Help!! Invasion of an ant colony :(

F

Frozenguy

Active member

Veteran

• Aug 10, 2010

• #1

So one of my strawberry plants is being over run with ants in its root zone. The top of the ant hill is the crown of my plant. How can I kill them without my strawberries absorbing anything bad?

Also, there are about 100 eggs on four different leaves. They look like poppy seeds. I'll try to get a picture, but its disgusting!!!

So how do I kill ants organically?

My organicide/spinosad doesn't work on ants, and I dont think it can even penetrate the down into the tunnels. And I dont really want that crap on the roots anyways.

Maybe I could lure them to a spot that kills them. Like lemmings.

 

C

cannagirl

• Aug 10, 2010

• #2

you can use a sugar, baking soda, and water mix, not sure how it will affect the strawberry plants though, it might mess with the ph of the surrounding soil. Vinager and water will also kill ants.

 

1

1quixotix

• Feb 7, 2011

• #3

try dry molasses or borax for ants

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/dry-molasses.html
http://www.helium.com/items/1143303-how-to-kill-ants
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/organic/msg060059023635.html

 

geopolitical

Vladimir Demikhov Fanboy

Veteran

• Feb 7, 2011

• #4

Borax ftw. You can also use diatomaceous earth to give them a lethal path through your strawberries. Physically removing them however is by far the easiest solution to ensure that the ant you see today is not the one you see tomorrow.

You didn't mention how you're growing your strawberries, but last time I checked you can buy a bundle of crowns for under $0.50 a plant. I would really consider just digging up the one affected plant and then treating the whole bed/area with diatomaceous earth & borax.

It is REALLY odd to just have ant eggs hanging out on strawberry leaves however, are you sure they're ants and not some insect or fungi the ants are farming?

 

HighDesertJoe

COME ON PEOPLE NOW

Veteran

• Feb 7, 2011

• #5

Pictures would be nice.
I really doubt they are ant eggs the only time I've had ants in a plant was because of aphids.
Good Luck

 

M

Maria_Vanessa

Member

• Feb 21, 2011

• #6

Those eggs you see could be aphid eggs. Some species of ants will protect and sometimes farm aphids because the aphids produce a honeydew byproduct that ants love to eat.

 

mosstrooper

Member

• Feb 21, 2011

• #7

Aye, ants never leave thier eggs in the open, they are far too tasty a treat for the birds.

 

Horsemanrocks

Member

• Mar 13, 2011

• #8

Hard to imagine?

Hard to imagine?

A friend tells me that dryer fabric softener strips work for him...I don't have ants to try it on. Gotta admit thought....it's a cheap and easy test.

Good luck,
HMR

 

Big Eggy

Active member

Veteran

• Apr 21, 2011

• #9

Anyone know how to use Borax to kill ant? I read that they think it's food and take it down in to the nest but i've not had much sucsess.. My garden has about 4 nests of Red Ants (uk).

I've partly dug open nests to get the buggers all running out then scraped Borax from my Mrs Sliversmithing kit all over them... but they are still here this year.

Gregg

 

BudToker

Active member

Veteran

• Apr 21, 2011

• #10

Borax works as a long-term residual killer. Ants consider this powder to be food, and foragers will feed it to the other members of the colony, including the queen. When the queen dies, so does the rest of the clan.

Combine about 1/4 cup of sugar with an equal amount of honey in a mason jar. Heat the mixture in the microwave or in a pan of water on the stove just long enough to melt the sugar, then stir to mix thoroughly. Gradually sprinkle in 1/4 cup of Borax by the spoonful, blending very well after each addition.

Drizzle 1 tbsp. or so of the honey mixture onto active ant mounds. The sweet bait will quickly attract the ants, and the mound's queen and colony will soon all be killed by the Borax. Cover the jar of bait tightly and store it for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.

good luck,

-BT

 

shroomyshroom

Doing what we do because we are who we are

Veteran

• Apr 21, 2011

• #11

used coffee grounds

 

Big Eggy

Active member

Veteran

• Apr 21, 2011

• #12

BudToker said:

Borax works as a long-term residual killer. Ants consider this powder to be food, and foragers will feed it to the other members of the colony, including the queen. When the queen dies, so does the rest of the clan.

Combine about 1/4 cup of sugar with an equal amount of honey in a mason jar. Heat the mixture in the microwave or in a pan of water on the stove just long enough to melt the sugar, then stir to mix thoroughly. Gradually sprinkle in 1/4 cup of Borax by the spoonful, blending very well after each addition.

Drizzle 1 tbsp. or so of the honey mixture onto active ant mounds. The sweet bait will quickly attract the ants, and the mound's queen and colony will soon all be killed by the Borax. Cover the jar of bait tightly and store it for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.

good luck,

-BT

Click to expand...

Thanks Dude!! I thought they just ate the Borax lol..

Got some good weather this weekend so i will be tempting them out with this mixture.

hopefully rid them for ever, my poor little kids are being bitten playing on the grass.

Eggy

 

F

Frozenguy

Active member

Veteran

• Apr 22, 2011

• #13

Hey wth happened to my response above?!
Well thanks everyone for your ideas/help.

I gave the ants a week and they ended up leaving and going to another part of the garden that I've not using, and they dont come in the house so I'm fine to leave them for now. I dont even see them unless I lift up the cover to the entrance to their hill. It might of my my constant inspection and roughing up of their hill or the water I was spraying down there lol.. But they got the hint.

Big Eggy said:

Thanks Dude!! I thought they just ate the Borax lol..

Got some good weather this weekend so i will be tempting them out with this mixture.

hopefully rid them for ever, my poor little kids are being bitten playing on the grass.

Eggy

Click to expand...

Tell them to bite back when that happens. Teach the ants a lesson

 

MJBadger

Active member

Veteran

• Apr 24, 2011

• #14

Another very easy organic way to rid ants OF ANY TYPE is a honey or sweet trap . All you need is a jam jar (jello in USA ?) Punch a hole in the lid with a good size nail & mix up sugar/water/honey/jam , not too sloppy as you need it sticky, about 1in deep in the bottom of the jar & wipe a trail up the inside of jar & lid . Bury the jar to the lid & the ants will go in for a feed but never come out .