I Have an Ant Nest in My Flowerpot

Direct Damage

• Ants can cause direct damage to potted plants by disturbing the fragile feeding roots of the plant in the soil. As ants excavate tunnels in the soil, they expose the roots of potted plants to the air, causing them to dry out and die and reducing the plant's ability to acquire nutrients. Ant nests left untreated may result in wilted foliage, stunted growth or even plant death. Ants may also harvest and feed on the seeds or seedlings produced by potted plants.

Indirect Damage

• Ants often appear on potted plants when searching for pests that damage the foliage of potted plants, such as aphids, soft scale, white flies and mealybugs. Ants feed on the honeydew these pests produce. When an ant nest starts to farm honeydew-producing pests, this increases the overall damage done to potted plants, according to the University of Kentucky. In addition, ants might also transport the pests to other potted plants in your collection.

Cultural Control

• You can control ant nests in potted plants by repotting the plant in a new container. Lift the plant out of the infested flowerpot and remove all of the soil from the root system. Ensure that there are no remaining ants on the plant and then replant in a new flowerpot that contains sterile potting soil. This type of cultural control is only effective at removing ants when the specimen plant is not infested with honeydew-producing pests on the foliage; the presence of these insect pests can attract ants back to the flowerpot.

Chemical Control for Small Flowerpots

• You can eliminate an ant nest from a flowerpot by saturating the soil with a diluted insecticidal soap to drown the ants. Mix a diluted solution of warm water and insecticidal soap in a large bucket; follow the instructions on the insecticidal soap, as labeled, for best results. Place the flowerpot in the bucket and adjust the water level so that the top of the soil is just submerged under the water surface. Allow the flowerpot to sit in the solution for 24 hours to ensure that you drown all of the ants in the soil.

Chemical Control for Large Flowerpots

• A flowerpot with an ant nest that is too large to soak in a bucket should be treated with a bait solution. You can purchase bait stations from home and garden stores and place the bait in a level spot in your flowerpot, or make your own bait solution by mixing common borax with syrup or honey. Place the liquid solution in a small, narrow-necked bottle, such as a hot sauce container, and bury it in the potted plant. The ants will feed on the toxic solution and transport it back to kill other ants in the nest. Leave the container in the flowerpot until the ant nest is completely gone.