What to do if there are ants in your bonsai? Practical removal methods
Gardeners may often encounter ant damage to their flowers when growing plants, especially potted flowers. So how do you control ants in potted flowers? Below are several methods for controlling ant damage for gardening enthusiasts.
How do you control ants in potted flowers? Gardeners may often encounter ant damage to their flowers when growing plants, especially potted flowers. So how do you control ants in potted flowers?
1. Eliminate the ant source
Keep potted flowers away from ant nests. If you find ants in the potting soil, first follow the ants' crawling route to find the nest, and destroy it by flooding with water, burning, or spraying pesticide. Then sprinkle some lime on the nest and along the ants' crawling route to prevent the ants from causing damage again.
2. Physical control
1. When applying decomposed fertilizer, base fertilizer, or organic fertilizer, you must use fully fermented, decomposed organic fertilizer. Never use raw or semi-decomposed fertilizer, to avoid attracting ants in search of food.
2. Cleaning off the excrement of flies, moths, aphids, mites, and other insects remaining on leaf surfaces: these easily attract ants to forage, so frequently spray and wash the leaf surfaces with clean water to keep them clean. At the same time, frequently sweep the ground and keep the potted flower care area clean and hygienic, to avoid odorous substances attracting ants.
3. Soaking in water to remove pests: Slowly place potted flowers already harmed by ants into a bucket filled with water and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. The ants cannot withstand the flooding and will all crawl out of the potting soil. At this point, you can eliminate the ants floating on the water surface and crawling on the stems and leaves of the potted flowers.
4. Garlic to repel pests: Peel garlic, mash it, and bury the crushed bits into the potting soil. The ants cannot withstand the fumigating garlic odor and will flee on their own.
5. Repotting to remove them: For plants that have already had nests built at the roots, the most effective method is to repot in a water basin and eliminate all the ants. Then wash the plant roots and cultivate the potted flower with disinfected new potting soil.
3. Chemical control
1. Potting soil disinfection: Before potting or repotting, disinfect the potting soil with agents such as 40% formalin, 65% zineb powder, and 50% carbendazim powder to kill termites, ants, and their eggs in the potting soil.
2. Burying medicated soil: Mix 1 part 50% trichlorfon wettable powder with 50 parts sieved fine soil to make medicated soil, then bury the medicated soil at equal distances into the potting soil to eliminate ants.
3. Pouring medicated liquid: For plants that are severely damaged and cannot be repotted due to hot weather or for which burying medicated soil has no obvious effect, or for plants where ants have already built nests in the potting soil, use 10 grams of 50% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate mixed with 500 to 1000 grams of water, or use 1000 grams of clean water mixed with 5 to 10 grams of 40% dimethoate emulsion to prepare a medicated liquid. Pour the medicated liquid into the potting soil and the places with ants, then seal the entire flower pot with a plastic bag for 12 hours, which can kill all the ants.
Termites and ants are very harmful to potted flowers. They not only bore into the stems but also destroy the plant's root system, weakening the plant's ability to absorb and transport nutrients and water, ultimately leading to poor growth, wilting, and even death of the plant. Therefore, gardening enthusiasts must pay attention to prevention and control.
Beginner gardeners do not know the harm ants cause to flower growing, and just think about not hurting them. In fact, they are a major enemy of flower growing! Ants raise aphids, scale insects, and other pests, and carry pests from one plant to another (otherwise did you think they could fly?)
Ants like the excrement of aphids and scale insects (it is honeydew to them), so they help pests harm plants. Therefore, gardening friends should remove ants as soon as they see them. You can sprinkle some soaked citrus water (lemon is most effective) beside the flower pot to prevent ants from invading.
Below are the 4 simplest methods:
1. Soaking in clean water
First fill a large water basin with clean water, then fully soak the potted plant in the water. The water must submerge the flower pot. Soak for 20 minutes, then lift out the flower pot. This way, the ants will all drown.
2. Poisoning with pesticides
Pesticide stores and agricultural product stores sell some ant poisons (like rat poison). The ants will die after eating them. Buy some and place them where ants appear or beside their walking routes.
3. Watering with soapy water
This method requires your plant to be strong and able to endure the stress. Mix soapy water with water at a 500-fold dilution, then pour it into the soil. Leave the flower pot for 30 minutes, then water with clean water. Repeat several times, and you can clean the ants out of the flower pot completely. It is also very effective against other small crawling insects in the soil.
Be careful to control the amount. If the plant is growing weakly, do not do this.
4. Spraying with pesticides
Go to a pesticide store and directly buy household pyrethroid insecticides for killing insects, such as the common Miehai Ling. Spray directly on the places where ants appear and into the flower pot. The advantage is that it is simple and quick; the disadvantage is that it cannot completely remove them, and it cannot kill the ones in the soil either.
Growing flowers at home often causes ant damage. Ants not only affect the growth of flowers and trees, and even cause their death, but also damage furniture and contaminate food, bringing many troubles to flower growers. Below are several simple control methods:
1. Soil replacement method
If you do not grow many flowers and discover the ant damage early, you can immediately carry out a thorough soil replacement to completely remove the ants. The method is to thoroughly replace the original soil containing ants and their eggs with fresh soil. The replacement soil must be thoroughly disinfected, and it can only be used after checking that there are indeed no ant eggs. Before putting new soil into the flower pot, wash it carefully. The replaced soil should be treated with insecticide promptly. After replacing the soil, the place where the flower pot is placed should be sprayed with Miehai Ling or other insecticides.
2. Pesticide spraying method
If there are relatively many ants and their range of activity is relatively wide, during the peak activity period of ants in summer and autumn, you can use Miehai Ling to spray and kill ants on the surface of the potting soil and around the flower pot. Be careful that the medicated liquid must not be sprinkled on the flowers and leaves. Generally once every 5 days, spraying continuously 5 times can control the harm of ants.
3. Medicated planting method
If ants are found in the flower pot soil, you can bury an appropriate amount of veterinary trichlorfon tablets in the ant nest and around it. Depending on the size of the flower pot, generally 5-8 tablets are suitable. Then water thoroughly every day, and after 7 days the ants in the pot can be killed.
4. Bait trapping method
At a place 20 cm beside the flower pot where ants are found, use a small piece of pig skin or chicken bone as bait. Do not put any pesticide in the bait. Generally after the meat skin or chicken bone is placed for 2-3 hours, it will be discovered by the ants. To carry the food, the ants will turn out in full force. At this time, use Miehai Ling to spray and kill them. Trap once every 10 days, and the ants can be gradually eliminated.