**Mix orange oil, molasses and compost tea together in equal proportions. Then add 6 ounces of this concentrate to a gallon of water and pour it into the middle of the mound. After the liquid floods the bottom of the mound, soak the rest of the mound and then the ants that are trying to run away. Ants that are hit with the liquid will be killed.
A day or two later, apply beneficial nematodes to the site to control the ant stragglers.
This technique doesn't just move the ants around as toxic chemicals do. And biological activity caused by following a complete organic landscape program will prevent the fire ants return in many cases....
A homemade recipe containing orange oil, molasses, and compost tea at 47 ml L-1 water (6 oz gal- 1)], orange oil premixed with water to form an emulsion, and the commercial product all resulted in 80% or greater control when applied in 3.8 L (1 gal) water as a mound drench. In most trials, the level of activity in mounds receiving citrus oil alternatives was statistically comparable to conventional diazinon formulations.
http://dirtdoctor.com/home.php**

I used this on all my succulents and in the lawn...it worked! It took a couple of weeks for all ants to disappear - but I have not seen even one fire ant since treatment. (Note: I only used the nematodes in my plumeria) It is competely organic so you will not need to worry about the plants, animals or kids. hth - Jo

I agree with Jo's method to rid fireants..
Ben, I don't think we get fireants this far north, but of what I read of those bugs, well, if you work on the plant, wear thick gloves..Supposedly the red ants bite.
Why do you think your Jade is attracting ants? Is it possible your plant has pests such as aphids or scale? I'd investagate..If you find either, rid those first. Find the source.
If the home made brew doesn't work, you can always unpot, clean container, then add fresh soil. Good luck, Toni

Thanks for the great advice guys. I don't see any other kind of pests on my plants and I inspect them daily. The ants just crawl on the soil and leaves, there aren't any actual mounds in the pots. Like I said before, I don't like to use chemicals, so I'm glad there's a more natural way to go. Thanks again:)

Ben, I agree with you..I dislike chemicals, too..I'll go the old-fashioned route anytime..don't even use Neem..LOL..For one, I have birds so have to be careful what they inhale or worse, land on.
BTW, where is your Jade? Is it outside? On the ground? Or up on a shelf?
It's possible the ants just found a home they enjoy living, but I always worry about scale and aphids..especially if leaves/stems feel sticky or leaf deformity. To be honest, I consider Jades pretty much bug-free plants, but I've talked to ppl who found mealy in-between leaves.
The harshest non-chemical natural insecticide I used is cigarette butts that sat in water. Water turns brown..Then satuarte soil w/this mix.
Some people are against it, consider it dangerous, but to be honest, I'd rather use cig butts over dangerous chemicals anytime..
Years ago I used a chemical spray called I-Bomb..as far as I know it's no longer sold in US. (this was pre-birds) I bought a tree gardenia that was infested w/scale. This was back in the mid-90's. Went to Home Depot and bought a bottle of insecticide, (can't recall which) I followed directions to a T..the next day after applying this 'junk' my tree died..every leaf browned..it was an awful experience. Never again..that was the last time I used chemicals..Toni

Fire ants are a persistent 'southern' problem. I'm not sure they would be farming aphids like some of the smaller variety ants...but have you been having heavy rains? or prolonged rains where the soil is staying wet? This will always force them *up* from their subterranean homes. If so, you may have to treat more than once.

Hey guys, thanks again. Toni, my jade plants are outside on my front porch, which is covered. Every year we get these ants and I see them crawling all over everything. They're on my other plants too, but my jades are my main concern as they are my FAVORITE. I just don't know how to get rid of them. My neighbors have them too, it's just a summer thing I guess. Jo, yeah, I don't know if they're true fireants. They're just really small little red dots and I always called them fireants. That's why I look at all my plants everyday though, to make sure there's no little "critters" on them. The only thing I find is the fireants, or whatever they are. Hopefully it's a good sign that there's no mounds or anything, just they're nasty little bodies:) I'll keep you updated on them. Thanks to all

"They're just really small little red dots"

Uh-oh! That does Not sound like fire ants. #1 Fire ants sting...and it burns like fire. It causes a welt like a mosquito bite which forms a *head* like a zit. #2 They are not particularly *small* ants.

It sounds like what you have is red spider mites! The soil drench will Not work for these. You will need some Isoprophyl alcohol for that. I use the 50%. Make sure your plants are out of direct sun when you treat. Put the alcohol in a spray bottle and spray til it runs - don't forget the undersides of the leaves. Stay out of the spray as it is very hard on the lungs/eyes. Alcohol evaporates in very short order. You may need to treat a couple of times. You will need to treat ALL plants in the same area as your c. ovatas.

{{gwi:545044}}

please dont use broad spectrum chemicals to kill the mites as you will also kill the ladybugs...who, btw, eat mites. hth - J

Sjv, when Ben mentioned little red dots, the first thing that came to mind were spider mites, too..LOL
Ben, do you see fine webbing, similiar to the common spider's webbs? Toni

Toni - do the spider mites in your neck of the woods have red legs like the ones in the pic? The ones I just sprayed for on my A. Arabicum were red w/white legs. Perhaps a gender thing?
They dont weave a (round?) web like a spider but definitely leave strings of fine hmmm...filament?...silk? dangling from the plant. They are unmistakable, the lil bloodsuckers! LOL
Jo

If ants establish a colony in one of my larger pots, I dont bother with spraying. I just take the plant out in the yard, knock it out of its pot and use the hose to wash out all soil out of the rootball. I then repot it in fresh potting soil. No more ants.

The natural way of eliminating spider mites is ladybugs and certain birds. You can actually buy ladybugs online, but, before doing so, make sure you research how to release them, so they'll hang around your yard long enough to control your mites. (Something about down on the ground in the evening, and they like their own little house, too.)

As for birds -- well, I live in a city, so don't get a huge variety. With that, I can't tell you which birds enjoy the bugs. I just like feeding our birds, so they know where to come for seeds or for yummy buggies for dinner!

As for the idea of cigarette butts to control bugs, DON'T do it! Chemical free? Even as a smoker, I know there is nothing but chemicals in cigarettes, and once we inhale down to the butts, the filter has been busy collecting half those chemicals. (My lungs collect the other half. LOL) As a matter of fact, the solution suggested (butts soaking in water over night,) is the perfect "remedy" for removing unwanted ivy from clinging onto, and getting into the various cracks in masonry work around your home. That solution will kill the ivy completely quickly, AND leave the soil unusable for several years. Not sure if it will kill your succelents or not, but do you really want to take that chance? Seems to me chemical pesticides are friendlier to your garden.

Hey all. I just read everyones posts and just came back from inside to go look at the red bugs again. Yestereday I actually googled red spider mites to see if I could get a pic of one, so thanks Jo for posting it. They're so small so I'm having trouble seeing if that's what they are. Like I said, my neighbors have them too and we always called them fireants. I think I'll google that next to see if I can get a pic of that. Anyway, the red things were crawling all over the concrete walk way and the front steps too. Do they just crawl over everything, or mainly stick to the plants? (sorry if that sounds stupid, I should have googled first) So now I'm thinking of moving my plants to my back deck, because I don't see any of them there. I should treat them first though before I do this. Thanks to all. sharon

Sharon -
Sure fire way to determine if it is fire ants:
put your barefoot down where one can climb up on it...it wont take long before you know the answer - they aint called fire ants for nothing! Jo

Hi Jo, Thank God, but I've been lucky, or my plants have, I rarely find pests..But those I have seen, (and they're not easy to spot) were different colors..red, green, brown. Even pics in plant books show different varieties.
I mix my own brew when I suspect mites (or other pests) I use 2-4 drops of dish soap, finely chopped garlic, citrus rind in a mister of water..Shake bottle, then spray. Bugs do NOT like the odor from this tonic.
For scale I use Fish Emulsion. I was told about this remedy from a woman I buy citrus trees from in Fl..mealy are treated w/rubbing alcohol..I hate bugs!!
Of course, ladybugs are the safest bet, but it takes time ordering them, and eggs take time to hatch. (honestly though, I've never bought LB's, so don't know how long it take to hatch or how it works.) But I feel when bugs are present, plants should be treated ASAP. But ladybugs are fantastic..I don't know if they eat scale though..does anyone have an answer? The reason I say they're fantastic is because my front plant room became a haven for LB's..LOL..I had at least 50..and nary an insect..I don't mind living w/LB's to be honest, whereas even though spiders are supposed to eat pests, I'd rather do the work myself..LOL
Ben, mites are truly difficult finding. They're tiny, whereas fireants are much bigger and one should be able to determine the difference.
Place a sheet of white paper under leaves, tap leaves..if mites are present, they'll drop on paper, easier to see. Even then, depending on your eyesight, you might need a magnifying glass.
I looked up fireants on www.wikipedia.com Type fireants in search box,..there is quite a bit of info..Accoring to Wiki, they grow 1/3rd"..there are 3 parts to their bodies..heads are copper color and abdomen red. They even eat crickets, and can kill a pet, not to mention harm humans. They not only bite but sting, injecting a venom which burns..sounds wonderful.
Ben, if u suspect mites, move infested plants away from healthy ones. They'll find homes in neighboring plants infesting those too.
LOL Jo, what an experiment. Toni

Hey again. I replied before, but I don't know what happened to it. Anyway, it definetly isn't fireants. I googled them and there's no way it's them. I think it definetly is the red spider mites:( I sprayed my plants with a strong sprayer and a little bit of dish soap. I actually didn't see that many of them on the actual plants, but they are all over the front porch and sidewalk. I can't believe I actually thought they were a fireant since there's no way to confuse those two. Live and learn though. Anyway, like I said before, I'm going to move them to my back deck because I never saw them out there. They seem to stay in the front. I'm definetly going to continue to look at them everyday and spray them and hopefully they will go away, or at least leave my plants alone:) The ladybugs are a good idea too. I think I'm going to look into getting some of those. Alright, back outside to my picnic I go. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it..sharon

T -
I hate pests as well, I guess we all do. It is good to know that other folks are using organic methods in general, on C&S esp. I've found a lot of C&S folks are resistant to the notion...but I cannot understand why. Even in the desert lizards, snakes, gophers and birds both poop and die, spines and branches fall, insects live their life cycle and it all composts. Each spring I re-invigorate my soil w/bone meal, worm castings and compost tea. This is all the "fertilization" many of them will get - or need. I do use 1/2 strength Peter's on some of them, like my A. Arabicum and plumeria, which I am "pushing" for blooms. I've used Ladybugs eggs with good success. I have an organic garden shop around the corner that stocks them each spring. They do work wonders! It is good to see them come...and good to see them go (when they have cleaned an area and moved on!).
Hey, now...that experiment works. One time and you will NEVER forget it or confuse a fire ant with anything else! J

You described them as being mostly on the sidewalk and other outdoor surfaces. It sounds like what you have is clover mites or red predatory mites. Neither type of mite poses a threat to your jade plant.
My mother has an enormous population of red clover mites show up every year around this time...the tiny little red things seem to love crawling around on her cement block retaining wall and driveway. I read somewhere that they are often seen in large numbers on surfaces that are coated with pollen, which could explain their weirdo behavior - that retaining wall and driveway get hot enough to fry an egg, you'd think the heat would deter them but it doesn't.

Renee
PS - we didn't know what they were the first spring they turned up at my mom's house - she called our local ext. office and asked.

Renee,
Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes, the red bugs mainly stay on the concrete which is probably why I haven't seen any on my deck b/c it's all wood. I completely forgot about taking a few to the extension office to get them checked out. It's weird b/c they will be on my jade plant, then I'll check them again in a couple of hours and they won't be there anymore. I actually moved my plants to my deck now after I sprayed them down a couple times and, knock on wood, so far so good. I'm going to look up the red clover mite now, b/c like I said every year they come back to me and all my neighbors:( Thanks again I'll let you know how it goes...sharon