#1 - Never had to deal with ants when growing in-house

[voyager]

I bought an Ascda. Thai Spots 'Bow' at the Hilo Orchid Show last fall. I was really looking forward to its first blooming. A few weeks after mounting it in a tree it began to bud a flower spike. Before it got even a 1/2" long, I found ants biting into the bud, grabbing onto it with their mouth pincers. I did spread some ant poison pellets around it and the ants seemed to disappear. But the spike bud dried up and died. It has now begun another spike bud. I want to protect it so that it can develop its pretty purple freckled yellow flowers.

After many very painful encounters with the local Little Fire Ant [LFA] population, I began a monthly regimen of spraying my lot with Tango to keep them in check. The fire ants are now bearable, but other types seem to be moving in to replace them.

Will the Tango help to control ant types other than LFA's?
Or, will I need to use other methods to keep them under control also?

Plus, my tree mounted Iwanagaara Apple Blossom had ants all over it right after mounting it. Its flowers faded and died very quickly. I assumed the ants were cultivating scale or aphids and sprayed with Neem Oil as I do with my fruit trees. I don't see ants around it any more, but it hasn't re bloomed yet. I'm suspicious that the ants are still affecting it.

I'm open to any thoughts on the subject.

[WhiteRabbit]

I always tend to have an ants issue on my Cyms when they spike, and then this year, I've had an ants issue in a number of my other outside orchids (I suspect perhaps due to the severe drought) ... I know there have been a number of threads regarding ants, and how to get rid of them, so if you haven't already done so, do a search for "ants".

For myself, I've had pretty good succes using pyrethrins or imidacloprid based sprays meant for household use.

[KonaLady]

I am in Kona and had a big problem with buds blasting on all my dendrobium and vandaceous-type orchids. This went on for a long time, and it was so discouraging. (curiously, had no such problem with catts and oncidium types) There were always ants on the spikes. I finally figured out it was probably thrips and the ants were farming them. I asked one of the orchid wholesalers who spoke to our society and he recommended spraying the emerging spikes with Bayers 3 in one or Bayers Rose and Flower spray. I use the latter. They are systemics. I hate to use any poison as I don't want to harm the geckos and anoles who live in my plants, but I was desperate. Sure enough, it has worked and now all my previously blasted plants are blooming like crazy, and I am still overrun with my little green buddies! I spray every few days (he recommended daily) and just a couple of spritzes on the spikes and a little foliage. No more ants or thrips, or whatever was doing the damage. You may have a completely different problem, but this had fixed my problem. (How are you liking our "winter" weather??)

[voyager]

I'm going to need to fertilize and spray my fruit trees with Neem Oil soon. I'll do my Orchids too, when I do.
And, it'll be time to do my Tango spray for the LFAs again in another 2 weeks.
I too worry about my geckos and anoles. They help hold the bug problem down. I'd hate to do them harm.

Much to my surprise I am noticing that it is winter.
We have definitely become acclimated to the climate here.
We have been noticing the "bone-chilling" 65° to 70° F morning temps through the last few weeks. But, things start warming up as soon as the sun rises.
When packing up for the move here, I couldn't bring myself to throw out my wool shirts and fleece pants, jackets and vests.
I took a lot of grief over that from M'Lady.
I've been wearing them for a few hours each of these recent cool mornings. Of course, after about 3 hours it warms up enough that they're too hot to wear.