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vincent71
Rank attained: Hazel Tree
Joined: 10 Apr 2017
Posts: 32
Location: kilkenny
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 Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 7:17 pm Post subject: Ant problem |
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Hi folks, has anyone dealt with ants before as they have moved into the compost heaps and into one of the vegetable beds.
Previously I poured the powder on the nest or some petrol and set it alight. I'd rather not do this to the veg bed or heap. Any info ?
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vincent71 |
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tagwex
Rank attained: Chlorophyll for blood
Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Posts: 5150
Location: Co. Wexford
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| Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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Boiling water or proprietary ant traps. They are a nightmare in a greenhouse.
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“It’s my field. It’s my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I saw to its every want. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!”
This boy can really sing http://youtu.be/Dgv78D2duBE |
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Keeks
Rank attained: Silver Birch Tree
Joined: 14 Apr 2012
Posts: 158
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| Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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Leave them...they dont do any harm in the garden and can be a benefit by eating caterpillars. In a compost heap they will help areate the heap.
If you have them on n a greenhouse then i would also you have an aphid problem....get rid of the aphids first |
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tagwex
Rank attained: Chlorophyll for blood
Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Posts: 5150
Location: Co. Wexford
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| Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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They cause root damage in the greenhouse.
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“It’s my field. It’s my child. I nursed it. I nourished it. I saw to its every want. I dug the rocks out of it with my bare hands and I made a living thing of it!”
This boy can really sing http://youtu.be/Dgv78D2duBE |
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Sue Deacon
Rank attained: Chlorophyll for blood
Joined: 31 Dec 2014
Posts: 2029
Location: West Fermanagh
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| Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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I gave up growing carrots in my garden in England because of ants. I'd sow the seeds in nice rows and the (very) few that came up were all over the place. Plus I flare up something rotten to an ant bite. I'm afraid it's boiling water from me.
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Greengage
Rank attained: Chlorophyll for blood
Joined: 09 Nov 2011
Posts: 3067
Location: Kildare
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| Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 6:22 am Post subject: |
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What do you call it when ants run away together? Antelope
What do you call an ant that won’t go away Permanant
What do you call a poor ant? A peasant
What do you call an ant who likes to be alone? An independant
This is sad!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Blowin
Rank attained: Vegetable garden tender
Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 922
Location: Drimoleague, Co Cork
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| Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 6:42 am Post subject: |
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If, as Keeks says, you do have an aphid problem, boil up some rhubarb leaves, strain off the liquid, put it in a discarded household trigger spray, and spray them with it. Then watch them fall off.
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vincent71
Rank attained: Hazel Tree
Joined: 10 Apr 2017
Posts: 32
Location: kilkenny
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| Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Ive been bitten all over my legs. Boiling water it is. |
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Sue Deacon
Rank attained: Chlorophyll for blood
Joined: 31 Dec 2014
Posts: 2029
Location: West Fermanagh
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| Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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| vincent71 wrote: | | Ive been bitten all over my legs. Boiling water it is. |
Ouch!
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Keeks
Rank attained: Silver Birch Tree
Joined: 14 Apr 2012
Posts: 158
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| Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 9:02 am Post subject: |
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| tagwex wrote: | | They cause root damage in the greenhouse. |
Curious....i am interested to know what and how they are causng damage....my understanding is that they should only cause damage if the nest is there.
Also @Sue I would be interested to know how they damaged you carrots.
This info may change My thinking on things....
Below is that info fro the RHS
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=503
| Quote: | Ants can cause concern but they are a nuisance rather than destructive pests.
They feed mainly on insects, including other ants
They also collect the sweet liquid known as honeydew, which is excreted by aphids and some other sap-feeding insects
Ants can protect aphids from attack by ladybirds and other predators in order to secure their supply of honeydew. Increased numbers of aphids may result in more damage to plants
They do little damage to plants themselves, except by disturbing soil around plant roots and depositing it on the surface during their nest building activities. This can be a nuisance on lawns and where low-growing plants are being buried by excavated soil
Some ants (mostly Myrmica species - commonly known as red ants) can sting, but for most people this is no more than a minor irritation |
Now I am not a new age hippie or a person of the earth but i do belive in balance in a garden. Everthing is there for a reason, just need to find out why and if it is friend foe or a symptom of a another problem.
So if i saw ants in my greenhouse i tend to ignore the ants and find the reason they are there i.e have I got an aphid problem. No point in spending time getting rid of something only for it to reappear beacuse i also didnt get rid of the teason why they were there in the first place.
Either that or I introduce a "predator" to "control" the problem
Nice video on what Brinng balance to an eco system can do.
https://www.facebook.com/newsnercom/videos/810945719072741/ |
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Sue Deacon
Rank attained: Chlorophyll for blood
Joined: 31 Dec 2014
Posts: 2029
Location: West Fermanagh
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| Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 9:22 am Post subject: |
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They didn't 'damage' the carrots. The answer lies in the piece you quoted ' disturbing soil around plant roots'. Their nest was under the flagstone path alongside the veg bed. The carrots (those that germinated) were all over the place. 
The damn things also 'farmed' any aphids on my plants, protecting the little buggers from anything that tried to eat them.
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