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Ant problem...

S

silverwing

I posted awhile back about mushrooms growing in my bell pepper pot and what action I should take. But after the help I decided it best to just leave them be, later I came across a much worse problem, ants.

These ants are VERY persistent. Originally the red ants were coming from the grass into the pot and going all over the plant. But if that was just it I would leave them be but it wasn't, I saw them bringing and stacking what looks like green and beige sand ALL over the leaves of my bell pepper.(especially under newly grown leaves) With closer inspection I noticed that the beige looking sand was actually some sort of insect as it was moving but just barely, and the green "sand" appeared to be some sort of eggs. I started first by getting some dish soap and mixing it with water to spray on the affected areas, but it had almost no affect. It just continually got worse and worse, I later learned that the ants feed on the fungi that was in the pot. So I got desperate and started pruning the affect leaves and I sprayed some cinnamon in and around the pot and vinegar just around the pot to hopefully deter the ants and possibly kill the fungi.

No such luck. It just continually spread. So I took some insecticide and sprayed the border of my patio with it to stop the ants from coming in and that seemed to work but I still had the remaining ants in my pot. I took a good look at the whole plant and was shocked to see EVERY single new leaf covered in this "sand". I thought at the time if I don't take care of this soon It might affect my other plants, So I pruned the whole plant to a tall stalk. I felt really bad doing so but I needed to do something. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this type of situation? Or if I made the right call? I would appreciate it, thanks. :)
 
First rule of thumb - never, never, NEVER let fungi grow anywhere, unless it's wanted. It can be VERY difficult to get rid of, not to mention the kinds of issues you've been having.

I had a landscaper come pull out the ancient bushes from in front of my house, reshape the bed, bring in dirt, mulch, etc., then found the hard way he brought really cheap, crappy stuff that quickly sprouted all kinds of fungi - stuff I've never seen before, plus God only knows how many types of mushrooms. I treated it with anti-fungal spray, but it didn't matter - killed off everything in the entire bed. So I had all the dirt dug up and hauled off, and new dirt and mulch brought in, and of course, had to buy all the plants all over again.

Now in theory, if it gets cold enough where you're at, the fungi should die off over the winter and the next growing season you should be fine. I personally didn't want to risk it - replacing an entire bed of plants after just one grow season is costly.

The county extension office where I live recommended a 50/50 water/rubbing alchol mix to get rid of mites, eggs, and other stuff. It seemed to work on my potted pepper plants. Spray it on both sides of all leaves and the stalks and dirt after the heat of the day is over. It should evaporate overnight and so not cause any residual harm.
 
To control the pesky ants, get some nemetodes. They don't eat the ants they eat the ants eggs. Death to the nest by attrition.

I have a similar problem but with carpenter ants keep hearding aphids onto my peppers and toms. I'm spraying nemetodes onto the entire yard, water buckets, rain barrels base of trees...
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Yea, now I know not to let those damn fungi grow anywhere near my plants. I plant on re-potting my red bells. I figure since I pruned them so much, I might as well prune some roots to help new growth.
 
silverwing said:
Thanks for the replies guys. Yea, now I know not to let those damn fungi grow anywhere near my plants. I plant on re-potting my red bells. I figure since I pruned them so much, I might as well prune some roots to help new growth.
Click to expand...

Look VERY carefully at the roots - you will need to ensure you remove ALL the fungi on them.
 
geeme said:
Look VERY carefully at the roots - you will need to ensure you remove ALL the fungi on them.
Click to expand...

I was planning on dipping the roots into some Hydrogen Proxide. I saw someone on this forum try that and it seemed to work well with them. Would that get rid of any excess fungi?
 
That should help. Keep in mind, though, that you will likely see some dead roots, where the fungi have overtaken them. These should be cut off.
 
alright so I re-potted the bells. What was interesting though was that the fungi seemed completely isolated to a few pieces of rotting bark. But I did see a few insects in the dirt like a couple of those white centipede looking things, I think they eat roots. But the roots did look very healthy otherwise, they were white and strong.
 
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