RED Ants in Orchid Pots

15 years ago

I have a client who has asked me what she should do about red ants in her orchids. I've never heard of red ants - black yes and I've treated them with an orange/citrus type spray. I'm stumped - any sugggestions/comments/recommendations?

Tampaart

Tampa

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Comments (6)

jane__ny
15 years ago
Does it matter which color? If they are in pots, I would stick them in a bucket with water and drown them. Leave them in the bucket for a few hours. It will force them up the leaves and then you can spray them with something like the citrus spray.

Maybe try Ray's garlic tip.
tampaart
Original Author
15 years ago
Ahhh Jane, in FL the RED ones BITE LIKE HELL. The black ones are harmless and are killed easily by citrus sprays. RED Fireants on the other hand are not killed that quickly. That is why I'm stumped on a solution.
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jemsta
15 years ago
Yeah, seen them in Texas, those things are scary. There's got to be some sort of bait for getting rid of infestations, something they take back to their queen or similar. Here's a site that describes methods of fire ant control, some of them seem kinda scary, but the commercial solutions are at the bottom.
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bcfromfl
15 years ago
Simple solution: place pot in larger container, and fill with water until it reaches the rim. Leave for a few minutes, and the ants will leave the medium carrying eggs, etc., and climb into the leaves. Hit them with ant & roach spray. Don't worry about the orchid -- wipe with a paper towel and it'll make the leaves all shiny.

If you turn the plant on its side, the dead ants will fall on the ground instead of back into the pot. If you don't want to deal with all this, you can skip steps #1 and #2, and just spray the medium with the ant & roach killer. It'll accomplish the same thing, although some may escape death and just move the rest of the colony somewhere else.

BTW, the pain from a fire ant doesn't come from the bite...it's from the sting. They bite for leverage to drive the stinger in, and not get brushed off easily. There's actually a worse sting from an ant here in Florida. I don't know the latin name, but locally in south Florida they're known as "bull" ants. They're mostly solitary, and you'll see them running up and down tree trunks. They're slender and about 1/4 to 3/8" long, black, with a red thorax (middle segment). I understand they're closely related to wasps. I've been stung once, and it left a horrific black spot the size of a half dollar on my leg, and took two weeks to heal. The pain is like nothing you would expect from such a tiny creature!

-Bruce
tampaart
Original Author
15 years ago
Damn Bruce,
Doesn't sound like a good critter to me. Luckily we haven't discovered them on Davis Islands. My client is further south in Venice Beach area. I've sent her a few other recommendations as well and we'll see what happens. In all my years, I've never seen RED ants take up residence in orchid pots, ever. Strange.

Another reason to "watch out for the BULL" huh? (couldn't resist)
albertan
15 years ago
Ortho puts out a fire ant killer (Orthene WP) which is also a systemic for use to rid plants of thrips, scale and mealy bugs. Ask for it (or acephate) at Home Depot, Lowes or a good garden center.