Fire ants are getting into my flower pots. A few pots I watered heavily and moved the pots and those ants are gone. Two 10 gallon pots I am still having trouble with. The ants are still in the pots after lots of water and even using diatomaceous earth has not eradicated the ants. I don't like using poisonous chemicals, there are many Carolina anole (lizards), as well as birds in my yard.
Any suggestions on how to get these pests gone for good?

If you have access to American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) leaves , you can crush the leaves and place them in the pots. It won't kill the ants but it is supposed to make them relocate, so your pots should be ant free. I did a limited test on some ants that built around my septic system and it worked there.

Hi Jay. I have seen this plant before, but I do not know where I could get any leaves at this time. But when you mentioned leaves, I immediately thought of bay leaves. They repel ants, I have used them in my home before. Maybe the bay leaves will be worth a try.
Thank you very much for your suggestion.

Some people have mentioned using cinnamon to repel the ants in pots, too.

IF the ants re-locate nearby, though, you may have 2 or 3 nests where there was only one before. Ant bait is the one exception I make about using chemicals in my garden. You use so little, and it is a targeted bait that only those non-native evil ants will take. Once they bring enough of it back to the nest it kills the queen and the whole nest. A worthwhile compromise, imho.

I have a volunteer plant that sure looks like one:


I also have a volunteer anthill in my garden that I've flooded numerous times. Mine are leafcutter ants




So, I gathered a bucket of them





And threw them on top the hill. (I forgot to crush them, although many are torn due to me ripping them off the bush) also added a few berries.




So, if this is really the right plant, and it works, I'd be glad to mail you some if you want to send me a p. m.

Yep, that's Beautyberry!

It volunteered to grow right next to my storm shelter door. We can't open the door now. I'll have to cut back many of the branches this fall.

Are you growing Rosemary in your yard? Rosemary sprigs should also make the ants want to relocate.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I really appreciate it.
Reine

I grow a variety of caudiciform plants and pachycaul trees, the trees I try to keep manageable sizes. All my plants are in pots. They all come in for the winter. This is the first time I have had such a problem with ants.
I need to start growing plants in the yard that will help with situations like this.

Thank you again.

I too hate using chemicals on my lawn, landscape, or tropical plants, but I still use Orthene to kill fire ants in my lawn/beds (or any other ant that invades my plants). You can either sprinkle a very small amount onto the soil (or with epiphytes, lightly dusted at the base of the plant) or mix 2 tbl. per quart of water and use it as a drench. Both are effective. I have never seen Orthene harm a single other thing because of the fact that after 24 hours you can flush the pot/plant with water. All the ants will have been killed within that 24 hour period.

Putting american beautyberry did nothing (so far) for leafeater ants. I thought I might have brought them dinner, but they are totally ignoring them. I've put the hose on their nest, dripping. Hopefully, they will look for a dryer place to live.

Try stomping on the leaves or cutting them up some more, maybe? Most likely the aromatic or repellent substance needs to be released from the leaves to make it work. Just like crushing or cutting herbs releases the flavors and fragrance.

The fact that they aren't eating those leaves is signficant, though. Certainly something is not appealing to them about the beautyberry.

True, true, will do

I've had luck in the past with used coffee grounds...Don't think it killed them, but they sure did leave the area!

Fire ants, or leafcutter ants Tara?

Hmmm, good question... ... ...I use them (used grounds) on all ant hills that I come across.

I've used coffee grounds to get ants out of pots, too. It's still just driving them somewhere else, and that's just not good enough for me. Often when a nest is moved, the ants hatch another queen, and then you will have two nests where you only had one before. It's called 'budding'. The problem multiplies if you just make them move.

Especially fire ants, because I am becoming increasingly allergic to their stings I need to kill the nests. They are non-native, so do not belong to the local eco-system so I feel no regret whatsoever in going after them with the big guns.

I now agree about using the big guns. It is raining again today and the ants are in more pots. Soon I will be bringing the plants inside and I don't want the ants in the house.
I will be careful using the Orthene, as drdawg and Elaine suggests. There are currently more than 8 ant colonies in the pots and the yard. I like sharing the yard with nature, but this is getting out of control.
Chemicals are a last resort for me. 7 or 8 years ago, my mom, thought she was being helpful and heavily dosed an ant pile. I was very sad when I lost a large green lizard because of the poison.