Ants and more Ants

[planterlemon]

A whole lot of ants are nesting inside my container plants. I can't use hot water since it'll probably kill my plants Damn ants!

[airconednightmare]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

The normal ants found in gardens don't seem to do too much damage to veggies but they can certainly be a nuisance, and there is always the danger that they'll start coming into the house. The important thing is to find the nest. You may be able to see them taking food back there. Once you've found it, a kettle of boiling water will kill the queen and most of the eggs and things will improve a lot.

Paul

there is more than one type of ant some eat veg, some don't - out of the former most are picky as to which plant they will eat

Originally Posted by dotcommon

they are horrid and the formic acid they spray on you really hurts, especially bad for small children if you have any. we had a serious problem last year with ants on our strawberry beds. they decimated the plants. they sem to like to nest around their roots and they killed off or seriously harmed the whole bed. and if you dont do something, they keep producing more and more colonies. ant powder is the only way to go. you have to get it right into the heart of their nest though as otherwise the whole colony just moves. yu've got to kill the queen.

i, and just about everyone else i knew as a child played with ants - be that in a nice or nasty way. they certainly got on us anyway no one i know has yet to die from ants in the uk

Originally Posted by Marquesa

This is my first post but maybe this will help.

I haven't tried this myself because I have only just heard about it but it's cheap, pet and child friendly so I'm going to give it a go. Not today however, since it is raining with a force 8 raging!!

Apparently dot small piles of cornmeal around ant activity - they eat it - take it back to the nest but they cannot digest it so it kills them. It will take a few weeks and obviously needs to be replaced after rain. Cornmeal can be purchased in the UK but if not then polenta is the same - so I'm told!???

that will work with certain ants - the ones which eat dry starchy food - cornmeal. however it won't kill the veg munchers

Originally Posted by MarkOlliethe2nd

Im having an ant problem in my tunnel, they been there since I put the tunnel up. I have sat and watched then mincing up and down the tunnel but cant track them to a specific place (nest) But they are becoming a real pain as they seem to of taken a liking to my pepper leaves. Some of the leaves that touched the ground or the side of the tunnel seemed to be most effected with them munching, I cut back a few leaves that were in contact with the ground or sides and the munching on leaves wasnt so bad, but seen as the peppers are growing more mucned leaves appear but not on my toms and they are bigger and more accessible to the ants, but they havent taken a liking to the toms.... I noticed in the garden centre ant powders where not recommended for crops, such a pain in the a**e!!!!

(My recent tsunami did nothing either, infact the ants told me it was better then the log flume at alton towers!!!)

i guess you have ants that are actually causing you a problem i.e. they are eating your crop rather than living among it, unlike just about every other poster in this thread

'all i am saying is give ants a chance' lmao