Ants!

dansamy 5/19/2010, 5:55 pm

How do I kill ants who have decided they like my garden?

Wyldflower 5/19/2010, 6:06 pm

There are a few threads that address the problem of ants... do a search for "ANTS" and you'll come up with about eight threads. I think most of the info was in "Ants in my Plants"

Among things that have been suggested: sprinkle cinnamon in the area... or cornmeal... (I've tried cornmeal - it worked for me, but next time I'll try cinnamon).

Good luck!

dmpower 5/19/2010, 6:11 pm

We recently tried a mix of borax (sodium borate) and sugar water. Those babies were gone the same day!! We just dropped a little in their path and they went wild for the stuff.

Terro ant killer's main ingredient is borax - or so I read on a web site.

Megan 5/19/2010, 7:30 pm

@ dmpower -- Is the borax safe to use on your Mel's Mix?

Does cumin work as well as cinnamon??

dansamy 5/19/2010, 7:42 pm

They are in my already planted boxes. So, is any of this stuff safe to use in the boxes with plants already growing?

Chopper 5/19/2010, 10:54 pm

Well, cinnamon and corn meal certainly are. I know baking soda seems to be a line they do not want to cross, though I would hesitate adding it directly to the plant soil because of ph factors - but I wouldn't hesitate to use that or borax around the perimeter of the box and cinnamon and corn meal in the box.

blist 5/20/2010, 1:37 am

I heard heard they hate mint, so planting that may help. We battle fire
ants and carpenter ants here non-stop.

Haven't had to deal with
them in the SFG yet since this is my first venture into SFG. There are
several safe/organic ant baits you use as well.

dmpower 5/20/2010, 11:06 am

Megan wrote:@ dmpower -- Is the borax safe to use on your Mel's Mix?

Does cumin work as well as cinnamon??

The borax doesn't have to go in or on the garden soil. If you mix it with a little sugar water, you can put a few drops where the ants will find it - on the frame or even outside the box. When they find it, they will drink it and tell all of their friends where to find it. The mixture will disappear in no time. Just add a few more drops when it is getting low. I place it directly on the path, can be on a slip of cardboard, but they may not find it if it is in a cup.
Mix it and they will come!
good luck

dmpower 5/20/2010, 1:11 pm

I've also read that you can use artificial sweetener.
Pour a few packets of the generic version of the sweetener in the areas that you see the ants. They will soon disappear. This apparently works with both kinds that come in the pink, and the blue, packets (aspartame and saccharine). It's cheap, it works,
I have not tried this, but would be a cheap experiment

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