Ants infestation in my patio pots

[noclouds]

Any suggestions, my pots are riddled with ants and I think it's damaging the plants

Thanks

Yeah they will nobble your plants, especially if they are farming on and under them too.

I would repot the plants…pull them out, shake off, wash the pots out and use new soil. Mix into the new potting soil some Ant Stop granules. And liberally scatter some around the pots. Ant Stop granules are derived from a soil bacteria that is 100% harmless to humans, animals, wildlife, even bees.

If you see trails of them attempting a re-settlement, put more down on their paths. The granules work by the ant carrying back residue to the Queen and then the nest has a pandemic and dies.

Other ants in other nests may come post pandemic and try to settle in the empty nest, so you might have to do this every few months, then once a year and after that should be no trouble.

We've got ants nests in most of our plants & other than getting a bit angry when I'm weeding, they don't damage the plants. They don't eat the plant roots.

The ants don’t, but they like to farm fungus on roots and aphids on the plants themselves. So the fungus eats the plant’s roots and the aphids suck the sap from the plants new growth. Typically if ants move into potted plants, they are farming there and it can eventually kill the plant.

Where can you buy Ant Stop? And is it really safe for dogs? Our whole garden is riddled with ants, so much so that we can’t even put a blanket down and sit on the lawn.

Amazon. Get it from Home Defense.
(There are knock off sellers on Amazon selling under Ant Stop a counterfeit product that is bright pink and toxic to pets, esp cats.)

It should be white granules. Or you can use bait stations if concerned.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Defence-Stop-Granules-300g/dp/B07JJ28KG8/ref=pd_sim_d_sccl_4_1/257-0732827-9889108?pd_rd_w=m4Xu9&content-id=amzn1.sym.c7e2bad4-5f0a-4571-946c-cadf3ebf9cb4&pf_rd_p=c7e2bad4-5f0a-4571-946c-cadf3ebf9cb4&pf_rd_r=E3HR99WAPSPJ848ZQE47&pd_rd_wg=vo0aF&pd_rd_r=1feace08-5bbf-426b-8c74-6ec9ad5ef1bb&pd_rd_i=B07JJ28KG8&th=1

I thought the types of ants that farm fungus aren't the types we have in the average UK garden.
They do farm aphids, but if you encourage lots of predators it keeps the populations in check, & if you encourage birds into the garden they'll eat the ants.
RHS advice is to leave them alone as they form a crucial part of the biodiversity in the garden & lifecycles for lots of other species.

We have terrible issues with ants, and yes the plants get severely damaged. Personally I just put some ant killer round the pots now and it does the trick.

Someone told me that the ants congregate where there are aphids on the plants in the pots. Treat the aphids and the ants go away. Not sure how true that is, mind.

We have a very 'anty' garden and I leave them alone unless they invade something like the composter or patio pots, or try to get into the kitchen. I use Nippon Ant Bait stations, they contain a sweet substance which ants take back to the nest, and it kills the nest. It's in a container which can only be accessed by something tiny like ants, so it can't harm our cats or other wildlife.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nippon-Killer-Station-Baited-Outdoor/dp/B08DM51QTS/ref=asc_df_B08DM51QTS/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=501148229961&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16888860470040287023&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007266&hvtargid=pla-1216814692234&psc=1&mcid=5c7caaddb93d3375b1ccabe2fa9212a8

Don’t think that’s true to be honest. I wish it was.

It is true - in part. Ants farm aphids for their honeydew and will carry the aphids to new plants. So if there are ants in the pot, there is likely to also be an aphid problem. Get shot of the aphids and those ants will go somewhere else instead.

Of course, some ruddy ants just happen to like the soil in the pot (usually the sandy loam stuff for mature plants) and they are a bugger to shift.

I tried that, the ants kept bringing new aphids to the plants.
It was a losing battle. So I got rid of the ants in a 3m radius from the house. I leave ants alone beyond that in the wilder parts of my garden as they are part of the ecosystem. I just don’t want them in my potted plants and planters by my house as next step is likely a house invasion.

Hello NoClouds,

Ants don’t like wet soil or compost so keep your pots well watered.

Recently ants turned up in a friends worm bin / composter and as soon as I wet the top compartment they were gone with 24 hours.

Happy gardening
TheSustainableGardener

P.S. Apparently ants don’t like cinnamon so you could try scattering some around where they have set up home.