Ants in red cedar pot

[Natty Bumppo]

Went out to water my plants this evening. One of my red cedars (Juniperus virginiana) I dug up spring 2021 and put in a plastic training pot in a bonsai mix (lava, pumice, akadama & pine bark fines). After looking a bit stressed and chlorotic late summer and fall of last year, seemed like it had come back strong this year. This evening, I noticed a lot of ants crawling around in the soil. Some were crawling on the tree, but it seemed for the most part they were in the soil mix.

Not sure what to use to get rid of them. After searching the topic on this site, seems that keeping one's bonsai on the ground is a bit of a welcome mat for ants. I've only been at this for a little over a year. Any recommendations?

 

[sorce]

Most of the time they'll lead you to the scale or aphid that is the real "pest".

Use them first.

Usually they go away with the removal of the real pest.

I reckon if they are living in the soil, if you are not underwatering, they've created a hydrophobic layer to keep themselves safe.

I don't believe, of the 8 million soil mixes used, that one can home ants if properly watered, with no other underlying problems.

Sorce

 

[Potawatomi13]

Move plant off ground to bench/pedestal, show ant kind for ID. Perhaps Carpenter ants living in dead wood?

 

[Shibui]

Small ants regularly take up residence in pots so not always ants looking for scale or aphids.
Drowning them sometimes works but the entire pot must be submerged completely for over 24 hours and sometimes that's not even long enough. I guess they have air trapped in the tunnels so they can breathe.
You could try moving the pot regularly until they get sick of the house never being in the same block when coming home from work but they have always been more persistent than me when I've tried that one.

 

[Adamski77]

Most of the time they'll lead you to the scale or aphid that is the real "pest".

Use them first.

Usually they go away with the removal of the real pest.

I reckon if they are living in the soil, if you are not underwatering, they've created a hydrophobic layer to keep themselves safe.

I don't believe, of the 8 million soil mixes used, that one can home ants if properly watered, with no other underlying problems.

Sorce

full agreement... had some ants walking around recently... two prevention sprays of pesticide removed all interesting things from the tree... ants are gone...

this doesn't mean there is no more problems... above only closes the canteen...

 

[sorce]

sprays of pesticide

Half agreement!

Sorce

 

[Adamski77]

Half agreement!

Sorce

But I swear I was spraying all but ants

 

[penumbra]

Small ants regularly take up residence in pots so not always ants looking for scale or aphids.
Drowning them sometimes works but the entire pot must be submerged completely for over 24 hours and sometimes that's not even long enough. I guess they have air trapped in the tunnels so they can breathe.
You could try moving the pot regularly until they get sick of the house never being in the same block when coming home from work but they have always been more persistent than me when I've tried that one.

This is the answer that people long in the nursery business (self included) have been using for decades and more.