Ants living in the pot with the peppers

[Turbota]

I have had problems in the past with these small ants living in the soil in the pots of red pepper plants.
 
It don't look like they are actually eating the leaves, but I wonder if ants are eating the roots? .... or are they just using the potting soil as a home and not causing any damage?
 
Thanks ...

 

[armac]

They are bringing in aphids, get rid of all ants.

 

[Turbota]

Thanks for the fast reply ... "they are bringing in aphids"?
 
I thought ants ate aphids ... surprises me that they would bring in live aphids and not eat them as soon as they found one.
 
oh well
_____________________________________
 
 
Ok ... I just read this about the mutual relationship between ants and aphids. http://insects.about.com/od/coolandunusualinsects/f/antsandaphids.htm

 

[geeme]

If the ants are truly "living in" the pots, you probably ought to pull them out and give them fresh soil. That aside, food-grade diatomaceous earth is very safe to use - sprinkle it on the ants and they will ultimately keel over. Sprinkle a circle of it around the outside perimeter of the pots, and ants won't cross it. However, it must be dry to be useful, so don't use it when you know it's going to rain. 

 

[Spicytigger]

DE doesn't work well for me here in S. FL. It's just to humid all the time, it doesn't even have to rain. Sucks cause I have a BIG box of the stuff.

 

[Hammerfall]

ant farm aphid. and protect them for that sweet juice that aphid produce while sucking yound leaves.
and if there is ant there they block ladybug from eating those aphids..   so nuke ants and aphid. you dont need that in your garden

 

[Al-from-Chile]

just have your pots "dive" in water for a couple of minutes --- voilá ants gone
 
thats the way I do it .... also make sure you dont use pepples as first layer in the pot ... lots of nooks and crannies for them - I made bad experience with that
 
al

 

[geeme]

 .... also make sure you dont use pepples as first layer in the pot ... lots of nooks and crannies for them - I made bad experience with that

Don't use layers in your pot. Old ideology was to add a layer of pebbles (or other material) to help with drainage. However, the better option is to give you plants as much soil as possible (ie - only put soil in the pot), and have plenty of appropriate-sized drain holes.
 
The theory about how diatomaceous earth works is that it works its way into/between the exoskeleton of bugs (that have one) and that it acts like little razors, effectively sawing away at the bug. Therefore,  you need to get it on the bugs to work, though as mentioned before, they won't cross a line of it, either, at least when dry. So it CAN be used effectively in humid regions when sprinkled on the bugs, but the perimeter approach will lose its effectiveness more rapidly. 

 

[birdfather]

you can put the de powder on a small brush and brush the undersides of the leaves and the new growth where the aphids are. that'll mess them up pretty good

 

[Boost313]

+1 on the repotting if possible. I had a colony move in my yellow cardi's container last year. An the plant seemed to have stunted. It never looked as healthy and lush as all my other plants. An even with regular waterings they persisted to thrive in it. When I pulled the plant at the end of the year. It was just a big old ant root ball.