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Ants in Veggie Bed
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Author:  mskitty42 [ Wed Apr 14, 2010 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Ants in Veggie Bed
I went out to plant seedlings yesterday and found ants in my brand new, pristine, totally organic raised veggie beds, mostly concentrated in one corner. I don't think they are fire ants, although one of the little buggers did sting my hand so maybe they are. I'm not sure how to identify them.

I put a bunch of dried molasses into the area where they were concentrated and mixed it up, but by this afternoon they're still going strong. The whole bed has been treated with a fair amount of dried molasses, although I couldn't say how much.

Any ideas? I've planted the veggies, except in that one corner, need to put a stop to these guys now!
Author:  Miss Helpful [ Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ants in Veggie Bed
I keep DE on hand and when I get an unexpected infestation of ants in my flower pots, for example, I put a heavy layer of DE on the ants. The bite of a fire ant burns like it's on fire, and will raise what looks like a blister right where you got bit. It will burn for a good while afterwards. Now, when I get bit, it just burns for about a minute and then seems to quit. I guess I'm getting used to them.
The blister (postule?) shows up pronto. I pop them and a small amount of pus comes out. :)
I hope this helps!
Author:  Dirt Face [ Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ants in Veggie Bed
The fastest organic way to kill them would be to "CAREFULLY" poor a pot of boiling water directly on the ant bed. It is instant death to the whole ant bed, with out chemicals. If they are infact native ants, then dig them out with a full size shovel, and throw them over board. Good luck.
Author:  user_48634 [ Tue Apr 20, 2010 9:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ants in Veggie Bed
Generally there are two kinds of ants: those that collect sugar and those that collect protein. For those that collect protein, you can usually send them away by spraying and drenching with liquid molasses. Dry molasses might make them mad but I would not expect anything else to happen.

Sugar ants, of course, will not be affected by molasses. For them you have to bait them to something that will kill them. Yeast seems to do that. If you mix yeast into a sugary substance, they will collect yeast along with the sugar and take it to their home. When the yeast interacts with the sugary stuff they have stored, I believe it ferments their food supply. They will leave or die. The mix I have used with success was 1/2 cup of molasses, 1/2 cup of sugar, and a teaspoon of bread yeast. It makes a gooey mess. I smeared some of it onto a piece of cardboard and put it in the ant's trail. It took them several days to discover it but when they did they would not leave it alone. The cleaned the cardboard in a couple days so I put out two more. Then I started noticing fewer and few ants returning. In about 2 weeks they were gone.
Author:  mskitty42 [ Tue Apr 20, 2010 10:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ants in Veggie Bed
Thanks for all the suggestions. The dry molasses didn't phase them in the least. Yesterday I poured 2 pots of boiling water over their mound, and today they're right back bigger than ever. The mound threatens to take over the veggie bed! I just dug a bunch of it out and tossed it overboard, but couldn't get it all because of plants in the way. Also don't have anything to add back to the beds to replace the lost soil at the moment so will have to try that again later, if they persist. I haven't tried the DE yet because I don't have any nor have I found any other than pool stuff in my area. Small town, not into organics much.

David, if I try the molasses/sugar/yeast mix, would I just put it near the bed?
Author:  lapaloma [ Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ants in Veggie Bed
Orange peels and orange oil,..folks,.."L"
Author:  lapaloma [ Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ants in Veggie Bed
CHALK is a FORM of DE,..we once bought some chalk 4/1.00 at Dollar Tree and IT worked,..we had a band of chalk line 2 1/2 inch thick in a circle around the cat food,..and it WORKS,..TILL it rains!! THEN you do it AGAIN ,....4/1.00 is pretty CHEAP !!
Author:  mskitty42 [ Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ants in Veggie Bed
I just went out to pour orange oil over the nest and voila! no ants came scurrying out as I poured it. They are GONE! Not sure what finally worked, as they came right back after the shoveling. I did try boiling water once more, but I think that's the last thing I did, a couple of days ago. I'm guessing they finally decided all the harassment wasn't worth it! Thanks for all the suggestions.
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