On Tue, 25 Apr 2017 22:34:19 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 25/04/17 17:54, miljee wrote:
All the dirt in the saucer has appeared in two days!

How can I get rid of this ant infestation?

The pot lives in my conservatory.


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We had a similar problem and almost gave up. We would have just thrown
it out, but it was of great sentimental value. The plant was about 120
cm high and across, and in a 45 cm square tub. It was all very heavy!

Soaking the soil with water containing washing up liquid didn't work.
Using an insecticide didn't work. Both methods killed lots of ants, but
some remained, and there were probably eggs hatching as well.

In the end, the only solution was to remove the plant from the tub and
wash off all the earth with a high-pressure stream of water. At this
time of year, the plant will not be harmed. After all the earth was
removed, the roots were allowed to dry and an insecticidal powder was
puffed all over them. After leaving for a few days, the plant was
repotted in a dry mix, and left for a fortnight before it was watered
again. NB the tub drainage holes were covered with weed-proof membrane
to stop ants entering through them, and removing soil through them.

That was last year, and this year the plant has been growing well, and
indeed flowered as usual in winter.


I have used the un-potting-wash-down-to-the-roots method for some
hefty plants and some smaller ones over the years. Never added
insecticides to the task, but have had success wioth just the
hose-down..