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Ants in the coconuts

Tropicdoc
Tropicdoc
in DISCUSSING PALM TREES WORLDWIDE

Featured Replies

Help I have a couple of potted coconut seedlings in sand. They are infested with fire ants. I am afraid they are eating the precious sweet meat that the seedlings need. I'm also afraid that too much insecticide will kill the palms. Any ideas?
  • Author

crickets.........crickets........crickets

fire ants ? DESTROY EVERYTHING....!!! WARNING WARNING WILL ROBINSON !!!!

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

I would just spread some fire ant pellets on the soil. I had this problem once and that solved it.

Keith 

Tampa, Florida (9b/10a) and Freiburg, Germany (8a).
  • Author

K didn't hurt the palms I guess?

fire ants ? DESTROY EVERYTHING....!!! WARNING WARNING WILL ROBINSON !!!!

Wal.......

This is a classic line......I used to use it for years....

post-6612-0-80417000-1377746068.gif

Survived Feb. 9, 1971 & Jan. 17, 1994 earthquakes   Before Palms, there was a special airplane

619382403_F-117landingsmallest.jpg.0441eed7518a280494a59fcdaf23756d.jpg

Will soapy (Dawn detergent) water poured into the pot work for fire ants just like for "regular" ants? I believe I've heard that it will but perhaps someone can confirm this.

If so, try this: I take an old stainless steel mixing bowl and put it under the infested pot first. Then when I pour a large amount of soapy water into the pot the ants swarm out, but end up drowning in the bowl below where the overflow of soapy water goes.

I have used this technique on many different kinds of plants with no obvious phyto toxicity. I don't put it on the leaves as I know some (ferns, etc.) might be sensitive. I don't leave the plant in the hot sun when I do this either. I also flush well with tap water after all the ants seem dead. Good luck! I keep Dawn detergent in my greenhouse just for this use.

Cindy Adair
  • Author

interesting. Fire ants should be no different than other ants. I might try this.

A teaspoon of Amdro Fire Ant Bait in each pot does the trick. Don't water the plant till the ants get a good dose of the bait, and don't shake up the ants as they go into a "wartime" footing and stop eating the bait.

So many species,

so little time.

Coconut Creek, Florida

Zone 10b (Zone 11 except for once evey 10 or 20 years)

Last Freeze: 2011,50 Miles North of Fairchilds

I have the same problem. In fact the ants are so bad this year they killed a lot of my marigolds, sun patiens, tomato plants, etc. The plants looked fine one day then the next I noticed something was wrong. Went to check and those fire ants with the little white things (EEEK) are all over the roots. Of course they didn't spare my coconuts in the pots, they are covered in ants. I am going to give that Amdro stuff a try. Thanks for the tip!

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