Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

General information and discussion about cultivating fruit-bearing plants, trees, flowers and ornamental plants.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old March 26, 2007   #1
Bryan24
Tomatovillian™
 
Bryan24's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 176
Default ants

In our Mexican Lime pot. The tree won't stop flowering and fruiting, so we haven't transplanted it. But I noticed yesterday that there were ants in the pot. This morning, they had built themselves a nice little mound around the trunk. Can they kill the tree? Should I kill them, or just leave them alone?

And, semi-related....How do you know when a Mexican Lime is ripe? Ours never seem to grow any larger than 1.5-2" across. Also, they never really seem to soften. As such, we haven't eaten any of the limes yet....(and i was looking forward to fresh limeade, too)

thanks
laurel-tx
Bryan24 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 26, 2007   #2
tessa
Tomatovillian™
 
tessa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: perth, western australia
Posts: 1,031
Default

giving the soil a good soaking and keeping it wet for a bit is usually enough to convince the ants to move.
tessa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 26, 2007   #3
Suze
Tomatovillian™
 
Suze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,027
Default

I would try to get rid of them. Depending on how bad the infestation is, there could be damage to the roots. Plus, ants farm aphids.

Submerge the container in water for a half hour or so, and see if that doesn't get them to move.
Suze is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 26, 2007   #4
mdvpc
Tomatoville® Moderator
 
mdvpc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 4,386
Default

You can also put diatomaceous earth down-the soil and plant must be dry to do so. I have a dustin mizer that will very lightly coat the plant and soil and that will control them. If you dont have the dustin mizer, you can lightly sprinkle on the plant a soil.
__________________
Michael
mdvpc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 28, 2007   #5
Bryan24
Tomatovillian™
 
Bryan24's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 176
Default

Oh, yes, DE, like millions of tiny razor blades to bugs.....I kinda LIKE that! And I just happen to have a bottle in the garage!

laurel-tx
Bryan24 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2007   #6
honu
Tomatovillian™
 
honu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 270
Default

Laurel,
I'd immediately wash that mound off the trunk.
When I see ants, I check the leaf undersides for aphids, because in my area, aphids can transmit citrus tristeza virus, which can be a serious problem here.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/HS/HS24200.pdf
I use boric acid + sugar baits in containers, or ready made Terro baits around areas where ants are a problem.

Last edited by honu; March 29, 2007 at 05:38 AM.
honu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old April 1, 2007   #7
Bryan24
Tomatovillian™
 
Bryan24's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 176
Default

Oh, dear. No chances, I think I may have to use the heavy stuff if that's even remotely possible.

thanks
laurel-tx
Bryan24 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old April 7, 2007   #8
gardenpaws_VA
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Northern Virginia, USA - zone 7+
Posts: 161
Default

Drowning them out DOES work, though it works a whole lot better if you add a drop or two of dishwashing liquid (interferes with the ants' ability to climb out by reducing the surface tension in the water).

Aphids are certainly a major consideration, but you should also look for scales. Most of my ant infestations in potted citrus have been linked to scale infestations which I hadn't recognized. I usually just rub them off, but am going to have to switch to an oil spray now that my plants are bigger and VERY thorny. (I have a Key lime and a Rangpur lime, as well as an unthorny Meyer lemon.)
gardenpaws_VA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old April 11, 2007   #9
garnetmoth
Tomatovillian™
 
garnetmoth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: cincinnati, oh
Posts: 492
Default

Honu- I love the Boric acid trick- I just take some honey, syrup, or sugar water, put in bit of Borax Soap Powder... I warm the syrup in the microwave, stir in the borax, and lightly dab the mixture around the pot, trail, or wherever ants are a problem.
I like problems with household chemical solutions!
garnetmoth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old April 11, 2007   #10
sirtanon
Tomatovillian™
 
sirtanon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Phoenix, AZ (zone 9b)
Posts: 796
Default

I haven't had the opportunity to try this, but as I understand it, coffee grounds are to ants what garlic is to vampires. They hate it.
__________________
I could sail by on the winds of silence, and maybe they won't notice... but this time I think it would be better if I swim..
sirtanon is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:20 AM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★