I just pulled a dead piece of bark off one of our trees (I don't know what
kind it is, yet) and uncovered a disgusting black mass of ants. Have you
ever seen ants drip out of their nest like water off a ducks back?! Can I
spray the pests with something without hurting the tree, or do I just leave
them there? Yuck, yuck, yuck!
Sarah
CA, zone 9
In a message dated 2/5/01 3:16:00 PM Pacific Standard Time,
schristopher@IOLWEST.COM writes:
Sarah:
You can use Diazinon to kill ants. Others on this list can give you
a more organic approach if you like.
Glenn
Your ant colony shouldn't really be a problem unless the ants are in your
way...not in California, anyway. Fire ants (or some other dangerous
species) would be the exception...or carpenter ants colonizing your home.
I think ants are neat creatures, and they do a great cleanup job...even
reducing the number of flea eggs in their neighborhood. The ground dwelling
varieties aerate the soil...including garden beds. And some trees have a
symbiotic relationship with ant colonies -- the ants are an active guard
against other individuals that might harm their home, hungry caterpillars as
just one example, in return for nutrient rich sap. Acacias and ants are one
famous example of this pairing.
http://daphne.palomar.edu/wayne/acacia.htm
Barb in Southern Indiana Zone 5/6 dorsett@blueriver.net
A root is a flower that disdains fame.
Sarah Christopher
Sent by: Gardens & Gardening
02/06/01 10:14 AM
Please respond to Gardens & Gardening
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
cc:
Subject: Ant Problem
I just pulled a dead piece of bark off one of our trees (I don't know what
kind it is, yet) and uncovered a disgusting black mass of ants. Have you
ever seen ants drip out of their nest like water off a ducks back?! Can I
spray the pests with something without hurting the tree, or do I just
leave
them there? Yuck, yuck, yuck!
Sarah
CA, zone 9
Ants are harmless, and in fact great little scavengers in the garden. I'd
leave them alone.
John
Big black ants are overtaking my garden. They already have three big nests
in my tiny plot of land. I live in a Chicago suburb and have a small garden
so every inch is valuable to me. What are some good ways of getting rid of
them? I don't mind if they live in the grass but they seem to prefer ready
for planting dirt. I read about a nettle tea but I don't have any nettles.
Alina
boiling water works , pour it right in the nest,
Alina M wrote:
Dear Alina
The first question is: Why are they picking on you??? :-) Seriously, is
there perhaps a big source of food for them in your area? I find I have lots
of ants in areas where I have cleared land, and there is logging residue,
branches, stumps, etc, to provide lots of feed for them. Find out what your
Black Ants eat, and see if there happens to be a big supply of it in the
area. Then see if you can get rid of it. That will "head them off at the
pass."
The second thing is: Why bother getting rid of them? Are they actually doing
any damage to your crops? Have you considered that they may actually be
beneficial? (I found that "Where the ants are, the slugs aren't).
Additionally, Ant poo is probably a good fertilizer, and their tunnels open
up the soil.
I live in a Chicago suburb and have a
If you really do find that they are causing you a real problem, such that
you really do hafta get rid of them, then a kettle or two of boiling water
on the nest should do the trick.
But first, make sure they really are a problem!!
Kindest regards,
Kevin Chisholm
Alina,
Kevin's made some very good points which I'll corroborate with my
experience -- which is that the ants come and go, they dig and make their
mounds, they go about their business, but so far we've not noticed that they
do any damage. Maybe they're seeking moisture, maybe not, we really don't
know. Live and let live.
Pat
Ants take off with the whiteflies from my yellow sticky cards. They also
haul off termites. Also they aerate the soil same as worms. If they are not
in the kitchen they are OK
Forgot to mention that my yellow cards are coated with cooking oil spray.
