ants in pots
kellierp
Posts: 5
I've got several pots with established shrubs in but they are being ruined by ants nesting in them, is there any way of getting rid of the ants and saving the plants?
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kellierp
Posts: 5
kellierp
Posts: 5
kellierp
Posts: 5
Posts
Ants don't like being wet - that's why they like pots, they're usually dryer than the surrounding ground - give your plants a good soaking - hopefully the ants will move on and look for somewhere dryer.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I get them a lot too. I put ant powder under the pot, and also have just bought some of those ant station things and have hidden them behind the pots. It's hard to win - put a lot of my plants in pots to protect them from slugs and now the ants go for it instead!! If your plants are really suffering, then you could always repot them?
Keep the pots better watered but stand them on some special pot feet or bricks so they can drain properly and not drown the plants.
Once in a while water with a solution of one small bottle of essential oïl of cloves (paharmacies and health shops) in 10 litres of water. The ants hate the smell and move on.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
to be fair - Clove oil is disgusting smelling! it would make me want to move on too! does the job with a sore tooth though
Brilliant, thanks everyone for the advice, I'll try raising the pots and watering more, some of them are quite big rose bushes so not keen on repotting those!
Thomas - nothing wrong with clove oil