ANTS

[Farmette]

I mixed this plant starter into my established garden bed at the beginning of the season. Things seem to be growing fine, but I am noticing alot of little ants in the soil. Is this ok and if not, how do I get rid of them?

[bohica]

I usually get rid of ants as they harvest aphids and live off of their secretions, they will actually bring the aphids from plant to plant..... They get relocated in my garden.
I got this from the web:

Ants save the eggs of these insects in their nests over the winter and bring them out in the spring. These insects produce honeydew while feeding on your plants which the ants just love. If you closely observe ants streaming up a tree and tending their aphids, you will see them take their legs and rub the aphids which stimulates them to produce the honeydew. This activity is known as "milking" the aphids. The honeydew that is secreted by the insects favors the growth of sooty mold. This is a very destructive black fungus that spreads on plant leaves. The aphids are also responsible for spreading many different viral diseases. What you want to ultimately do is to disrupt the ants from tending to their insect flocks, getting in the house etc. This involves locating and destroying the nest and queen.

[mdvpc]

Farmette-You can use diatomaceous earth to kill the ants. And green lacewings are great for the aphids.

[Farmette]

So, do I have to order diatomaceous earth or can I probably get it at Home Depot, etc.?
And do I just sprinkle that on or do I have to mix it in...these are the small ants.
Thanks much!
Chris

[holedigger]

Hi, I just use the DE I get at the pool store, cheap stuff. Re-apply if it gets wet. I have used it for years to deter ants around my pool and recently used it for slugs around my peppers and toms. Those soft insects stop dead when hit with it.

I'm just a newbie so maybe someone can jump in and tell us what the difference is between the pool grade and horticultural grade is. I buy the swimming pool filter kind for 20# bags for about $20 but it does come in smaller sizes. Maybe if you can find a pool store, that kind will get you by till you find the horticulture grade. Hope this helps!

Good luck, Deb

[holedigger]

Oh, I am going out to sprinkly and mix in a bit as well, even though if the soil is moist it won't help to mix it in.

From what I have read, ants are pretty harmless except they do farm the aphids and I am worried they are disturbing the soil around the roots too much.

I have used a homemade Borax brew(20 Mule Team, from the grocery store in the laundry section) to get ride of ants. You can google that for recipes, or just try the cheap retail tins of ant bait with the ingredient "tetraborate", basically the same stuff and low toxicity. I have used these around my garden, the worker ants carry it to the nest to feed it to the queen and ...........goodby antys. Never found the DE or the Borax/borate to be a problem around pets either. Just try not to inhale it.

[Farmette]

Thanks all of you for the info. I will try to find the diatomaceous earth. I have wondered if the presence of the ants was an indicator of my soil conditions, that perhaps the soil is lacking something.
Chris