Things You'll Need
Water
Double stick tape
Plastic
Chalk
Bone meal
Diatomaceous earth
Fig trees produce delicious fruit for people to enjoy. Unfortunately, ants love them as much as people do. Getting rid of those ants organically is not hard to accomplish. With a little patience, you can have a fig tree that is free from ants. By taking steps now before the figs form, you can be sure that the fruits will be safe from crawling ants when it comes time to pick them. Ants can indicate that your fig tree may have a problem with aphids. Ants herd aphids because they like to eat the honeydew that aphids produce.
Step 1
Check your fig tree and see if you can find where the ants originate. This will help you wipe out the entire colony. Spray the colony with water several times a day for a week. Ants will move to dryer ground.
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Step 2
Heat water until it is boiling. Carefully carry the water outside to where the ant mounds are. Pour the boiling water into the ant holes.
Step 3
Wrap several bands of double-stick tape around the trunk of your fig tree. When bugs try to crawl over this band, they adhere to the surface.
Step 4
Wrap the trunk of the fig tree with a 4-inch wide strip of plastic. Wrap it around twice. Tie a knot to hold it. Spread some petroleum jelly onto the plastic. Reapply the petroleum jelly when it wears off or washes off, or when ants are able to cross the plastic strips because leaves, insect bodies and debris become stuck.
Step 5
Grind a few sticks of chalk into a powder form. Sprinkle this around the fig tree. Ants will not cross over chalk. You can also use bone meal as an alternate to ant control.
Step 6
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in the area. The ants walk through it and take it back to their colony. Diatomaceous earth is made up of fossilized remains of prehistoric algae. It is razor sharp, and when the ants or bugs walk across it cuts their exoskeleton (outer, hard covering) open.
Tip
Make sure that nothing comes in contact with the fig tree such as tall grass or weeds or a building. Ants will use that as an alternative route up your tree.
If you find the ant nest, work on getting rid of it when evening comes. That is when the ants return home.
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