help, i have 2 plants outside in pots and they have become infested with termites. I noticed the problem when i lifted my plant and found termites crawling in and out of my drain holes. Does anyone now any way to get rid of these bastards?
I don't know how to answer your question in regards to the plants, but frankly I'd be more concerned with where the termites themselves came from and where else they are. Termites in your house is a major major major problem that will make worry about them inside of a planted pot seem utterly trivial. Go look around your door frames and any wood part of your house for what looks like sawdust piled up, and tap on the frames and trim and so on for any part that may sound hollow-ish. If your house has termites, get on the issue with an exterminator ASAP.
My spots no were near my house so its fine. Have any of you delt with a termite infestation before? I was thinking about putting a big pan under my pots and filling it up with water to drown those pests out. You think it will work?
Doing that trick with the pan would likely drown your plant as well, I would guess...you'll rot the roots right out. And while I am not trying to be an alarmist, don't discount the possibility of the termites being in the house. They eat cellulose, and the best source of it as far as they are concerned are those lovely structures we make for them. Periodically termites swarm, looking for new residences. I wouldn't be too shocked to find that they swarmed from a nearby structure, possibly your house or another nearby, and took up in the pot for whatever reason. I'd still strongly suggest looking around your house for signs of infestation, or if you can deal with turning down a hard sale, some exterminators will inspect for free. Don't take this as gospel, as I am pretty darn new to trying to grow pot plants (and am having spider mite issues currently myself), but I have had experience with several other types of plants. If the plant has enough roots to allow you to pull it and its soil out of the pot in one big chunk, you may want to carefully do so and see how many termites you have inside the soil/roots. If there doesn't seem to be too many, maybe you gently scrape them out of the roots and soil with a spade or trowel, over a bucket or bin so you catch ALL of them, and repot the plant. Kill every last one of the termites, obviously...they are sheer evil, and watch out for their jaws; they can bite like Nile crocodiles. If you see one that is especially fat, swollen up like a balloon, you have found the most important one to kill, the queen. Like I said, I can't guarantee you won't shock the plant by doing this, but it's important to kill those insects. They may eat up the trunk of your girls, and/or swarm to nearby buildings...like the house. Good luck
Aw shit man. Really ??? Its rare, but does occasionally happen. There are wayz to eradicate them, but theyre toxic and harsh. Synthetics. I know of no organic remedies that will do it. Im sorry . Freak
What would I do ??? I would take a chance and xplant into new soil. When I remove the plant from the original container, I would be inclined to gently shake ALL, but the innermost core of the rootball soil away from the plant and then visually inspect the roots for more. Once I am sure there are no more, I will complete the xplant. Do this all, far away from the house. One good thing is that a Termite colony needs its Queen to survive. If u can find her and kill her, great. At the least, seperating her from the collective will do ok. Let us know how it goes. Freak