Question
Hello, is it normal or ok for ants to be living under your carnivorous plants? I had a venus flytrap that died out because it seemed to not be growing at all and the leaves are dried out even though i water them quite well! After removing the soil from the 3 inch plastic pot, there were MANY ants at the bottom living there without me knowing!! never seen ants crawl in, may have seen couple crawling around but did not think they would live at the bottom of the pot in the soil. After that, i checked my Drosera Burmannii. I shook the pot and good amount of ants came out. How can i get rid of the ants? Are they very harmful on my plants? I believe they are ghost ants after doing some research, some of the ants' bodies were white but not their legs. Appreciate the help ! :)

Answer
Hi David,

There are two issue that we need to sort out first because the answer to why your flytrap died isn't exactly straightforward.  First, if you had your flytrap indoors, it likely died from lack of sunlight.  Flytraps are native to North Carolina, so they grow best outdoors in full sun.  At this time of the year, they also go dormant.  Without adequate sunlight, flytraps weaken.  If they are too unhealthy, they often don't make it through winter dormancy.

The other issue could also be the ants.  Waste products from the ants would change the soil pH, which will further weaken a flytrap.  Combine this with insufficient sunlight and your plant will deteriorate very quickly.

The best way to prevent ants from nesting in the soil is to place your plants in saucers of water.  The water will prevent ants from climbing into the pot.  You will also need to repot your remaining plants in fresh soil.

For more information about growing flytraps and tropical sundews, read our care sheet on our main website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

I also recommend watching our monthly video podcast for November:
http://www.cobraplant.com/videos

Good growing!
Jacob Farin