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Google
Ants!
+4
littlesapphire
cheyannarach
dgram41
rschack
8 posters
Page 1 of 1
Ants!
There are ants in my garden . When I first saw them it was just a little patch and I just dug them out and threw them over the side of the bed, but today I found another patch of them.
What are the dangers of ants in my garden? How do I get rid of them?
Some of the outer leaves of my lettuce had small holes in them (not really that bad). Is this from the ants or something else?
What are the dangers of ants in my garden? How do I get rid of them?
Some of the outer leaves of my lettuce had small holes in them (not really that bad). Is this from the ants or something else?
rschack- Posts : 37
Join date : 2012-03-23
Age : 28
Location : kentucky, zone 6
Re: Ants!
No, they are just normal small black ants.
rschack- Posts : 37
Join date : 2012-03-23
Age : 28
Location : kentucky, zone 6
Re: Ants!
Ants can house aphids that will do some damage to your garden but I don't think the little black ants themselves will actually do any damage. Could be aphids?
cheyannarach- Posts : 2037
Join date : 2012-03-21
Location : Custer, SD
Re: Ants!
I have only seen the little black ants, I don't think there are any aphids. What do you mean by "ants can house aphids"?
Thanks for the help
Thanks for the help
rschack- Posts : 37
Join date : 2012-03-23
Age : 28
Location : kentucky, zone 6
Re: Ants!
I've heard that ants "herd" aphids because the aphids give off a sweet liquid the ants like. I've never actually seen it happen though. If you don't actually see aphids in your garden, that's probably not happening. Make sure to check under your lettuce leaves. Ants are pretty harmless in the garden as far as I can tell, UNLESS you have strawberries. Ants attack my strawberries every year
Now, as for your chewed on lettuce, I'm going to bet it's either slugs or some sort of caterpillar. Try checking them early in the morning or in the evening sometime. Shine a flashlight on them and see if you spot any critters on them. If it's just a couple of small holes, I wouldn't worry about it Real garden produce will never be perfect.
Now, as for your chewed on lettuce, I'm going to bet it's either slugs or some sort of caterpillar. Try checking them early in the morning or in the evening sometime. Shine a flashlight on them and see if you spot any critters on them. If it's just a couple of small holes, I wouldn't worry about it Real garden produce will never be perfect.
Re: Ants!
Basically the aphids live with the ants and the ants take care of them. Heres a link!
http://insects.about.com/od/coolandunusualinsects/f/antsandaphids.htm
http://insects.about.com/od/coolandunusualinsects/f/antsandaphids.htm
cheyannarach- Posts : 2037
Join date : 2012-03-21
Location : Custer, SD
Re: Ants!
If it is slugs you can put a board down in your bed where they will go for cover in the heat then lift up the board and pick them out or do the cup of beer, grape juice in your beds! I hate slugs.
cheyannarach- Posts : 2037
Join date : 2012-03-21
Location : Custer, SD
Re: Ants!
littlesapphire wrote:I've heard that ants "herd" aphids because the aphids give off a sweet liquid the ants like. I've never actually seen it happen though. If you don't actually see aphids in your garden, that's probably not happening. Make sure to check under your lettuce leaves. Ants are pretty harmless in the garden as far as I can tell, UNLESS you have strawberries. Ants attack my strawberries every year
Now, as for your chewed on lettuce, I'm going to bet it's either slugs or some sort of caterpillar. Try checking them early in the morning or in the evening sometime. Shine a flashlight on them and see if you spot any critters on them. If it's just a couple of small holes, I wouldn't worry about it Real garden produce will never be perfect.
Slugs can be captured and killed with simple old remedy. Beer in a shallow dish. They are attracted and drown.
jeffhbell- Posts : 25
Join date : 2012-05-08
Location : Winter Haven, FL
Re: Ants!
I hear ants and not other insects are responsible for pollinating cucumbers and other ground-level flowers
jkahn2eb- Posts : 257
Join date : 2011-01-13
Location : Gilbert, AZ, Zone 9B
Re: Ants!
littlesapphire wrote:I've heard that ants "herd" aphids because the aphids give off a sweet liquid the ants like. I've never actually seen it happen though. If you don't actually see aphids in your garden, that's probably not happening. Make sure to check under your lettuce leaves. Ants are pretty harmless in the garden as far as I can tell, UNLESS you have strawberries. Ants attack my strawberries every year
Now, as for your chewed on lettuce, I'm going to bet it's either slugs or some sort of caterpillar. Try checking them early in the morning or in the evening sometime. Shine a flashlight on them and see if you spot any critters on them. If it's just a couple of small holes, I wouldn't worry about it Real garden produce will never be perfect.
Thanks. The holes in the lettuce are not bad at all, but I will go check on them sometime to see if there are slugs.
rschack- Posts : 37
Join date : 2012-03-23
Age : 28
Location : kentucky, zone 6
Re: Ants!
cheyannarach wrote:Basically the aphids live with the ants and the ants take care of them. Heres a link!
http://insects.about.com/od/coolandunusualinsects/f/antsandaphids.htm
Really interesting. Never herd about this before. Great help
rschack- Posts : 37
Join date : 2012-03-23
Age : 28
Location : kentucky, zone 6
Re: Ants!
If I find that it is in fact slugs eating my lettuce then I am going to use one, if not more than one, of these methods. Thanks for all the tips.
rschack- Posts : 37
Join date : 2012-03-23
Age : 28
Location : kentucky, zone 6
Re: Ants!
jkahn2eb wrote:I hear ants and not other insects are responsible for pollinating cucumbers and other ground-level flowers
That's interesting; I'd never heard this before! However, my golden crookneck squash and my cucumbers have just begun blooming, and I noticed that my ever-present, can't-get-rid-of-them-to-save-my-life ants are very busy going in & out of the squash flowers, so maybe there's something to this.
givvmistamps- Posts : 862
Join date : 2012-04-01
Age : 52
Location : Lake City, (NE) FL; USDA Hardiness Zone 8b, AHS Heat Zone 9, Sunset Zone 28
Re: Ants!
As for the slug beer trap, see https://youtu.be/lHmIj-s19M0.
Many years ago, a friend asked me about slugs and Japanese beetles in his garden. I suggested using Sapporo (good Japanese beer) to capture the beetles as that is what they were home sick for. Had a good laugh.
And a quick google search for ants pollinating cucumbers yielded this page of results. https://www.google.com/search?aq=t&oe=utf-8&safe=active&q=ants+pollinating+cucumbers&client=firefox-a&ie=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial
I am learning more and more each day I visit this forum.
Many years ago, a friend asked me about slugs and Japanese beetles in his garden. I suggested using Sapporo (good Japanese beer) to capture the beetles as that is what they were home sick for. Had a good laugh.
And a quick google search for ants pollinating cucumbers yielded this page of results. https://www.google.com/search?aq=t&oe=utf-8&safe=active&q=ants+pollinating+cucumbers&client=firefox-a&ie=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial
I am learning more and more each day I visit this forum.
jeffhbell- Posts : 25
Join date : 2012-05-08
Location : Winter Haven, FL
Re: Ants!
I have LOTS of ants in my new garden. It kind of weirds me out since I didn't have near this many in my old garden. I'm hoping they don't do damage, but goodness...they REALLY seem to enjoy Mel's Mix! If there was a market for ants I could sell enough to retire!
darci.strutt- Posts : 95
Join date : 2012-05-01
Location : Hudson, WI
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