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The presence of ants on your orchids can be the indicator of a much serious and dangerous pest such as scale, mealybugs or aphids! Ants don’t damage your orchids per se, they don’t eat it. However, they bring along infections and pathogens, fungus and virus that will thrive in the media and plant, so we must get rid of them.
To control and get rid of the ants, you have to inspect your plant and find the source they are feeding from. The pests named before secrete a substance similar to molasses that ants love. To know more about these pests, got to our Pests Section.
Some orchids, like Cymbidium secrete a sugary substance from their stems. This is a symptom that the plant is happy and healthy, however, this substance can also attract ants and other insects.
Solutions:
First of all, submerge the pot and media in water to drown the ones hiding in the media and spray the rest of the plant with our homemade multi-purpose spray.
Afterwards, choose any of these measures:
1. Raw corn flower for big ants: sprinkle it where the ants are for them to eat it; after a while, it will expand in their stomachs and will kill them.
2. Soap: A less cruel remedy is to make a barrier with granule soap around the area, they won’t get passed it.
3. Icing sugar and baking soda: Mix on part icing sugar and one part baking soda; sprinkle the mix. This will poison the ants.
4. Aspartame: any artificial sweetener is alluring to ants, even more if it is moist. It’s been said that they take it back to their colonies, killing the entire colony.
5. Oregano or black pepper: sprinkle oregano or black pepper in the media, they don’t like the smell!
6. Insecticide: if the infestation is big and you can’t get rid of it with these home remedies, you need to use a chemical insecticide that attacks ants specifically; it will help with other insects as well.
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