"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
pammyT wrote:
"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 2 Aug 2005 19:58:04 +0100, "pammyT" fenlandfowl
@talktalk.net wrote:

I don't think I *would* 'deal with' them unless they were
actually
causing some damage.

Thanks Pammy T. The trouble witha ants in pots is that they
remove
the soil from round the roots and the plat may eventually die.
I was hoping for a few more helpful suggestions but see the
thread's
gone off on a tangent! I'm sure you knew what I meant by no
chemicals!
I'm still hoping someone may have another idea of what to do
without
resorting to HARMFUL chemicals!

Well you could try diatomaceous earth or pyrethrum powder. Both
totally natural and they both work one mites and lice in my poultry
houses. Try some of the poultry supplies ppl for either of those
products.

Nippon liquid really is safe, you know. It's based on borax, which
you can use to treat mouth ulcers. Nippon's been around for many
decades with no known ill effects on mammals or, in these trifling
quantities, the environment. It's one of the best-known preparations,
not some new wizzo thing introduced by an agrichemical company only
to be withdrawn twenty years later when they found out what it did.
As far as I remember, it doesn't even hurt bees (but my memory is
long out of warranty).

I don't see how you're going to get pyrethrum powder into the nest
without tipping out the tree, which you said wasn't a realistic
option. So use Nippon without a qualm.

--
Mike.


Isn't it interesting when people use the word 'natural' to imply something
is safe?
"...or pyrethrum powder. Both totally natural " Pyrethrum is in fact
slightly poisonous, certainly much more so than, Nippon, especially as the
nippon will be within a small container accessible only to ants and the
Pyrethrum spread around liberally.......but never mind, its natural :-)

Fancy a glass of hemlock, OP?

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com