| HOW DO YOU GET RID OF ANTS IN PLANTS JUST PURCHASED, NOT YET PLANTED? |
| It may be possible to immerse the potted plants in a large container of water to get rid of the ants. Or, unpot the plants and remove all of the potting soil (and ants and eggs), then plant your plants. A final suggestion is unpot the plants and dust the soil with Diatomaceous Earth: a nontoxic powder composed of fossilized, one-celled organisms called diatoms. It is used to control slugs, millipedes, sow bugs, cockroaches, ants and soft-bodied insects like aphids. It has low mammalian toxicity. Use the "natural grade," not the type used as a filtering agent in swimming pools. While the ants may still scatter, the diatomaceous earth will cause them to die so you won't need to worry about them building new nests in your yard. |
