SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
kvetchlambkin

Ants on citrus again..harmless?

Home
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago

Hi all! I had a problem with ants living in the soil of my Meyer last month. I had it repotted into a new mix and new pot now and didn't see any ants in the new pot until yesterday!

What's different this time is that the ants aren't crawling around the soil or bottom of the pot. They're always hanging around the flower petals where it connects to the stem. No signs of honeydew or bugs at all since the repot. I'm assuming the ants are hanging by the flower this time because they're trying to get their food directly from the flower's nectar or pollen itself rather than relying on the aphid's honeydew excrement. I'm considering leaving the ants be if this is the case. Has anyone had ants behaving on their citrus this way too?

(last night)

(this afternoon)

I gave a hard puff and blew them off the tree and they continued to crawl around the broken flower parts. The scientist in me wanted to stick around and observe but after the rains I'd be eaten alive by mosquitos so I ran back home.

Comments (8)