Hi AV buddies,
A little help please........today I went to my office to find that several million ants had taken up home there over the weekend (HOW do they know that the weather service has forecast floods for this upcoming week??????). They had trails EVERYWHERE...4-lane freeways of ants.....across my desk, across the floor, around the corner to the back side of my office.... they had commandeered the pots of 2 of my very favorite LARGE Africa violets (that were about to bloom, naturally) and the pot of a Hoya. There were SO many ants I had no choice; I HAD to spray the soil and plants....and the carpet......and the file cabinets......and the windowsills, and the baseboards......and everything..... (I'm not worried about the Hoya, I BLASTED it). But, my poor AV's! I flooded the soil with water to get the ants out so, of course, the ants climbed onto the leaves. There were so many, I finally gave up and sprayed the leaves too, then hosed off the whole plant (both Hoya & AV) with water from the hose (there were so many ants in the pots that they had actually dumped soil out of the pots onto the tops of the file cabinet!!!!). Do you think my Av's will make it???? I felt so bad hosing off those beautiful leaves...... I brought the 3 plants home to repot them with new soil. I'm so sad and worried...................... :~(
ants...........AAAAHHHHHHHHH!
hi Kach....ouch...gosh..sorry....i'm not an expert at this...but know a little about ANTS..here in the bug capital of the world..Florida...usually ants are coming in to get away from something or to EAT....they may well have disliked the rains etc...suspect that you should take them out of pot..get the soil off etc and replant in new soil...i know that clove leaves discourage ants as well as boric acid..might want to keep some of that handy....i know others will have better expertise for you...but chin up...those AV's can be tough...let us know...Bob
yikes!
what did you spray with?
Were the AV pots just drowned with water? If so, they should be fine if the water wasn't freezing cold. I've submerged AVs in soap solution (yes, total submersion) without a problem - fish out, dry the crown (the center of the leaves), make sure the soil isn't water logged, and that's it.
I've found that the strain of BT developed for fungus gnats works on ants that try to take up residence - I had this problem with a bark mix for some orchids. I watered with http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=1962 and the ants moved out (and then died).
I've also stuck those anti-ant sticks into pots without harm to the plants. Also OrangeGuard http://www.orangeguard.com/ is safe for use on plants! (Carried as some Wholefoods and natural food stores etc) It's sufficiently strong for ants, (though not immediate death like Raid) and is very good as a deterrent.
Goodness Kachina, if you are getting flood predictions in Modesto, the Napa River must be cresting too. Yikes, maybe I should come home on plane and rent a boat!
Key's advise sound pretty solid. Can you post photos of you AV's?
Please keep us posted.
I ditto Key's advise sound pretty solid . Soap and hot water those babies up. Then I take them and put them on many paper towels to dry. before potting into new soil and new pots.
Thanks everyone. The water I drenched them with was from my office (I keep old, washed cat litter containers of water around to water my plants and fill the fish tank) so it was the same temp that they were.
I actually blasted the plants with "Home Defense", pretty strong stuff, but I was "wigging out". I waited about 4 minutes for the ants to get a whiff, then washed the plants off and leeched the soil with clean water. I'm not even sure if the spray dried before I rinsed them.
I can't find my camera! It's here somewhere, I'll take a pic as soon as I find it. They look fine today, but about a week's time will tell me whether they will make it or not I suppose. The hoya didn't even blink, I think it really liked the bath and extra attention! LOL
I will repot them before I leave this morning. Thanks again everyone! Keep a happy thought for the AVs!
Karen :~)