Ants in my cattleya pots
I bought one of those small 4-tier portable greenhouses so I could put my 8 or 9 compact cattleyas outside for the summer. They love it and have been growing well. However, last week I saw several lines of small ants scurrying around the shelves and pots. I dunked one of the pots in water and was shocked at the huge number of ants that climbed out from inside the pot, many carrying eggs to safety. A quick repotting solved that problem but there are still other pots to be taken care of. I just repotted everything a couple of months ago, so hate to waste the perfectly good potting mix. I would like to know if I can safely submerge the pots in an insecticidal solution, and if so, what can I use. Also, is Safers Insecticidal Soap safe to use in this manner? I was warned years ago about using horticultural oil as a spray and suffocating the leaves, so am worried about the roots being coated and maybe unable to breathe or take in nutrients.
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