# Ants living in my plant's pot.



## Slartibartfast (Oct 6, 2008)

When I water my plant, a gazillion ants start evacuating, carrying their eggs. They're just tiny pissants, otherwise known as picnic or sugar ants, so I hope they don't eat the roots or anything terrible like that.  They don't travel up the stalk, thank goodness.  I wouldn't want them sucking the resin out of my trichomes. 

I know they will have eaten the earthworms I put in the soil back in May.  I think I'm about 4 weeks from harvest now, so I don't want to try poison on the soil.  I did try spraying the pot all over, under, and around it, and then flooding the pot with water so when the ants run away, they'll run into the poison.  It didn't work as well as I hoped.  Anyone here know of problems ants will cause?  What can I do, if anything?

For all I know, maybe they help aerate the soil.


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## Kupunakane (Oct 6, 2008)

Hey there Slartibartfast,

  I think that your right about waiting. I mean if you have had them this long, and you are this close to harvest, I would treat everything as if they are not there, and hope for the best.
 Good Luck, and do let us know what happens.

smoke in peace
Kingkahuuna


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## time4tokin20s (Oct 6, 2008)

I've seen them living in the gravel at the bottom of pots without any noticed ill effects.


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## 3patas (Oct 6, 2008)

i dont think it wont hurt the plant  but in my opinion i will keep them  , actually it will help me to protect my plant from other bugs that  might hurt my plant


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## 4u2sm0ke (Oct 7, 2008)

Im sorry..i read that ants are bad for plants.  Are they crawling on the plant at all?..do you see them at the top?..Thanks for shareing with us..and do keep us in formed


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## That crazy vancouver guy (Oct 7, 2008)

actually... the ants may form a symbiotic relationship with the plant, but I could be wrong... fer instance... the x-bioch used to have this plant in the front garden called a peonay (spelling?) that had this really sticky resin over the flower bulb... well, if ants didn't come and remove this resin off the bulb, the flower didn't fully bloom ... and this thing was huge... the size of a small red dodge ball... and the bud covered in the resin was the size of a golf ball... but it needed the ants to clean the resin off for the flower to be released... I watched them do this:hubba:


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## 4u2sm0ke (Oct 7, 2008)

I got this from " Ask Ed "...by Ed Rosenthal


The ants are making nests in the planting medium of the containers. This messes with the roots. they are aphid ranchers. Aphids suck the juices of the plants and concentrate the sugars in a "honeydew". the ants squeeze the aphids to harvest the honeydew. Ants protect aphids from predation by other creatures. Aphids harm plants in three ways: they suck vital juices from the plant, their "honeydew" promotes infections, and they are often vectors for desease, spreading bacterial and viral infections. Although it may seem as if the ants are everywhere, once you follow the trails, you will probably find that the ants are only colonizing a few containers or a few holes in the garden. The ants must be eliminated. there are many ways to do this without using poisons. Mixes of sugar, boric acid and diatomacious earth can be placed in the ant' path. the substances coat the ants' exoskeleton and puncture it so the creatures dehydrate. A sticky barrier can be placed on the stems of the plants so that ants cannot climb up. Nurseries selll Tanlefoot(r) made for this purpose. Ant colonies are exterminated professionally using a solution of pyrethrum poured into their holes. Ant bait is also very effective. Cinnamon is by far the most effective and killer/repellent. It is both repugnant and fatal to ants. As you sprinkle it or water into the soil, you will see the ants scurrying out of their nests. With a spoon, sprinkle ground cinnamon, the regular spice type that you can purchase at the grocery store, on the top of the planting medium. Then make a drench using 2 rounded tablespoons of grounded cinnamon per gallon of hot water. Let the water cool to room temperature then add a liquid pyrethrum insecticide into the solution as directed. A surfactant such as coco-wet(r) will make the solution more effective. Use the solution as a drench. Beneficial nemotodes should be added to the medium. These microscopic creatures atttck various insects including ants and help prevent their return. To keep the ants out, the perimeter should be lined with a inch-wide barrier of diatomaceous earth and cinnamon powder. If the ants have encouraged an aphid infestation, be sure to treat for aphids once the ants have been eliminated.


Hope this helps


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## That crazy vancouver guy (Oct 7, 2008)

there ya go... do what he said ^


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## papabeach1 (Oct 8, 2008)

my grandpa showed me how to get rid of ants by cinnamon spices, just
dressing it around the soil surface before apply the watering...

pretty simple... ants don't like dried cinnamon  and it don't affect plants/roots


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## Hick (Oct 8, 2008)

> Ant colonies are exterminated professionally using a solution of pyrethrum poured into their holes


... How do they hold their tiny little legs??..


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## Waspfire (Oct 8, 2008)

another way we folks down in the south kill ants and have seen and herd many down here use it, Is to take a handful of grits yes i know u northern people are like what the hell is a grit but yes take some grits spread aorudn the ant pile or along there trail they will then take it back eat it and blow up lol. jm2cents grits expand when water hits them so when digested they blow up funny thing to watch


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## Hick (Oct 8, 2008)

...."grit's 'n gravy"...


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## Puffin Afatty (Oct 8, 2008)

*one time while hunting I found an ant hill and cut a branch off an crabapple tree to poke it a bit, leaving the stick in the ant hill when I left   these were red/black ants, when I returned the next fall, the branch was growing and the ants were still using the ant hill with their new crabapple tree growing out of the middle :rofl: *


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## Waspfire (Oct 8, 2008)

Hick said:
			
		

> ...."grit's 'n gravy"...


 
lol hick we love same foods it seems grits n gravy and fried spam lol


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## Hick (Oct 8, 2008)

yea.. an' I'm a damn yankee


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## Waspfire (Oct 8, 2008)

Hick said:
			
		

> yea.. an' I'm a damn yankee


 
lol nobodys perfect


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## 4u2sm0ke (Oct 8, 2008)

Hick said:
			
		

> ... How do they hold their tiny little legs??..


 

and what hole is best?


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## 4u2sm0ke (Oct 8, 2008)

what are grits?...cereal?


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## trillions of atoms (Oct 9, 2008)

^ Lol
i get my grits from the same person jack gets his majic beans -  my cuz vinny


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## Hick (Oct 9, 2008)

4u2sm0ke said:
			
		

> what are grits?...cereal?


yep.. a corn based mush


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## 4u2sm0ke (Oct 9, 2008)

mush????  that dont sound yummy at all..lol


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## andy52 (Oct 9, 2008)

love the grits with fried eggs and them mix them all together.ofcourse with hot home made biscuits.


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## Waspfire (Oct 9, 2008)

andy52 said:
			
		

> love the grits with fried eggs and them mix them all together.ofcourse with hot home made biscuits.


 
man after my own heart  i think its so funny ppl ask whta are grits, but when i was in philly they had this square peice of meet forgot the name of it will never eat it again natsy thing i ever tasted


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## Slartibartfast (Oct 9, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies, too many to answer individually.  The ants are not crawling up and down the plant, so I am not going to worry too much about them.  She looks healthy except she took a real pounding from a rain storm last night.  I worry about that hard rain destroying trichomes, but I'm about to post a new thread about that.

Grandpa used cinnamon huh.  Probably works better than high tech stuff, with no toxic runoff.

Grits are just ground up dried corn kernels, and nothing else.  Add salt, cook in boiling water until they are done.  They're NOT mush.  Oatmeal is MUSH in a major way.  Compared to that ****, you have to chew grits.  Add butter, salt and pepper, and they'll cure what ails you... unless you're an ant!


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## Kupunakane (Oct 10, 2008)

Yo Hick Monster,
   Holding those tiny little legs,  LOL I just know I'm gonna have a heart attack laughing over your jokes. Sick as they are, they seem to strike my funny bone in just the right way, and I end up laughing so hard my Lady has asked several times, "Are you OK"?   But I can never answer right away cause I'm laughing so hard. Thanks !!!!
2007 Pics 042.gif

smoke in peace
kingkahuuna


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## Hick (Oct 10, 2008)

') kingK'.. I'm only glad that "somebody" appreciates my humor.  I'm sure there are peep's that have simply shook their heads at some of my daft comments. I get it all the time in real life  
 And yea, Slrtibart.. grits are a little courser than "mush" I 'spose..


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## Slartibartfast (Oct 10, 2008)

Hick said:
			
		

> ') kingK'.. I'm only glad that "somebody" appreciates my humor.  I'm sure there are peep's that have simply shook their heads at some of my daft comments. I get it all the time in real life
> And yea, Slrtibart.. grits are a little courser than "mush" I 'spose..



Yeah, no prob, Hick, I just got a little carried away with that mush rant back there.  If you're a Hick, I'm definitely a Grit.


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## TURKEYNECK (Oct 10, 2008)

Hick said:
			
		

> ') kingK'.. I'm only glad that "somebody" appreciates my humor. I'm sure there are peep's that have simply shook their heads at some of my daft comments. I get it all the time in real life
> And yea, Slrtibart.. grits are a little courser than "mush" I 'spose..



I get ya Hick ..Grits are only mushy if ya dont have enough CHEESE in 'em!:hubba:


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## 4u2sm0ke (Oct 10, 2008)

Hey guys and gals...when i first signed in here it was *KING* up there that told me to bring plenty of the haha..and hanging out and getting to know people threw this silly box  and their humor is what brings me back to threads..and *Hick* has some good post that still make me pee my pants..heck just the other day while while stopping in the office I over heard a Fella saying he was thinking about getting his wife a stun gun...first thing i thaught of was *Hick* Last Christmas i think it was that he tried it on him self to test it...im laughing now...but as I walked by i suggested him not to test it on himself...Thanks Hick and KING  you both make me laugh..at the right times..

Take care and be safe


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## WhiteWidower (Oct 11, 2008)

flaboy420 said:
			
		

> another way we folks down in the south kill ants and have seen and herd many down here use it, Is to take a handful of grits yes i know u northern people are like what the hell is a grit but yes take some grits spread aorudn the ant pile or along there trail they will then take it back eat it and blow up lol. jm2cents grits expand when water hits them so when digested they blow up funny thing to watch


 
Are you serious?  They actually explode?  like the rumor about seagulls?  Or do they just die?


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## Waspfire (Oct 11, 2008)

WhiteWidower said:
			
		

> Are you serious? They actually explode? like the rumor about seagulls? Or do they just die?


 
not like a  bomb or anyhting u will see the ant go from its normal size to bloated and dead lol blew up the inside i guess lol .From what i take like us ants bodys are made of water to so when they digest the grit the grit expands and poof there dead lol.i recently played aroudn wiht the cinnamon trick and put a big perimeter aroudn my pant out side havent seen Ant insaide the cinnamon circle yet lol would of never thunk about cinnamon being used for ants


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## WhiteWidower (Oct 11, 2008)

How quickly do they start getting bloated?


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## SmokinMom (Oct 11, 2008)

Damn now I am craving grits and I don't have any in the pantry.

It's the uncooked, dried variety that kills ants.  They eat it and the grits expand in their tiny tummy and viola!  Dead ant, dead ant, dead ant dead ant dead ant.........

Just what makes that lil ol ant...think he can move that rubber tree plant?  Anyone knows an ant cant move a rubber tree plant.  But he's got HIGH hopes, he's got HIGH hopes.........

Sigh.....


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## Slartibartfast (Oct 12, 2008)

I'm glad this became an interesting thread, thanks for all the replies.  Just for everyone's information, the ants left for good when I poured some generic Miracle Gro 20-20-20 into the pot.  Nary an ant since, and she's dark green and covered with flowers.

I cut a small lower branch and dried it behind my CPU power supply fan.  It gives a really nice buzz for immature buds. Been growing since May 25th, I wish it would hurry up!!!!!!!


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## IRISH (Oct 13, 2008)

glad to hear you ridded the pests from your grow Slar. ...

grits,eggs,cheese,butter,salt,pepper, Y'all forgot the salt meat... ...


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## andy52 (Oct 13, 2008)

you got it banjo,i love just saltmeat fried and slap er on a hot bisquit,or on a plate with some honey poured over the salt meat.yummy


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## Slartibartfast (Oct 14, 2008)

banjobuzz said:
			
		

> glad to hear you ridded the pests from your grow Slar. ...
> 
> grits,eggs,cheese,butter,salt,pepper, Y'all forgot the salt meat...



Yeah, well, my old Lab does live in the yard with the plant.


Here she is.  That fence is six feet tall and the plant is bent over and tied with about a mile of string.  When I cut her, I'll find out exactly how tall it really would have been.


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