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On Wed, 3 Aug 2005 00:23:24 +0100, "Mike Lyle" wrote:
Pam Moore wrote: On Tue, 2 Aug 2005 21:14:30 +0100, "Tumbleweed" wrote: To the original poster use clove oil, that'll drive the buggers away and keep them out, also garlic sometimes. Oil of cloves; isn't that what used to be recommended for toothache? Can you guarantee that it will also drive off ants? In solution I assume? Garlic how? crushed? planted? Thanks anyway! Haven't heard of oil of cloves for this purpose, but it's certainly worth trying if you don't want to use the products of the chemical industry. Till we hear back from Tumbleweed, though, my guess is that it wouldn't drive out a colony that was already established: like bees, they can't take a laying queen anywhere, as far as I know. If I thought the colony really was causing a problem (but they don't usually: they won't hurt the plants), I probably would use Nippon. If that's too chemical for you, I'm afraid you really will have to help your friend tip over the pot and destroy the nest -- boiling water usually does the trick. Spread out a plastic sheet, and tip the whole thing over; then wiggle the plant out: it should be quite easy between the two of you. A bit of boiling water on the very tips of the roots shouldn't do any harm. You need to do this now, before they send out drones and unmated queens (if it hasn't happened already -- it's quite a beautiful sight, really. In some parts of Africa, they're big enough to eat: when a colony starts sending out flying ants, you make a fire at the entrance and grab them as the heat burns off their wings. A bit like shrimps.). But...a willow in a pot? It's not my garden, but, for goodness' sake, _why_? Such a vigorous grower is probably due for soil-replacement anyhow, and it hardly matters how much you abuse it: they're tough. This is one of those crises for which the Chinese character, they tell us, is the same as the one for "opportunity". Opportunity either to replace the soil, or to plant something else. Beware, Oil of Cloves mixed with water will kill off vegetation if the concentration is too strong. I discovered this by accident on the lawn about two months ago. There is still a dead patch in which nothing will grow. It does work on ants, but I don't know the correct ratios. Rick |
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