Ants on my sherry....ANTS! HELP!!

[Samheartsorchids]

I recently purchased a beautiful oncidium from the Orchid crazy day at The Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Within a few weeks of taking her home, she bloomed from one of her 2 spikes!! I left her on my counter near the door to my backyard so she could get the light she needed. 2 days later, I go to smell the flowers, and there are tiny black ants crawling up and down the spikes and gathering on the flowers. They had also invaded the bottom holes in the pot and were crawling in and out. I rushed her to the sink to see if I could flush them out, but no matter how much water I put through that medium, the ants kept comming... fearing I would over water and ruin the next-to-bloom spike, I let her drain and set her on a higher shelf. I still see them crawling in and out of the pot, and they scatter whenever I lift it. I'm afraid that they have set up shop in my medium, but I don't want to re-pot with a spike about to bloom..... Are there any kinds of pesticides that I could use, without harming my Baby? HELP!!!!

[trdyl]

Here is a link with a few suggestions for ants.

First Rays' Home Remedies

[Junebug]

Originally Posted by Samheartsorchids

I recently purchased a beautiful oncidium from the Orchid crazy day at The Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Within a few weeks of taking her home, she bloomed from one of her 2 spikes!! I left her on my counter near the door to my backyard so she could get the light she needed. 2 days later, I go to smell the flowers, and there are tiny black ants crawling up and down the spikes and gathering on the flowers. They had also invaded the bottom holes in the pot and were crawling in and out. I rushed her to the sink to see if I could flush them out, but no matter how much water I put through that medium, the ants kept comming... fearing I would over water and ruin the next-to-bloom spike, I let her drain and set her on a higher shelf. I still see them crawling in and out of the pot, and they scatter whenever I lift it. I'm afraid that they have set up shop in my medium, but I don't want to re-pot with a spike about to bloom..... Are there any kinds of pesticides that I could use, without harming my Baby? HELP!!!!

I grow my chids outdoors and commonly see ants. They're not such a problem in my media but they are attracted to the sweet sap that exudes from buds. Most of my bloom photos also feature ants. I've never known them to feed on buds or blooms but they can become a nuisance when they take up residence inside the pot. When this happens I sprinkle a little powdered Sevin dust over the top of the potting media and leave it there a few hours. Afterwards I thoroughly water the plant. Sevin dust works and doesn't harm the roots or plant tissue. It's reasonably priced and a little dust goes a long way.

[Sandrilene]

could spray pesticide around your door so they stop wanting to come in and lay down the plastic traps.