My Garden

Ants

Last post 24-07-2008 1:51 PM by LovelyHelen. 12 replies.

• 04/05/2008 11:37 AM

  susie c Location: Basildon, Essex Joined on: 26 Apr 2008 Posts: 3

  Reply | Contact Can anyone help? I've created several small raised beds for vegetables this year. Our clay soil was well dug and copious amounts of top soil and well rotted manure were added. A couple of weeks ago I planted one bed out with salad stuffs, radish, spring onion, wild rocket and cut and come again lettuce. They've all just started to sprout, but when I went to check on them yesterday I was horrified to find millions of ants crawling in and on the soil. The plants aren't big enough to hoe between yet. Any ideas or tips or do I just have to live with them? The whole garden seems to be infested with them, great mounds in the lawn and colonies in the roots of my grass plants. Any advice would be appreciated.

• 05/05/2008 03:51 PM	In reply to
  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 1,817	Reply | Contact There do seem to be more ants about than usual, this year.     Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 05/05/2008 05:37 PM	In reply to
  digger Location: North East Lancashire Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 3,305	Reply | Contact You can buy some ant powder, but I have read somewhere on this site that if you kill the ants some more will just move in anyway, some birds eat ants i saw one near the town eating ants off the pavement i think it was a black bird digger

• 05/05/2008 07:38 PM	In reply to
  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 1,817	Reply | Contact  I think Woodpeckers eat ants, I expect other types do too.   Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 06/05/2008 08:36 AM

  In reply to

  Bog Myrtle Location: Southern Turkey Joined on: 07 Feb 2007 Posts: 346

  Reply | Contact Woodpeckers do indeed eat ants Phot's; we have a lot of lesser spotted woodies here, and we often see them down beside ants' nests, scoffing away. Which will only help susie c if there are woodpeckers where she lives, of course! Susie, I wouldn't worry about ants too much - we have loads of them most years here too, and this year so far I have seen more than ever. They're only really a nuisance when they start to "farm" greenfly, or if they make nests in your tubs & containers. In the latter case, I lift the affected tub into a half-drum of water, and leave it for a few hours before taking it out to drain, and that kills them. Otherwise, they turn the soil in the tub to sand, and the flowers die off.

• 11/05/2008 10:42 AM	In reply to
  susie c Location: Basildon, Essex Joined on: 26 Apr 2008 Posts: 3	Reply | Contact Thanks for the advice re tubs in water, will try that. Unfortunately we only see green woodpeckers here in Essex once in a while, so can't rely on them! The weather here has been very hot for the last week and the ants seem to come and go, don't seem to be worrying the seedlings too much so think I'll stop worrying about them. Nice to know you have Turkish speaking ants too!

• 14/05/2008 09:41 AM	In reply to
  manigoterie Location: Joined on: 09 May 2008 Posts: 9	Reply | Contact Green woodpeckers eat them too. The real damage they cause are their bites which are very painful to me anyway. Otherwise they are not a problem.

• 15/05/2008 06:11 PM	In reply to
  reddyreddy Location: Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 29	Reply | Contact Diatomeous earth (not sure on the spelling!) is an organic way of getting rid of them, try to find the nest and open it up before applying. I hate ants especially in the veg garden and find they loosen the earth around the roots causing the plants to die.

• 12/06/2008 01:39 PM	In reply to
  manigoterie Location: Joined on: 09 May 2008 Posts: 9	Reply | Contact  Just been reading Laurence D Hills 'Organic Gardening' and he recommends Borax mixedwith icing sugar. Haven't tried this yet as don't know name of borax in french. Anyone help - its not in the usual dictionary

• 25/06/2008 06:23 PM	In reply to
  LovelyHelen Location: Bristol Joined on: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 8	Reply | Contact I've recently put  some ant nematodes onto the many ant hills in my lawn - i'll keep you posted as to how they work - they were from the green gardener site and have to be mixed with water and poured on.  The only problem was I had two packs but they weren't nearly enough to go round all the hills.  I'll see how they work and if they do I'm dousing the lawn!

• 25/06/2008 10:04 PM	In reply to
  Suzie Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 01 Jun 2008 Posts: 25	Reply | Contact eeewww ants - I have just been to see Indiana Jones (I know this is off topic) and there were THE most monsterous ants in that.  I have tons of the darn things here, I'll be keen to hear how the nematodes work LH

• 23/07/2008 10:56 AM	In reply to
  Olivia-G Location: Joined on: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 1	Reply | Contact I've seen a few of these things starting to appear. http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/solar-powered-repeller-p-2576.html?cPath=24_368  I had one of these for cats in my garden and it worked pretty well. If someone has ever tried one of these or knows if they are any good then please let me know, I may well try one if it works!  Thanks

• 24/07/2008 01:51 PM

  In reply to

  LovelyHelen Location: Bristol Joined on: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 8

  Reply | Contact Update on the nematodes - i think there are fewer ants on the hills i managed to treat, there are certainly few casts around. The only problem is that the areas treated have to be kept moist for 2 weeks and i was then away for a bit so they may have dried out a bit too much.  I'm going to have another go in the autumn when things are a bit damper and i can keep more on top of watering. I'm also going to stick little flags in the hills I treated so I can remember where to keep watered!