Information and discussion regarding garden diseases, insects and other unwelcome critters.
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June 10, 2013 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 13
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Ants!
I have an ant nest in my raised bed that completely undermined one of my Black Prince plants in less than two days (dead). This nest is a couple of feet wide and is the large black ants. The soil around the nest is like a sponge, a couple of the entrance holes are at least a half inch wide. I am not thrilled about spraying chemicals all over my vegetables, does anyone have an idea how to get rid of these.
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June 10, 2013 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Long Island NY
Posts: 1,992
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Borax works great as an ant killer that is low on the toxicity scale.
Mix with sugar water. Takes a few days. They feed and take it home to feed their friends. |
June 10, 2013 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 13
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Is that toxic to the rest of my plants (onions, chives, garlic) or my family (wife, children)?
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June 10, 2013 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SeTx
Posts: 881
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Borax is a laundry booster. In some cultures, it's an ingredient!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax Tl |
June 10, 2013 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Long Island NY
Posts: 1,992
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Well don't go spreading it all around. It is a salt of boric acid. Too much salt or boron would not be good.
Make sugar water, add borax and figure out how to place a few "feeder" cups so the ants can access it. You need it in them not on them. |
June 10, 2013 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 4,488
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Fire Ant Killer
This will kill em all and fast. Including the queen, even ants with multiple queens. All dead. Very safe. It is Diatomaceous Earth (DE) with Pyrethrum (African Daisy Extract) I have used it and it works. Now if you want something even more safe. You can use plain DE. That works too. Not as fast, and doesn't always kill the queen, but most of the time it works too. I generally 99% of the time use plain DE and only pull out the big guns in emergencies. But you sound as if you have a big one. So choose the DE infused with African Daisy Extract to be sure.
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Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture |
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