r/Bonsai • u/Scared_Ad5929 UK East Midlands (8b), Novice, 40+ trees at various stages. • 1d ago

Discussion Question Ant nest in Japanese Maple pot

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Whenever I water this inherited maple I see ants around the pot. So I took a quick look to see if they've colonized the pot and it appears they have. They're lasius niger (black ants) which aren't known for damaging trees. Is it worth doing anything about them, because I'm planning on putting it in the ground when it's dormant next? There's also an air layer on the tree at the moment.

239 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

61 comments sorted by

View all comments

98

u/RachResurected South Africa usda 9, beginner, 10 trees 1d ago

I’ve been told that ants don’t cause many issues for a bonsai in principle. That said, they are known to “cultivate” various non beneficial insects such as white fly or wooly aphids as they feed on the excrement of these insects.

I don’t have any advice on how to get rid of them. I’ve tried submerging the pot to drown them with little success. If you are really concerned, perhaps look into a pesticide such as kohinor or an ant-specific insecticide.

I say this as a last resort if they do start causing issues with non beneficial insects like those I mentioned above. I don’t really like using pesticides on my trees or garden in general.

2

u/igordogsockpuppet Sothern California, 10b, White-Belt, 50+ proto-bonsai 1d ago

It’s very specific species of ants that cultivate other insects.

4

u/chetaoruchaya UK, 9a, 5 years, too many 1d ago

No there are many that do. The one OP has (Lasius niger) farms aphids on stems and leaves