My first veggie patch and i found some red ants in it today, around me
onions. Are they going to be a pain? and if so how would you get rid of
them? I do have a 2x dalek like compose bins near by that get black ants but
i just turn it every now and then and it keeps them away.

thanks jason.

My first veggie patch and i found some red ants in it today, around me
onions. Are they going to be a pain? and if so how would you get rid
of them? I do have a 2x dalek like compose bins near by that get black
ants but i just turn it every now and then and it keeps them away.

Introduce the red ants to the black ants by any means that you can (big
sticky stick, saucer of sugar water between the nests etc). One lot will
kill the other lot leaving you with a single problem.

Then get either an anteater or a green woodpecker to finish off the winning
tribe.

Or nippon the buggers to death, plant marigolds etc etc ...

Al.

The message
from "soulman" contains these words:

My first veggie patch and i found some red ants in it today, around me
onions. Are they going to be a pain? and if so how would you get rid of
them? I do have a 2x dalek like compose bins near by that get black
ants but
i just turn it every now and then and it keeps them away.

If you can get by with them in the patch, you could leave them - they'll
predate on a lot of pests.

If they become a pain (or lots of little pains?) mix some borax and
sugar, add a little warm water and heat till it turns to syrup.

Put down in (say) crown cork stoppers or small containers, covered, so
that only anta can gain access.

Similar to Nippon, but cheap as chips.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message
from "soulman" contains these words:

My first veggie patch and i found some red ants in it today, around
me onions. Are they going to be a pain? and if so how would you get
rid of them? I do have a 2x dalek like compose bins near by that get
black ants but
i just turn it every now and then and it keeps them away.

If you can get by with them in the patch, you could leave them -
they'll predate on a lot of pests.

If they become a pain (or lots of little pains?) mix some borax and
sugar, add a little warm water and heat till it turns to syrup.

Put down in (say) crown cork stoppers or small containers, covered, so
that only anta can gain access.

Similar to Nippon, but cheap as chips.

Do ants do damage in the garden? If so, what plants will they hurt?

On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:15:17 GMT, Rusty_Hinge
wrote:

If they become a pain (or lots of little pains?) mix some borax and
sugar, add a little warm water and heat till it turns to syrup.

Put down in (say) crown cork stoppers or small containers, covered, so
that only anta can gain access.

So Rusty, where do you buy borax? I tried to get some once. Boots
sent me to the Handyman's shop, they told me to go to the supermarket
and they said "try Boots"!

Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore wrote:
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:15:17 GMT, Rusty_Hinge
wrote:

If they become a pain (or lots of little pains?) mix some borax and
sugar, add a little warm water and heat till it turns to syrup.

Put down in (say) crown cork stoppers or small containers, covered, so
that only anta can gain access.

So Rusty, where do you buy borax? I tried to get some once. Boots
sent me to the Handyman's shop, they told me to go to the supermarket
and they said "try Boots"!

Pam in Bristol

http://www.homeandgarden.co.uk/house...51170-98-p.asp

I'm told Vim (is that made now?) or a similar powder does the same trick.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On 2009-04-22, Pam Moore wrote:

So Rusty, where do you buy borax?

I've seen it in my local pound shop, in Bristol. It surprised
me as I didn't think anywhere sold it anymore.

-Paul
--
http://paulseward.com

Little Paul wrote:
On 2009-04-22, Pam Moore wrote:
So Rusty, where do you buy borax?

I've seen it in my local pound shop, in Bristol. It surprised
me as I didn't think anywhere sold it anymore.

-Paul

Our local hardware shop does and I've given a link to an online source.
Very useful stuff.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

The message
from Pam Moore contains these words:
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:15:17 GMT, Rusty_Hinge
wrote:

If they become a pain (or lots of little pains?) mix some borax and
sugar, add a little warm water and heat till it turns to syrup.

Put down in (say) crown cork stoppers or small containers, covered, so
that only anta can gain access.

So Rusty, where do you buy borax? I tried to get some once. Boots
sent me to the Handyman's shop, they told me to go to the supermarket
and they said "try Boots"!

Find an independent chemist. Or a good hardware shop. It's also used as
brazing flux.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

The message
from Sacha contains these words:


http://www.homeandgarden.co.uk/house...51170-98-p.asp

I'm told Vim (is that made now?) or a similar powder does the same trick.

Vim and similar powders are pumice with a chlorine-releasing chemical,
and some detergent, so I very much doubt if any sensible ant would go
near it, sugar or no sugar.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

"Ophelia" wrote in message
...
Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message
from "soulman" contains these words:

My first veggie patch and i found some red ants in it today, around
me onions. Are they going to be a pain? and if so how would you get
rid of them? I do have a 2x dalek like compose bins near by that get
black ants but
i just turn it every now and then and it keeps them away.

If you can get by with them in the patch, you could leave them -
they'll predate on a lot of pests.

If they become a pain (or lots of little pains?) mix some borax and
sugar, add a little warm water and heat till it turns to syrup.

Put down in (say) crown cork stoppers or small containers, covered, so
that only anta can gain access.

Similar to Nippon, but cheap as chips.

Do ants do damage in the garden? If so, what plants will they hurt?


They tend to do secondary damage following, say, slug and wasp damage, and
frost or mechanical damage. Occasionally, they will undermine a plant by
building their nest under it, but I've hardly ever heard of a case of this.
They also 'farm' and 'milk' aphids; they enjoy the sugary excreta of aphids,
so offer protection to the aphids in return for their 'honeydew'. Sounds
nicer than poo, doesn't it? :~) This can confuse inexperienced gardeners,
who believe they need to treat their ant problem when, in fact, it's their
aphid problem that is at the root of their troubles. Because ants like
sugary foods, they tend to be attracted to ripening fruit.

Ants do not like water, so the OP could try seriously wetting the nest site.
To find the nest, watch the ants to see where they come from and return to.
The soil around the nest is very fine, having a sandy quality. It is easy
for me to spot a nest in my heavy clay soil; not so easy for someone on
sandy soil.

Spider

Rusty_Hinge wrote:
The message
from Sacha contains these words:

http://www.homeandgarden.co.uk/house...51170-98-p.asp

I'm told Vim (is that made now?) or a similar powder does the same trick.

Vim and similar powders are pumice with a chlorine-releasing chemical,
and some detergent, so I very much doubt if any sensible ant would go
near it, sugar or no sugar.

That was the idea - sprinkle it where you'd seen ants but didn't want
them to persist. I tried it once only and it appeared to work but I
don't think once counts as a fair trial. ;-)
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:03:46 GMT, Little Paul wrote:

On 2009-04-22, Pam Moore wrote:

So Rusty, where do you buy borax?

I've seen it in my local pound shop, in Bristol. It surprised
me as I didn't think anywhere sold it anymore.

-Paul
Thanks Paul. I'll try pound shops. We have one in Keynsham.

Pam in Bristol

The message
from Pam Moore contains these words:
On Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:03:46 GMT, Little Paul wrote:
On 2009-04-22, Pam Moore wrote:

So Rusty, where do you buy borax?

I've seen it in my local pound shop, in Bristol. It surprised
me as I didn't think anywhere sold it anymore.

Thanks Paul. I'll try pound shops. We have one in Keynsham.

Ah, Horace Bachelor territory...

Or do i mean URG Batchelor's Horace-radish? /URG

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

On Apr 23, 7:16*pm, Rusty_Hinge
wrote:

*Thanks Paul. I'll try pound shops. *We have one in Keynsham.

Ah, Horace Bachelor territory...

That's spelt: K - E - Y - N - S - H - A - M.