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How to Remove Ants From Potting Soil
How to Remove Ants From Potting Soil. Ants will infest and colonize any soil that is close to their food sources. Indoor ants can overrun the soil in a potted plant, digging tunnels that weaken root systems and causing damage to otherwise healthy plants. To remove ants from potting soil, you may use an insecticide or -- if you want to avoid...
Ants will infest and colonize any soil that is close to their food sources. Indoor ants can overrun the soil in a potted plant, digging tunnels that weaken root systems and causing damage to otherwise healthy plants. To remove ants from potting soil, you may use an insecticide or -- if you want to avoid chemicals -- a household soap treatment.
Things You'll Need
Bucket
Water
Insecticidal soap
Household soap
Fill a 5-gallon bucket with water. If your plant's container is large to place inside a 5-gallon bucket, fill a tub with water. If you are trying to rid bagged potting soil of ants, pour the soil into a container first so you may more easily submerge it in the solution.
Add insecticidal soap to the water, according to the package directions. If you want to avoid using insecticides, add two squirts of liquid dish soap to the water and agitate it to create suds.
Lower the pot containing the infested soil into the water until the water level is above the top of the pot and the soil is submerged.
Leave the pot in the water for 20 minutes if you are using insecticidal soap. Leave it in the water for 24 hours if you are using water with household soap.
Remove the pot from the water. Rinse the soil with clear water from a hose or sink to remove traces of the soap. If your pot has a living plant in it, rinse the plant's foliage as well.
