Oops my response got garbled from using an emoji. Thanks for the advice! I will try it out... if I succeed in overwintering or digging and potting I’m Boston

I've never used coffee grounds, but have had success against ants with tanglefoot.

A product called Tanglefoot will work well for you! It is a sticky substance that you smear around the trunk of the tree. Now when I say around the trunk, I do not mean directly on the trunk as this can damage the bark of the tree. There are several ways to wrap a 2-3 inch band around the trunk, such as using masking tape or Syran Wrap and then putting the Tanglefoot on that. Here is a good example of it used on fig trees in AZ by Enlightenment Garden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqxem7ntFa0

Also a tangle foot user but not every year, use to apply directly on bark it really stops the non flying crawling critters and works excellent on single or a few multiple trunk fig trees in container. Will eventually wear away and leave black ring that is not eye candy and will raise the bark somewhat if applied bare on same spot yearly, Best to use something that can wrap snug around trunk as ant can and will crawl under anything loose.

Also used on our large Princeton American elm as one day i was admiring the tree and noticed the leaves were getting holy looking around saw many crawling up the trunk so the tanglefoot was applied directly with no harm other than a black ring which wore away as i used it only once .

Ants here are not a problem yearly same with the yellow jackets.

One year they were terrible when the fig plants were ripening the fruit ,one morning they were swarming so many of them like out of a horror movie so i took a hose sprayed and sprayed and did a dance on them when they fell to the patio would have made a funny video. Its just not a yearly thing that happens here.

Some years ants some years yellow jackets most years nothing just mother nature doing its thing i suppose.

Martin

Thanks everyone! I will try coffee first as I already own that and move to tanglefoot if that fails. Is it toxic to nearby edible plants?

FlowerDreams what i have read in past it is certified to be non toxic to humans and pets and made from natural ingredients. I believe it also states that on the tub container i have.

Martin

You can also use diatomacious earth. You can spread this around the base of the tree as well. It would have to be reapplied with every rain or watering, but it is fairly inexpensive. Can be found a Home Depot and other big box stores (Walmart). It is safe for humans and is even used as a supplement. Again a quick web search will give you plenty of instructions - like on Youtube.