Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
biggddave

Ants

biggddave
18 years ago

I am new to vegtable gardening. The problem I have is ants everywhere. I have them in my orange tree. I have raised beds that have melons, tomatoes, bush beans. I also find ants by the walkways, I find them going into the house. I have sprayed with ortho products but not in the garden or the orange tree but no luck. I am looking for something that is safe and works. Any ideas? I would like to keep the vegtable garden organic.

Thanks BIGGDDAVE

Comments (7)

  • Kimmsr
    18 years ago

    Aside from the ants in the house whre they do not belong what are they doing that makes you think they need ro be eliminated?
    Ants are part of Ma Natures recycling machine and often are beneficial because they aid in controlling some pests. They do not need to be killed off and if they are in the house they need to be redirected back outside.

  • countymounty
    18 years ago

    I posted a similar question about how to get rid of (er - somewhat reduce the population??) fire ants. I posted the question several months ago in the Texas Gardening forum and received a reply stating that broadcasting dried granular molasses over an area will result in an overall reduction in the ant population. I can no longer find my original post or the reply that included the information on the molasses. The person who responded said that dried molasses can be purchased from most feed stores and that it is less than $10.00 for a 50 lb bag. Don't quote me on the price info. The reported reason that the molasses treatment works is that it results in an increase in the overall number of micro organisms in the treated area. The molasses is a source of food for them and they go forth and multiply. Apparently fire ants consider some members of the expanding micro-herd as pests (ie ant's ants) and they move to more sterile locations. I have not tried a broadcast application yet, but I have treated several fire ant mounds with a molasses/water mixture and in 2 of 3 cases it caused them to at least move their mound - I don't know if this was a result of the water or the effect of the molasses.

  • squeeze
    18 years ago

    powdered sugar and borax - they take it home and feed it to the queen - w/ lots of ants around, watch for aphids on any smooth leaved things like peppers and beans, and the orange

    Bill

  • softmentor
    18 years ago

    squeez, how do you mix it? about 50% of each? This is the one thing that I have not been able to find a really good solution for. Isn't borax listed as not being ok for garden dusting? I suppose the small amount they cary would not be bad but is this ok for certified organic?

  • Kimmsr
    18 years ago

    To find out about Fire Ants visit Texas A & M s fire ant website.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fire Ants

  • squeeze
    18 years ago

    Soft - don't 'dust' it - mix 50-50 and place in affected areas in 'bait stations' - any small container sheltered from the rain, and it won't wind up everywhere, cuz they eat it! - use is acceptable for certified organic "where agronomically justified", and borax is partly boron, which is a plant useable trace element

    Bill

  • tiffy_z5_6_can
    18 years ago

    I used the sugar and borax mix 4 years ago and it worked great. We purchased the borax from the pharmacist (get the REAL stuff), and after mixing it placed it in tuna tin cans. The tins were punctured with nails to create holes for the ants to get in, and a lid was put on top. Several tin cans were placed around the corner of the house where they were coming in. After two days there were no ants.
    From what I understand, they do come and get some for the queen, but since they also travel through it, they get it on their little bodies. When they return to the nest, other ants will clean them, and so ingest the borax while the carrier is feeding the borax to the queen.

    It works! This will be the first year we have to take the tin cans out again!