From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Key West, FL

Hundreds, maybe thousands of Ants. I seem to have a massive ant colony in my patch. And they have set up shop under one of my walking boards. What should I do? Anyone got a way to kill them all?

5/17/2005 9:02:52 PM

Newmarket, NH USA

Ben you may want to try a little grub ex or diazonon granuals I dont know how much damage ants will do but I would want them out for sure

5/17/2005 9:05:46 PM

Butler, Ohio

I was always told ants are good to have in your soil. I've got a small colony setting up shop in one of my hoophouses. Is this a bad thing? They are the little tiny brownish colored ones. Mike

5/17/2005 9:38:24 PM

[email protected]

How big are they? Catch one & look with a magnifying lens at the joint between the thorax & the abdomen. Does it have a distinct upward pointing spur? Big & black?

5/17/2005 9:59:00 PM

Montoursville, PA

Maybe if the ants have enough molasses, to feed on, they will take the line, of least resistance and forgo farming the aphids, for the sweet body fluids the aphids offer. That would be a positive thought.

There are no ants, of any concern, here and never have been, to the best, of my knowlege.

Neem Oil will get the ants and the aphids on contact as will most insecticides. Aphids can be washed off the plants with plain ole water. However if the ants are farming them they will immediately be returned to the plants. Observation is important. Spraying, for both, may not be a bad thought.

5/17/2005 10:21:14 PM

Chico, Ca

around here the ants FARM aphids for "honeydew" which they eat. I try to kill em all.... otherwise they completely cover the underside of the pumpkin leaves.

5/17/2005 10:25:39 PM

Key West, FL

Ya, I'm not worried about damage ants themselves will do, I just don't like them. And farming of aphids did come to mind. They are very small, brown/black ants.

5/18/2005 1:30:53 AM

Vancouver, White Rock, Canada

I can't stand ants, and have waged war on them for years. Most of the store bought generic ant killers don't seem to work... "ant-B-gone, ant-b-dead, ant-b-notaliveanymore" Nothing kills them. I also have aphids issues, so anything helping aphids needs to die. I may have to go stronger to get rid of them. If anyone knows what will work, let us know.

5/18/2005 2:01:42 AM

[email protected]

So they don't sound like Carpenter Ants which should never be permitted to live within range of a house that YOU live in. These are probably small sugar ants. Drop a piece of candy near them to see. If they flock to it, you can get rid of them with Drax. You can make a close enough concoction by mixing Boric Acid with Corn Syrup. Place this in bottle caps placed near the nest. Protect the bottle cap from rain.

5/18/2005 5:17:26 AM

Chico, Ca

The ants we have here are small black Argentine ants...
boric acid traps work very well for them... They like to nest in dry areas close to water, by larger rocks...Another thing that works very well if you find their nest is to use the citrus solvent based fire ant killer diluted to half strength. Dump it down the hole and they never make it out. D-limoline is the active ingredient.works well and leaves the ground smelling fresh and citrusy. same stuff that is in orange glow cleaner with out the detergents...

For boric acid traps we use cat food cans... mix the boric acid to 5% of the solution. We just use sucrose cause we are cheap. Place a rock over the can to keep it from tipping over and critters from drinking it.

5/18/2005 7:55:34 AM

Mount Holly, Arkansas

We have fire ants here (almost impossible to control). They are destructive to gardens and will climb cornstalks, burrow into potatoes and wreak all kinds of havoc. I've never had them to mess with pumpkins, but this year they got too close to some of my transplants and I'm not taking chances. I use Tempo to control them, and it knocks them dead. Other store bought products I have tried kills a few ants and the rest relocate.

5/18/2005 1:09:42 PM