Ant colony in the soil

[Phillybonker]

I been here before. And, I got bad news for ya.
You got root aphids.
Ants ranch them. The eat the sweet secretions and they actually take care of them.

But, YOU GOT ROOT APHIDS.

Sorry.

The plant in question no longer has ant problems, it seems the ants have relocated their colony after I disturbed their environment. I do however have another plant with new ant activity near it's base. i believe it is because of the dry grass/hay I used as mulch that I recently applied last week has attracted the ants.

It seems the ants just want a dry sheltered place as their home and I unwittingly gave that to them by using dried grass/hay as mulch which they seem to love. The ants got no love for leave/branch mulch so I've changed the mulch to that and I'll drowned the soil with water on my next scheduled visit in 6 days.

If this still doesn't fix my ant problem then root aphids will be looking like an increasing possibility for the presence of the ants. I never knew about the existence of root aphids so thank, I'll be using neem seed meal on my next grow to control any soil bugs.

 

[Phillybonker]

That does explain @Phillybonker's comment "I can see the ants are coming out of tunnels in the ground carrying their young." in his earlier msg.

That ant colony has totally disappeared after that encounter with them, I guess they relocated. I have however got a new ant problems with two other plants which I suspect was a result of me using dried grass/hay as mulch which gave the ants a nice dry sheltered home. I've since changed the mulch to leaves/branches and I'll drown the soil with water on my next visit.

 

[Phillybonker]

Makes me shivver just thinking about it. Ugh.
That's my Canna-OCD.
Disgusting.

Now I'm gonna have to go check the pots to make sure no ants/aphids.
I'll prolly have nightmares tonite.

I'm growing outdoors in the ground so I hope that means I have less of a chance of getting a disgusting root aphid problem.

 

[Auggie]

I'm growing outdoors in the ground so I hope that means I have less of a chance of getting a disgusting root aphid problem.

That's a good question.
I've never had a ROOT aphid problem outdoors.
I've had aphids outdoors.

Anybody else know?
There's lots of people here that have more outdoor experience than me.

 

[greenjeans]

I grow outside and have never seen ants at the base. But I've only been at it 3 years so.........
I'm sure to get them NOW!!!! I would think that a good flush of water would discourage them but I have also seen them, not near my gals, pretty hardy. Especially those little red guys.

 

[Auggie]

I grow outside and have never seen ants at the base. But I've only been at it 3 years so.........
I'm sure to get them NOW!!!! I would think that a good flush of water would discourage them but I have also seen them, not near my gals, pretty hardy. Especially those little red guys.

I dunno.
I don't think ants are discouraged much from water. They LIVE in the ground, which is where water IS.
And aphids are a source of food that they cultivate.