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June 9, 2010 8:52 AM Subscribe
How do I destroy an Argentine ant colony in my soon-to-be vegetable garden?
Two months ago I leveled my backyard with a tractor and pushed up the excess soil into a mound at the property line with the intention of creating a raised vegetable garden there. I have since built a wall and fence around it and am finally ready to level out the mound, dig in some compost, and put out my seedlings (over a month behind schedule).
Then I discovered an Argentine ant colony running the entire length (40+ feet) of the mound.
Because time is of the essence I can't really wait for bait traps to do their thing. The boiling water trick is difficult because of the size of the colony. Diatomaceous earth isn't really a possibility at the moment because I've got to move all that soil around. Basically, what I want is something to spray on them when I hoe that mound apart and expose them to the light of day.
Although I prefer to be as organic as possible, I am ready to do chemical warfare with these bastards, as long as it's not going to affect my soil or vegetables (and hopefully not the beneficial insects, although I'm willing to let them go in the interest of ANT DESTRUCTION).
Any suggestions?
Two months ago I leveled my backyard with a tractor and pushed up the excess soil into a mound at the property line with the intention of creating a raised vegetable garden there. I have since built a wall and fence around it and am finally ready to level out the mound, dig in some compost, and put out my seedlings (over a month behind schedule).
Then I discovered an Argentine ant colony running the entire length (40+ feet) of the mound.
Because time is of the essence I can't really wait for bait traps to do their thing. The boiling water trick is difficult because of the size of the colony. Diatomaceous earth isn't really a possibility at the moment because I've got to move all that soil around. Basically, what I want is something to spray on them when I hoe that mound apart and expose them to the light of day.
Although I prefer to be as organic as possible, I am ready to do chemical warfare with these bastards, as long as it's not going to affect my soil or vegetables (and hopefully not the beneficial insects, although I'm willing to let them go in the interest of ANT DESTRUCTION).
Any suggestions?
I've used I think Terro before and it worked fine, only took maybe two days.
Also, great simpsons reference!
posted by prior at 9:57 AM on June 9, 2010
Also, great simpsons reference!
posted by prior at 9:57 AM on June 9, 2010
Spray an ammonia and water solution. Bonus -- ammonia is a precursor to fertilizer.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:41 AM on June 9, 2010
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:41 AM on June 9, 2010
Borrow some chicken? (I've loan a few of mine out for just this reason.)
Not sure if the type of ant would matter in this case.
posted by Tomboy at 10:49 AM on June 9, 2010
Not sure if the type of ant would matter in this case.
posted by Tomboy at 10:49 AM on June 9, 2010
We use a boric acid/sugar/water mixture that seems pretty effective in structures. Admittedly the few traps I've put outside in their trails do not seem to have as big of an effect, but I think its just that the trail that is so obvious inside a house is not so obvious outside. They usually take a few days to work, but the best part is the ants take all their dead on the 3rd or 4th day. Boric acid is relatively safe according to wikipedia (which I didn't know until now! Thanks!).
You can usually find the boric acid sold as "Roach Prufe" in a big yellow can.
posted by Big_B at 2:04 PM on June 9, 2010
You can usually find the boric acid sold as "Roach Prufe" in a big yellow can.
posted by Big_B at 2:04 PM on June 9, 2010
My garden, backyard, neighborhood and state is home to one humongous Argentine ant colony. My advice: garden over them. Frequent watering will encourage them to relocate pretty quickly. Especially if you're planning to put in a drip irrigation - they hate that. Perhaps if you keep the area consistently moist over several days before you start digging, you can minimize the initial swarming.
posted by memewit at 4:35 PM on June 10, 2010
posted by memewit at 4:35 PM on June 10, 2010
Response by poster: Update: I used insecticidal soap to spray the colonies when I dug the mound open. I went mostly for the queens and then tried to get all the workers I could. Now that the soil is all spread out, amended, and planted I've put Terro traps all around the garden. I know ants won't cause too much damage in the garden, but the aphids that they herd will, so they need to go. I just hope they take the bait and die instead of moving to somewhere else in the yard.
Now if I could only keep the dogs from breaking through the fence and digging up my melon seedlings...
posted by elsietheeel at 12:28 PM on June 15, 2010
Now if I could only keep the dogs from breaking through the fence and digging up my melon seedlings...
posted by elsietheeel at 12:28 PM on June 15, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by moira at 9:21 AM on June 9, 2010