Attack of the ants!

Hey guys
Ive got an apple tree that i grew from seed about 2 years ago, its currently living in a pot in the middle of my garden. It got a bit injured by some blackfly but i managed to get them undercontrol recently. Now ive just realised that I think theres an ants nest actually IN the pot!

I'd seen them running around during the blackfly fiasco but chalked it up to the nest being nearby.
During the presence of the blackfly the new growth was very curly and pained, but then when they left they started to grow normally again.

However, ive just noticed that theres hundreds of ants swarming inside the pot and when i just watered it they all came out in force and marched around.

the leaves have just started to curl again and i think its because of the presence of the ants.

Please can someone advise on the least damaging way (to both tree and ant) to get these industrious critters out of my pot!

thanks a lot!

(Ive never seen ants in a pot before but on close inspection i'm almost certain that theyre living in there)

 

I've never had ants in pots before in the 20 odd years gardening, but this year I have several pots with them in. I don't know the best option but I have just desturbed them sprayed with them ant powder, let them kill the nest and the next day tapped the plant out, knocked off any eggs etc and repotted, giving a feed and watering :thumb:

I've nothing against ants nesting elsewhere (black ones anyway), but I don't really want pots full of them knocking all the compost off the roots..

 

gnarf just noticed loads of eggs too!

 

I've finally managed to persuade them out of one of my chilli pots, by soaking it overnight in water.

They've now moved into the other pots:DOH:

They've killed all the Egg plants and a few tomatoes in the cold frames, I think they move the soil away from the roots.

 

Now I don't mind ants living their little lives in the right place , but I got an infestation on the front lawn. I always think powder is a bit messy and not super effective. So I used a spray ANT STOP , one spray and they are gone
Ziggy - not to sure if it can be used near edible plants