Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
ants in my plants
Hello,
I planted 2 tomato plants outdoors in my garden under polythenene . I'd grown them from seed in a g'house & they were well-established in 5" pots, and were very healthy. They have not prospered. They are a bit yellow, and have not grown much. Today I noticed a small pile of fine soil near the stem of one of the tomato plants, dug into it carefully, and hey presto I seem to have an ants nest just under the soil. My guess is that they have nested in & around the plant's roots. ??? Is this likely, and how can I deal with it ? Thanks KK |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
ants in my plants
dido22 wrote:
Hello, I planted 2 tomato plants outdoors in my garden under polythenene . I'd grown them from seed in a g'house & they were well-established in 5" pots, and were very healthy. They have not prospered. They are a bit yellow, and have not grown much. Today I noticed a small pile of fine soil near the stem of one of the tomato plants, dug into it carefully, and hey presto I seem to have an ants nest just under the soil. My guess is that they have nested in & around the plant's roots. ??? Is this likely, and how can I deal with it ? Thanks KK If you are averse to using chemical methods of control, then I would suggest that the easiest way is to drown them out. Ants are keen on dry conditions and will not like it if you keep pouring water (with a small amount of washing-up liquid to help wet the dry soil) around the base of the plants. It is very unlikely that you will do any damage to the tomato plants, as they will generally take as much water as they can get. The worse you will do is wash nutrients out of the soil, so you may have to use fertiliser a little earlier than usual. -- Jeff |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
ants in my plants - Thanks
Thanks
I dont mind using chemicals, but your idea sounds good to me K "Jeff Layman" wrote in message ... dido22 wrote: Hello, I planted 2 tomato plants outdoors in my garden under polythenene . I'd grown them from seed in a g'house & they were well-established in 5" pots, and were very healthy. They have not prospered. They are a bit yellow, and have not grown much. Today I noticed a small pile of fine soil near the stem of one of the tomato plants, dug into it carefully, and hey presto I seem to have an ants nest just under the soil. My guess is that they have nested in & around the plant's roots. ??? Is this likely, and how can I deal with it ? Thanks KK If you are averse to using chemical methods of control, then I would suggest that the easiest way is to drown them out. Ants are keen on dry conditions and will not like it if you keep pouring water (with a small amount of washing-up liquid to help wet the dry soil) around the base of the plants. It is very unlikely that you will do any damage to the tomato plants, as they will generally take as much water as they can get. The worse you will do is wash nutrients out of the soil, so you may have to use fertiliser a little earlier than usual. -- Jeff |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
ants,ants, and more ants, AAAARRRRRRGGGG | Gardening | |||
Ants - they're damaging my plants, plus holes in the soil? | United Kingdom | |||
ants v Amdro -- ants winning | Texas | |||
Ants, ants and more ants.... | Australia | |||
Ants, ants and more ants.... | Australia |