Small brown ant-like bugs on vegetable plants

[Mbartl1987]

hello all,

New member here. South Texas resident... I have these little bugs crawling all over my vegetable plants and all throughout the soil... They almost look like ants, I thought they were spider mites at first but now I'm not so sure.

tried using Sevin Dust on the soil, has little to no effect on them... Or if it does, maybe they're just coming back too quickly for me to notice!

not sure if you can tell by the picture, but the head is black with antenna, there is a small midsection and the thorax is brown/whitish brown.

A few of my plants are starting to look a little stressed, Drooping leaves and whatnot. following a regular feeding and watering schedule so I'm not sure if it's the bugs doing this. Either way these things can't be good for the plants.

Does anybody know what these little insects are and how to get rid of them? My plants are in containers on my apartment porch, they seem to be crawling up the staircase, tunneling through the Wood banister and emerging on the other side and into my containers. Thank you for any help anyone can help!

 

[LIcenter]

Looks like termite.

 

[Chuck]

What part of S Texas. I'm 100 miles NW of San Antonio. Your plants are drooping because of this hot weather we have been going through. Yep, as @LIcenter said they are termites. Not sure which variety as we have a lot of different kinds. The only termite your plants have to worry about is the Formosan Termite as they eat some live plants. All our other termites eat dead cellulose or wood. Not to worry about them. The apartment owners might be concerned though.

 

[Mbartl1987]

Thank you @LIcenter and @Chuck For the timely reply! I actually live in New Braunfels, halfway between Austin and San Antonio... About 30 miles Northeast of San Antonio.

this does make me feel a bit better... so more likely than not no harm will come to the plants, even though these little guys are swarming all throughout the Potted soil? Is there a greater risk of harm due to the fact that these plants are in containers? Is there anything I can apply or place around the containers to discourage them from nesting there, if anything for peace of mind?

I do want to be cautious however because these are edibles... Pepper's, tomatoes and green bean plants... I was nervous enough to use the Sevin dust ... either way it doesn't seem to be affecting them

and yes I imagine the property managers won't be too happy about it, it's a bit more unnerving because I live on the second floor and the wood planks are beginning to show signs of wear LOL

 

[Chuck]

Thank you @LIcenter and @Chuck For the timely reply! I actually live in New Braunfels, halfway between Austin and San Antonio... About 30 miles Northeast of San Antonio.

this does make me feel a bit better... so more likely than not no harm will come to the plants, even though these little guys are swarming all throughout the Potted soil? Is there a greater risk of harm due to the fact that these plants are in containers? Is there anything I can apply or place around the containers to discourage them from nesting there, if anything for peace of mind?

I do want to be cautious however because these are edibles... Pepper's, tomatoes and green bean plants... I was nervous enough to use the Sevin dust ... either way it doesn't seem to be affecting them

and yes I imagine the property managers won't be too happy about it, it's a bit more unnerving because I live on the second floor and the wood planks are beginning to show signs of wear LOL

They may be trying to set up a home in your pot but they don't eat plants. I would throw away the Sevin and purchase an organic, safe pesticide . In our area it's named Monterrey Garden Insect Killer. It is a spinosad based product, harmless to people and pets up to time of harvest. Use it as a soil drench and those critters are gone.

 

[Mbartl1987]

Thank you again @Chuck I will definitely look into that!

Happy gardening and stay cool it seems we have another hot Texas summer on our hands!

 

[Chuck]

Thank you again @Chuck I will definitely look into that!

Happy gardening and stay cool it seems we have another hot Texas summer on our hands!

Yep, I've been a Texas gardener for 60+ years and I cannot remember ever having early prolonged heat such as this this early. Usually the heat hits in late June but this time in mid May. It has cost me at least a 40% reduction in produce