This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Ants in the greenhouse
Ivyhouse
Posts: 111
I wonder if anybody has some advice please. I have a fig in a pot in my greenhouse but it has been inhabited by a large colony of ants. I am loathe to kill them as they seem harmless little creatures but will they cause long term damage to the plant if left alone ?
Many thanks in anticipation.
0
Posts
Hi Ivyhouse. The fact that they are in the pot means that they could have tunnels that may not be good for the fig's roots. Is the fig showing any signs of stress at all? Apparently if you use lots of water then they may move out as their 'home' becomes flooded. Have you got any aphids on your fig as ants will 'farm' them for the honeydew they secrete?
I have ants in my compost heaps and in my conservatory. Bit of a problem the other day when they took flight - nightmare!
Opened all the conservatory windows and shut the door to the house!
When I make it a nice garden room out of it, sorry, but the ants are getting bricked in!!
Tried drenching them yesterday but they're still firmly in residence today. If I use a proprietary ant killer presumably this year's figs will be inedible. I have about ten ripening nicely.
Try nematodes. Apparently ants will not tolerate nematodes near their nest and will move it. No toxic effects so will not affect your figs. Look for 'nemasys no ants'