I have my Meyer lemon tree indoors since last month because the temps have gotten too low here for it to remain outside.
It's got buds all over it and it's blooming. But I've noticed tiny, tiny ants milling around the open blooms.

Will they hurt the tree?

Is there anything I can use indoors to get rid of them? I know in my herb garden, I discourage them with cayenne pepper, which they really seem to hate. I'd rather not use anything chemical indoors if I don't have to. And in the same thought, I'd rather not have a tree indoors dusted with cayenne pepper. Part of the beauty of having it indoors during the cold months is the wonderful smell when the tree starts to bloom.

Any thoughts. I sure don't want a tree in full bloom that's crawling with these tiny ants.

Ants in my opinion are usual signs of the pesty aphids. Try to see more or else where else they congregate.

Thanks, David. I'm going to treat the tree naturally for aphids, just in case. I don't see any obvious signs, but treating it won't hurt and could end up doing some good. You make a good point. Thanks for the response.

A good trick I came up with for ants is to put out a bowl of honey (or other thick sweet syrup) as close to their nest as possible, or by a good trail. The ants all come to get the honey and get trapped in it. Stir it around or add more honey when the layer of dead ants on top gets too thick and they can walk on it. After a while there will be no more ants, they all die in the honey and the nest dies without its workers.

For aphids I use a squirt of dish liquid soap in water sprayed on and under the leaves. They are really hard to get rid of though in my experience. I had to leave my trees outside and let the wind and rain take care of them. I can't do that now because it's too cold, so have to try the dish soap technique as early as possible when I spot any to prevent an infestation.

Good luck with your problem, I hope it gets solved.

When seeing ants on plants I am typically worried about aphids or scale, however I have ants on all of my citrus and there are absolutely no pests present. The ants are only on the trees when blooms are present and they are heavily concentrated on the flowers themselves. I think they are probably collecting nectar, and assuming you see no evidence of pests, I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks for all the replies. I brought in two small rosemary bushes for the winter and they were placed on either side of the Meyer tree. I did notice on one of them a small cobweb-like presence. So today, I took the tree and the two bushes outside and treated them twice with the water and dish soap method, thoroughly treating the plant.

I will try the honey trick, though. Just to see if there are any ants around. I did kind of assume (before seeing the rosemary plant) that the ants were just after the pollen, as that's the only place they were....in open blooms.

I agree with brettaym I have the exact same issue with little black ants going for the nectar of blooming Meyers. the only thing I have seen is they will switch to feeding on new growth after the blooming has passed and can be quite annoying creating small holes and disfigured new foliage. Like others posted, the ants can also feed on sap from scales or aphids so examine closely before making any decisions on what to do.