ANTS!!??!!??
 

i found a whole colony of ants in my phalaenopsis's pot when i was watering it. i repotted and there looks to be no more ants. there were no more ant in any other pots. the one that had ants is outside. is there anyway to prevent ants?

No.

General upkeep will limit their numbers.

Some orchids naturally attract ants on purpose.

One of those groups are orchids in the genus Coryanthes. The roots of Coryanthes when fused with forest debris, become ant nests.

its a phal though. is it bad then when they have ants? it was hanging in its pot from a tree

Doesn't matter if it's a Phal, or a Coryanthes.

I got ants crawling in my Oeceoclades calcarata!

Don't bother with them. Ants have been around for a very long time, and they aren't going to disappear just because they're a pest to us.

Just do what you're supposed to do and their numbers won't get very large.

Some ants forage on fungus and farm them. Can't totally get rid of fungus, can't totally get rid of ants.

Ants do very little damage to the orchids. I've seen them chew on some flower parts, but as far as killing an orchid...most likely not.

Tough shizzle, I know.

i do have a colony on my den crumenatum pot. they protest every time i water!

I get them on my outdoor orchids as well.

They don't cause any harm in themselves and will sometimes feed on the sticky substance that orchids will sometimes give out (including Phals).

The only thing to look for, is that I remember reading that either Thrips or Mealy bugs also excreate something that is attractive to ants. As long as you check they are not the cause of the ants liking the Phal then don't worry about them.

I've no big thing about ants, but I'm not sharing my orchids with them. Get any of the ant bait products from the grocery/big box store. Get one that says it kills the colony. They work great. Put it near where you are infested and soon you won't be.

Sometimes ants farm aphids and mealy bugs.

Mealy bugs

"Regular visit of ants. Ants breed and protect mealy bugs for their honeydew secretions and may help to spread them through the collection, so to discourage any invading ants even though they are not harmful to the plants. "

Somebody call me?? :biggrin:

lol so dont be worried? im afraid of getting bit!

Ant activity will make the potting mix break down faster, and can make the medium extremely acidic. As Phillip said, some orchids enjoy the company, but I would prefer if they stay away. :)

what should i do then?

I try to keep them out but it is a constant struggle. I use baits and grandules that "kill the colony" to keep them in check, but since most of my collection goes outside for most of the year ants are a constant nuisance. More frequent repotting is a fact of life for me due to bugs and other factors.

In my small nursery i have an ant problem too of slightly larger proportions. I have red fire ants lol. I have them under control by spraying all 10,000 plants with insecticide......As well as the ground under the plants and everything around them and the Mango tree and...and...and........ well it just keeps going

what about soaking the medium with a mix of coffee and nicotiana leaves tea? Tobacco plants have some insecticide/ repellent properties and possibly caffeine too

well it has been raining for an hour now....i'd say i don't have too much of an ant problem for a while now

In the US, most often an ant bite is from a fire ant, and not really a bite, but rather a sting. They can be distinguished by their reddish colour.

Mostly though, fire ants are ground dwellers and not often seen up in potted plants, unless your pots sit on the ground.

If you DO have fire ants, a little Andros sprinkled around the pot (not in it) will eliminate them.

You can eliminate most ants with simple remedies like a spritz with alcohol, or a dusting with cinnamon.

Fire ants bite AND sting. Around here they are impossible to eradicate. You can only hope to relocate them temporarily. :(

i have black ants. and they DO sting or bite or something that hurts! the pot was suspended from a tree

Ants visit orchids because of honey . They sting the buds and they get wilt . Sadness is that.
What I did is I kept a piece of cow dung in between the canes.

I don't know the types of ants you have in your country, but most ants are not directly harmful to plants. They can, spread infestations of aphids, which then harm plants (think of them as farming them).

As for fire ants biting and stinging, yes, they do bite, but only so they can get a better stab with their stinger.

Black ants that bite, up north? Could be carpenter ants (commonly called bull ants).

Not all ants are bad. In fact Schomburgkias need them to pollinate them

This is the main reason to keep the ant population under control. The ants themselves rarely harm orchids; they do however farm insects that do. The aphids and mealy bugs produce the honeydew substance they are interested in and thus there is a symbiosis of which they are taking advantage.

Primarily you want to prevent a colony from moving into the plant. But a stray or two is only a concern as to alert you to examine the plants' media of your collection and throw down another trap or two.

Carnivorous plants may also be an option :evil:

We get red fire ants ! They are rather bigger and do not leave the buds easily.
You know the stem is so tiny and that can't stand several bites. The night time slugs eat them.

Cinammon! Great! I don't know it keeps ants away as well. Ants are the reason why developing buds of my dendro and phals gets dried up and drop.

I get the small black ants in my potted plants - lots of watering and a few ant stakes usually help out quite a bit. there is a gel to get if you can find it - its called Combat, and very difficult to find. basically its the same stuff the pest control companies use. the ants take the gel to their nest and start killing off the colony.

the worst ant invasion we had was when a queen set up house in our car! - called it the antmobile for ages...

hmm pitcher plant on the same pot with the orchid. would that be fine?

are ants afraid of cow dung?