, as they have a role. Sugar ants eat on honeydew, sap, nectar, but even more on insects they collect, dead animals they find by chance. So they are beneficial as long as they don't raise aphids on the orchids.

You can repel them easily with lemon slices, bits of hot peppers, vinegar. And no chemicals in sight.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Trini Kjeldz

aahahahahah those little things sting veryyyy slight and only occasionally and i wud think they nourish the orchids through their wastes? is the orchid bothered? or is it u?

Ants will turn your media very acidic and will kill your orchids as the roots rot out. Plants like Coryanthes, which have a symbiotic relationship with ant colonies, often prefer very acidic media for the same reason. I usually drown the ants in a bucket of water if I see they have invaded. You definitely want the colonies out of your pots ASAP. A few ants here and there collecting the sugar from new growths is no problem though.

[Trini Kjeldz]

how will the acidity build up if ur drenching wen u water???and wont the ants fet fed up and move out wit floods being so often?

[Gin]

They also farm scale .

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Trini Kjeldz

how will the acidity build up if ur drenching wen u water???and wont the ants fet fed up and move out wit floods being so often?

Ants are pretty good at building structures and modifying their environment, just like people. You would be surprised at how much they will alter orchid media in a pot. They don't like to be drenched and are pretty good at creating a home where they stay dry.

[Trini Kjeldz]

ohhh i was being specific to the lil sugar ants...their home is in a lil pouch looks like cobweb(if is d same species of ants) other ants are disastrous yes

[james mickelso]

Ants will eventually kill the orchid. They take what they find out in the envirnment and after chewing it up, grow fungus' and mold on which they feed. Terro Ant baits are wonderful. The workers take it back to the nest and feed every one of their relatives which kills the entire colony. Queens especially. The media we palnt our orchids in makes a great garden environment for their gardens of slime molds and fungus. So if you se them around, beware. I lost two bonsai from inattention to ants. One was a 60 year old beauty, and the other was a very nice japanese maple. So get rid of the nasty things as soon as you can.

[Manfred Busche]

Hi Orchid Friends.

Though this comment is a bit late, I would like to add my version.

Ants do no harm to my orchids, and I even like them to colonise a pot or basket because no bugs
will settle close to ants.

So, if you grow orchids in a garden or in a greenhouse, you might just let the ants in peace.
If you grow in your home, that's another matter altogether ...

Regards,
Manfred.

[jeem132]

imo there's no point using oil or any system like that. go to your local home improvement store and walk straight to the big guns. the pesticides. it may contribute to the deminishing bee population but your orchd will be as beautiful as ever

[Cattleya17]

I posted this originally because eventually I had to bring my plants in for the winter so yeah the ants had to go! They are a staple in the growing area every summer but they have got to go before I bring them in. The last thing I need is a house full of ants. The Terro traps are the best thing ever! They love the stuff and then they are gone very shortly. The ants are also one of the reasons I now grow in lava rock they come around still and I don't mind that but they do not build colonies as they did In the plant mentioned my first post, grown in bark.

I always find it interesting how really old threads come back to life it's really cool! I forgot I even posted it