Hi - the sunflowers I planted next to my front porch
seem to have attracted ants, and I can't keep the ants
out of the cats' food dish. I thought I foiled them
when I put the food dish inside of a pie plate of
water, but this morning they had still managed to get
to the cat food. I don't want to poison my porch, does
anyone have any ideas?
This is the first time I've planted sunflowers, I
didn't know they attracted ants. But the ants are
crawling on the flowers, so...
Thanks for any suggestions.
Susan in Texas
__________________________________________________
build a better moat- your idea was/is a good one.....
Hi - the sunflowers I planted next to my front porch
seem to have attracted ants, and I can't keep the ants
out of the cats' food dish. I thought I foiled them
when I put the food dish inside of a pie plate of
water,
To kill those ants and their nest.
Mix 3 cups water, 1 cup sugar and 3 tsp. Boric acid, or even less. I saturate
cotton balls with this solution and put it in a margarine container with holes
burned out around the bottom, and the lid on it. The ants will eat this and take
it back to their nest and kill the rest. It will take a while, but it does work.
I use this every spring when we get infestations.
Another "recipe" for garden ants was: 1 tsp.. boric acid, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 qt
water. Put in qt jar with big wads of cotton lay on side near ants, cover to
keep out sun. boric acid is toxic to pets, so put it in a container the pets
can't get into.
meanwhile the moat of water would help keep them out until they're gone.
susan
"Susan B." wrote:
Add some Essential Oil of Peppermint in your pie plate of water. That will
deter ants.
Annelies in VA
there's aphids in the sunflower- that's why the ants are there.
Behalf Of Kris Johnson
Sent: Saturday, August 10, 2002 8:20 PM
To: OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Help with ants, please
I don't think sunflowers are especially attractive to ants. They probably
just happen to be around, as they always are. Can you move the cat's dish to
another location?
Kris
Last week, I was infested with ants. I went out and doused their entire area
with plain , old fashined salt, not the modern low salt. They infestation
had disappeared within eight hours.....nothing to be seen, except the sprays
of salt, but no ants since. Good Luck, Brid.
--part1_1a2.6c3f99e.2a8816e2_boundary
A number of years ago when we lived on a farm, we had a problem with ants in
the back of the house. I planted tanzy around the house, now I don't know if
the ants moved on or were repelled by the tanzy plants. I'd give it a try.
I also have heard that the plant can be used as an insect repellent by
rubbing some of the leaves on the skin.
Bill,
Albany, NY
--part1_1a2.6c3f99e.2a8816e2_boundary
A number of years ago when we lived on a farm, we had a problem with ants in the back of the house. I planted tanzy around the house, now I don't know if the ants moved on or were repelled by the tanzy plants. I'd give it a try. I also have heard that the plant can be used as an insect repellent by rubbing some of the leaves on the skin.
Bill,
Albany, NY
--part1_1a2.6c3f99e.2a8816e2_boundary--
farm, we had a problem with ants in the back of the house. I planted
tanzy around the house, now I don't know if the ants moved on or were
repelled by the tanzy plants. I'd give it a try. I also have heard that
the plant can be used as an insect repellent by rubbing some of the
leaves on the skin.
Bill,
Albany, NY
<<<<<<<<
When I was taking care of my mother, I had ants in the house. I read
somewhere that borage (I THINK it was borage) would keep them out, so I
spread leaves on all the outside walls (inside the house that is) and
they desisted!
Durned if I can be sure of the plant, though. It was probably Elliott
Coleman, as I didn't read many gardening books.
Carol
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E-book compiling, editing and HTML-coding.
Also ghostwriting. Were you in Europe during
WWII? I want to compile a book of that time.
<
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Ive seen plenty of ants(" Argentine", i believe) on sunflower,,, they will
nurse a large crop of aphids on the sepals and "seed blossoms" ......... .
water, soapy water, insecticidal soap, neem oil, peppermint "tainted" soap
spray, orange oil>>>>>>>> all( and more) will make a dent in the populations
of both pests.
bille
Moat method works if the construction is right. Eatie dish can't be allowed
to float close to sides of larger bowl, otherwise ants can cross from outer
bowl to eatie bowl. Ask me how I know. So now what I'm going to try is
this:
Outer bowl (this is a drip saucer from a large flowerpot) with an inch or so
of water.
Flat stone in center.
Eatie bowl on top of stone. This way, no matter how empty/light the eatie
bowl gets, it can't float.
Tried the peppermint oil. It kept the cats away.
Pat
In a message dated 8/12/02 1:09:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ruggierop@EARTHLINK.NET writes:
<< Outer bowl (this is a drip saucer from a large flowerpot) with an inch or
so
of water.
Flat stone in center.
Eatie bowl on top of stone. This way, no matter how empty/light the eatie
bowl gets, it can't float.
Tried the peppermint oil. It kept the cats away.
How about crushed catnip leaves?
You'll get rid of the ants then will come the yellow jackets, flies, possums,
skunks, raccoons, believe me, I've been there, done that.
Mary Ann
Mary Ann wrote:
> How about crushed catnip leaves?
I've used catnip, mint, lemon balm. Bunches of them surrounding the eatie
bowl. Catnip worked the longest and cats didn't mind. Have to be careful
about open spaces, though; those tiny ants will find a way in. After the
leaves and stems got very dry, the remedy didn't work. Right now I don't
have sufficient catnip or mint. Lemon balm didn't deter them at all.
> You'll get rid of the ants then will come the yellow jackets, flies,
possums, skunks, raccoons, believe me, I've been there, done that.
We feed our cats "tinned eaties" at breakfast and dinner and then
immediately remove the plates. The dry food is always available. Yellow
jackets and flies don't bother it. It probably helps that the food is kept
in a screened patio. There is a kitty door from the patio to the outside,
and it's that door that worries me, as it would permit access for possums,
skunks, and raccoons. Many nights we simply don't leave any food outside.
Long fast for the cats, but they don't seem starved in the morning.
Pat
> A number of years ago when we lived on a farm, we had a problem with ants in the back of the house. I planted tanzy around the house, now I don't know if the ants moved on or were repelled by the tanzy plants. I'd give it a try. I also have heard that the plant can be used as an insect repellent by rubbing some of the leaves on the skin.
Hi Bill,
Tansy (No z needed), according to my Herb Encyclopedia does repel ants.
However the book remarks this means they walk round it but not over it,
so I don't knew if it would help all that much.
One needs to be careful where one plants it, as it is one of those
plants which grows very easily and is hard to get rid of as any small
piece of root with a bud will grow (A bit like Comfrey)
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
Tansy is difficult enough to keep alive in SW Ireland.
John
