A couple of my container-bound plants (including some Italian dandelion, which is overwintering even better than I’d hoped! :)) have gotten infested with ants.
I have DE but don’t know how it would help in this situation. Pour in a circle around the pot so the ants have to cross it? I want that queen dead, though.
My two favorite ant treatments are pouring either 1) boiling water or 2) straight white vinegar over the mound. Either in this case would also kill the plant as well as the queen & colony, so … what do you recommend?
Thank you!
I re potted over that this weekend. They seem to particularly like orchid bark.
Submerging the plant in a barrel outside gets rid of a lot of them.
I have read that they are after those fuzzy white insects that attack the plant and don’t injure the plant.
Great username/thread combo, carnivorousplant! 
A couple hour submersion will usually drown the ants and not kill the plant. You do need to make sure the soil dries out in a reasonable amount of time so the plant doesn’t get root rot.
I have an overwintering strawberry that has ants, too (I put the pot on an anthill before bringing it in for winter - not my most shining gardener moment). I don’t think there’s a queen in mine - just a few stray drones. They don’t bug me, I don’t bug them - I’m just leaving them alone until it’s time to plant the strawberry in spring. If I have to kill them, I think I’ll start with trying the insecticidal soap.
I’ve heard ants can go for three days underwater, which is why you really can’t flood them out.
I saw that on an exterminator commercial, but it makes them madder than hell, and they pile out like rats leaving a sinking ship.