Ants All Over My 2 Week Old Clones In dirt aphids 2 ithnk

few days ago there was a shit load of ants in three off my clones they in ocean forest in solo cups and there was a few ants in the other cups i had cleared them today iwas goin to transplant nd i seen sum red bugs on my root ball nd some white or greyish ones to all my 9 plants had dem ididnt know what to do i cleaned up all my area spray it with ant cleaner then wipped down everything with clorox and i took all my plants nd washed off all da dirt nd washed the root ball then transplanted in new cups with fresh dirt,, but idk ithink some must have not gotten washed off idk what to do i dont have much money im growing with cfl nd solo small pots,, whats good for root aphids or watever they are im guessing the ants brought them

neem oil . for every bug except slugs snails. (ants) are a beneficial bug to have on the plant. they will eat other bugs and carry off there eggs and eat them too. they will not eat the plant,

i was reading that some ants are aphid farmers or something like that, hey plant them and eat them later these bugs where on my roots im guessing eating them,, neem oil how would i apply that to the soil? is bad for roots?

kevubitch said:

i was reading that some ants are aphid farmers or something like that, hey plant them and eat them later these bugs where on my roots im guessing eating them,, neem oil how would i apply that to the soil? is bad for roots?

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Your right the ants have aphid herds that eat organic material like your roots.
The ants don't eat the aphids, the aphids secrete Honeydew and the ants drink that.

but basically the ants and aphids are bad right? me washing off all the infested dirt nd roots and replanting them was a bad idea? if they were in bigger pots i wouldnt of done it but they are in solo cups it seemed easier iknw they are goin to be shocked for a few days but i know they will bounce back when they do il find out what to apply to the soil to kill the aphids

yes there bad.
like kinddiesel said if you flush with something like the oil you'll be ok.

il flush with neem oil in a few days wen the roots grow nd plants gets out of shock cause some roots got ripped, do i need to flush with clean water after i flush with neem oil?

Yeah aphids and ants have a symbiotic relationship......I don't know if you want to use a systemic but I know for sure Bayer Fruit Citrus and Vegetable work on aphids and is available at home depot for 15 bucks......neem oil,insecticidal soap, & Pyrethrin work as well.........but usually require more than 1 application........

the bayer liquid can be mixed and poured into the dirt?

Yes I applied @ 5 ml a gallon.....I only use this stuff in early veg.......and if I absolutely have too......