Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Ants in and under one of my patio containers.

happycottontailhappycottontail Posts: 394
in Problem solving
Hi everyone, it’s a long time since I’ve posted on here, but I really need your help. The endless days of rain have delayed my summer planting plans. I have two containers on my patio where I want to plant geraniums, but one of them has lots of piles of black earth on the surrounding patio and many ants racing around. I tried pouring boiling water on them, but the ants didn’t seem to mind. I began to remove the top layer of old compost today and found it was also teeming with ants. I hesitate to plant my geraniums in it. What do you think I should do?
Not so happycottontail

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Ants like dry places for their nests so give the compost a thorough soaking with a couple of buckets of water poured on slowly.  Put the pot in a saucer to slow down the rate at which the water drains as this will help with the soaking.   

    Before you plant up again, pour over a solution of 5 litres of water mixed with one small bottle of essential oil of cloves - pharmacy and health stores - as they can't stand the smell.  That should see off any stragglers and then you can freshen the compost and plant up the pot.   

    Make sure it never dries out completely and use the oil of cloves solution again if needed.  
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • BrexiteerBrexiteer Posts: 955
    Don't pour boiling water on them because that is just wicked and cruel in my eyes 
  • happycottontailhappycottontail Posts: 394
    Obelixx said:
    Ants like dry places for their nests so give the compost a thorough soaking with a couple of buckets of water poured on slowly.  Put the pot in a saucer to slow down the rate at which the water drains as this will help with the soaking.   

    Before you plant up again, pour over a solution of 5 litres of water mixed with one small bottle of essential oil of cloves - pharmacy and health stores - as they can't stand the smell.  That should see off any stragglers and then you can freshen the compost and plant up the pot.   

    Make sure it never dries out completely and use the oil of cloves solution again if needed.  
    Thank you Obelixx for your very detailed reply.  I will go and hunt for oil of cloves and hope it does the trick.

    Birmingham Marc 1972, I am not in the habit of killing wildlife, unless it’s lily beetles, but someone suggested that boiling water would get rid of the ants. As it happens, it didn’t.  I should have asked on this forum before taking any action. Sorry!

    happiercottontail
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    I had exactly the same problem with a large pot today.  My solution was simple.  Tipped the content of the pot into a wheelbarrow and dumped it at the bottom of the garden.  The local birds thought Christmas had come early with all those juicy ants and their eggs.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Good solution but won't stop them invading again if they find a nice dry pot of compost.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    Glad you posed this one it’s somethimg I’ve just encountered too. Thanks for the info Obelixx I’ll be off to the pharmacy tonight to get some clove oil.
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    It's a handy tip I picked up on a former incarnation of this forum about a decade or so ago.   Safe, effective, doesn't kill the good guys or the ants or the plants.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I use an old 'J Cloth' to line the bottom of all my pots, then some grit to weigh it down, then the compost. It seems to work keeping out ants and woodlice. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Obelixx said:
    Good solution but won't stop them invading again if they find a nice dry pot of compost.
    The pots are normally stood on feet to get them off the ground.  I didn't put them back on after removing the planting last autumn.  They are going back on their feet once they are planted back up.
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    I like the j cloth idea Lizzie 👍. I usually put a sheet of kitchen paper in the bottom of pots with big holes in, to stop the compost falling through.
Sign In or Register to comment.