Ant Damage

• Ants can inflict damage to small ornamental citrus trees growing indoors. Attracted to the fruit, ants will find their way up the plant to suck up the sugar in the produce. Furthermore, ants build up nests inside of pots, which is both aesthetically unpleasing and unhealthy for your indoor plant. You may see a line of ants from your kitchen to your houseplants. Pests eat both protein and sugars from food sources left out or not properly stored.
  
  

Other Pests

• Pests such as scales, mealybugs and aphids produce a sticky substance called honeydew. Ants love eating honeydew and will protect these insects from their natural enemies. Scales, mealybugs and aphids pose serious health risks for plants. They suck up the nutrients from their leaves and cause leaf discoloration, dieback and defoliation. When plants lose their leaves, their ability to photosynthesise is compromised. Also, honeydew left on the leaves and stems attracts fungal spores in the air which raises the risk of your houseplant succumbing to a disease. Indoor pesticides should be used to kill your nutrient-sucking pests.
  
  

Control

• You can reduce the amount of ants on your houseplants by placing a sticky material or tape around the pot. When ants leave their nests, they get stuck in the sticky material. Ant traps are an effective way to kill a colony. Traps contain a toxic substance mixed with an ant attractant like sugar or protein. It is important to figure out what type of ant is infesting your house plant to determine what attractant to use. Ants such as carpenter ants, Argentine ants, odorous house ants eat sugars. Pharaoh ants, southern fire ants and pavement ants enjoy proteins. Choose the ant trap that has the attractant to kill the species on your houseplant.
  
  

Pesticides

• You can use a pesticide that is safe to use indoors that contain pyrethroids bifenthrin and lambda-cyhalothrin, according to the University of California. Apply these pesticides to the outside of the container. You can mix up your own pesticide and trap for ants by combining 4 tbsp. of peanut butter, 1 tsp. of boric acid and 6 tbsp. of honey, according to radio and television garden expert and author Walter Reeves. Pour the mixture on a bottle cap and place on the soil near your plant. The peanut butter will attract protein-loving ants, honey is a favorite for sugar eating ants and the boric acid will kill them.