We've been having so much rain the ants are moving into my containers!

Does anyone have any tricks to get them out? I've tried molasses, and Epsom Salt with no luck.

I did successfully drive them out of a small container using about a quart of diatomaceous earth on top. But for my larger pots and half barrels it only moves them down but not out!

I use a mixture of very hot water, dawn soap, and a splash of orange oil and slowly drizzle it over the mound. Works pretty good for my containers

Sounds great! Going to give that a try.

Very nice containers, Larry, and the tomatoes growing in them! Did you make them?

Yes I have made them for about 10 years. I have some more examples in the post after this one about what kind of container gardener are you

I'm more of a "whatever I can get my hands on" kind of container gardener and like finding bargains. I really like the half barrels because they're good sized for just about anything edible to grow in. But, they seem to be attractive to the ants too!!





More about the ants. They don't bother with the pots on rollers. Pots with catch trays act as a moat which works well to keep the ants out as long as water is kept in the trays.

A picture showing a couple of the half barrels.

Permethrin soil drench. One application. Works every time.

Thank you hlutzow, I appreciate your input. I don't know much about Permethrin or if it is safe on edibles. Something tells me it's not.

I'll stick with non toxic solutions but your suggestion might be helpful for someone else.

Fredeboy1 Doesn't the hot water harm the roots? I do love the idea of soapy water and orange oil. Usually I soak my smaller pots in soapy water and i have to leave for a long time or overnight to make sure it well absorbs. I have soaked for 30 minutes and later find the ants still crawling around, so it really needs a long time to absorb through. I wonder if the addition of orange oil makes the difference. I can't soak larger pots like this so I will try your method.

My update ~ I didn't have any orange oil but pulled the existing plants, then soaked the soil with Dawn and hot water. That didn't seem to do much of anything so I took a bunch of orange peels and threw them across the top of the soil. I noticed some activity after that, they were moving back and forth to the edge of the patio/grass. Relocating! After a week or so there seemed to be less ants so I added a layer of Black Kow manure.. That did it! They left completely after that!

Mix cayenne powder and garlic powder to s gallon of water and pour it in soil. Ants hate chilies and garlic.
It worked for me.

I like Newbiegardener's idea. I'll try that on concrete ants.

Here's another that seems dependant on ratios .
I've heard of both very good success and poor results using packets of aspartame/nutrisweet. It's a toxic chemical for people that like to avoid sugar. Some use as bait with another substance, and it's not added to the plant or soil. Some use it on concrete ants around the driveway and sidewalk and indoors. They use bottle caps or shallow containers. Driveway, they sprinkle the mix directly with a carbohydrate powder, no set ratio or a bait trap for roaches/ant stations then sprinkle a little in each opening. They get a combo that way. Sometimes it doesn't work. Maybe it's the mix at the poison factory? Sometimes it wipes out the hive.
Disclaimer: BTW, it's not sold for this purpose, so I can't recommend that anyone use it the way I've heard about. 🐜This is just one neighbor talking to another.😉
Please don't ingest artificial sweeteners. They are toxic.🤢🥴Mr Yuck Sticker here.

I've since discovered huge colonies of ants in large bales of moss that I was going to use as a top mulch in my gardens. I've decided to go with the 50/50 sugar:boric acid mix. Hopefully the ants will take it to the queen and they will all become boron rich nitrogen that will feed the plants. Right now they will be quarantined like corona virus patients from my garden.

Boric acid can be deadly for plants. Plants need a tiny bit of boron, but only a *very* small amount. I would use extreme caution in using boric acid that could possibly contaminate plant soil.

Cinnamon powder works to get ants out of containers.

I've found that a half-gallon of a minimum 89-octane gasoline to a 2-gallon pot will get rid of the ants. If you see any still alive after a 3-4 minutes throw a lit match down.

I do hope folks don't take you literally.

I had read that about cinnamon. I sprinkled it on top of fireant mounds hoping they would move on but it didn't really seem to inspire them.

When the fire ants move into my raised beds I sacrifice some plants by pouring scalding hot water on them. This will move them out.

In containers it works best to set the pot in a drain tray and monitor ant activity. You can easily sprinkle an ant deterrent under the drip tray to discourage them.

mint leaves will repel ants ...... it works

For my non-edibles, I use a permethrin soil drench. One application is usually sufficient. I keep my animals well away from the area until any run off has dried and there has not been any ill effects noticed. If it is a high traffic area I will rinse the ground/pavement before letting the dogs loose again.

For edibles, it is trickier. I think one time I actually planted mint as a companion plant in the pot. It seemed to work eventually. I've also just picked up and moved the pot several hundred feet and the ants clear out within the week.