My entire SFG is the ant mound

clfraser 4/30/2011, 11:42 am

So there are probably 10,000 plus ants crawling all over my garden. I was wondering where the mound was and I think the garden is the mound. Should I just douse the entire thing in orange oil, should I spray, should I try to lure the ants out? If I douse do I just cautiously avoid the leaves, and what about my seedlings/sproutlings?

sherryeo 4/30/2011, 11:51 am

OOOOOHHHHH, no! This is actually one of my nightmares. I couldn't find your original post, but didn't you say they were fire ants? Since you live in TX, I think probably so. I've heard that you can pour boiling hot water on them to get rid of them or at least convince them to move, but if I remember correctly, you already have your bed planted. So you don't want to hurt your plants and wouldn't want to douse them with hot water.

I don't know the answer for this, but since I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and am also cursed with fire ants, I'll be watching and interested to see what the others come up with to help.

My sympathies and best wishes that there will be a good solution that won't kill off your veggies!

**camprn** 4/30/2011, 12:12 pm

I hear ants do not like cinnamon, but I have no first hand experience with using it as a deterrent. Good luck.

dizzygardener 4/30/2011, 12:33 pm

It would be a good time to contact your county extension agent for advice. I have no idea what orange oil on that kind of scale will do to the plants. Shocked

Cinnamon has been known to help with ants and it is safe for your plants. Also, DE will work for ants and is also safe for your plants.

quill33 4/30/2011, 5:03 pm

dizzygardener wrote:It would be a good time to contact your county extension agent for advice. I have no idea what orange oil on that kind of scale will do to the plants.

Cinnamon has been known to help with ants and it is safe for your plants. Also, DE will work for ants and is also safe for your plants.

de ROCKS! I have ants here, too and just put some DE in every square when I plant. Solves a bunch of problems. Also reduces the squash bug problems.

But of course, be careful using DE as it kills bees.

Good luck - I have seen results in less than 2 days using DE.

Another idea - if you don' thave any Diatamaceous Earth (I buy food grade at local milling company) is to sprinkle liberally cream of wheat. ants eat it and it explodes them. mean, I know, but hey, they're in MY garden.

Neither will hurt any of my children should they decide to start eating the dirt or playing in it or eating crops fresh off the plant w/o washing.

clfraser 4/30/2011, 7:23 pm

Well it looks like DE is the winner. I also talked to the local gardening center and since I already have my beds full of plants they said to go with the DE. I am going to dust after I water tomorrow morning and hopefully that will help. I think before I plant veggies for the fall I will douse the bed with orange oil if there still seems to be an ant presence or maybe just to be on the safe side.

dizzygardener 5/1/2011, 10:24 am

Let us know how it turns out for you.

clfraser 5/1/2011, 10:59 pm

Well I sprinkled the DE today and watched the ants scurry around covered in dust and thought to myself "Die ants! Die! (insert evil maniacal laugh here)" Twisted Evil

.

Is that wrong that I felt so glad and hoped they would die? They did invade my garden.

It has been so dry here that they told me at the garden center that my raised bed made the perfect home since I am watering it etc. I think there was even a battle going on between the fire ants and other ants because they seemed to be fighting, either that or mating but given the size and color difference I am going with fighting.

Anyways we will see what the next 48 hrs brings since that is how long it takes to work supposedly and I will probably sprinkle again.

Miss M 5/1/2011, 11:33 pm

Anxiously awaiting results!!! cyclops

Oh -- and I would certainly feel glad and hope they would die, too, so I don't think it's a problem. Cool

Quill33... how do you apply your DE when you plant? Do you mix it in the soil, or sprinkle it on top? How often do you reapply?

Sorry for pelting with questions... I haven't found fire ants in my SFG yet, but several other kinds I have. Evil or Very Mad

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