Orange tree / ants / aphids

[EggandStress]

I’m a novice gardener.

I’ve got an orange tree in a pot, it’s about 4 years old.
It lives indoors in winter and outdoors in summer.

It’s infested with ants. I’ve been reading this morning and it looks like that’s because of aphids.

There seems to be 2 schools of thought- leave them, it’s nature or get rid.

I really don’t want the tree to be damaged (I’ve grown if from a pip) and also I don’t want the house full of ants when I bring it in in winter.

What should I do? I’m very much organic and let things be (bee) in the garden but also want to do my best for the tree.

you could trying spraying with a weak solution of washing-up liquid

Ants hate lemon juice so that might work, without killing your tree?

Blast off as many ants and aphids as you can with the hose then put a thick ring of vaseline near the base of the trunk to keep the ants off. Soapy water spray can keep the aphid numbers down, although a healthy ecosystem allows some pests to thrive.

Get rid of the aphids and the ants will move out.

Keep the pot well watered. I’d even suggest soaking it in a bucket of water overnight to make sure the compost/soil is damp all the way through. Ants like it dry. The ants are harvesting the aphids for the honeydew they excrete.

I second soaking the whole pot in water, they don't like wet ground.

Also have you actually seen aphids or aphid damage? Worth checking stems for scale insects if not as ants will farm them in the same way and they're a little trickier to spot and worth getting them off before they cause damage (I just use my finger nail but have seen alcohol on a swab recommended)

Came on to say soak the pot in a bucket of water to get the soil really wet, ants will move out as they like it dry and hot. Without ants the aphids are unprotected. But @AlwaysGardening got there first.

Buy some ladybirds and/or ladybird larvae to eat the aphids.

Can you really do that? Where and how?

Online. I ordered lace wings the other day for the same issue.

https://ladybirdplantcare.co.uk/collections/aphid-controls

Sorry, should have done a link. I bought a 'ladybird family' from here: Green Gardener. They sell native 3 spot ladybirdss that arrived in good condition and several weeks later they are still doing their job in the garden.

2 spot ladybirds!

Thanks everyone. I will soak the pot tomorrow. Amazing that you can buy ladybirds- may give that a try. I’ve seen a couple on other plants so I could relocate them too.
There are black spots on the underside of some leaves on the orange tree, which I guess are aphids.

Thank you so much @JaninaDuszejko
Amazing what you learn on MN!

You can get biological control for lots of things, including nematodes to reduce slugs and leatherjackets as well. Ladybirds are the most fun though, it's so nice to have them in the garden.

I’ve just done this - it’s fascinating to watch them develop and get to work!

When I had ants in my large pot of roses I took the rose out and shook all the soil off the roots and that included ants eggs etc. I then cleaned the pot and repotted the rose and this year there have been no ants. I poured boiling hot water over the ants eggs and soil from pot.