Ants in my vegetable garden

[Canolice]

I am wondering if someone can help me.

Ants have taken over my raised vegetable garden and they hurt when they bite so my garden has been neglected. My son is now getting old enough to help in the garden and I would love to get them up and growing (more than weeds) again.

See pictures of the nasty things below. (I also have green ants and little ants)

I have tried ant powder but no success.

Should I look at getting a pest man out (would this work)? Or is there another option? Do I need to empty them (raised gardens) as the ants seem to be in them aswell as around them? Should I move them to another part of my garden(where there is little ants?

I miss getting out and picking my vegetables, so looking forward to some help and getting these up and growing again without the fear of getting bitten.

[CathD]

Ouch. They sound nasty little things. I put a few solutions in another post about ants. You can put water in a spray bottle and add half a dozen drops of lemon juice. Spray it on areas where you've noticed plenty of ant traffic. If you know where they are coming from you can also draw chalk lines - the ants won't cross the chalk. Coffee grounds also work and can assist the plants. You can also grow plants that ants don't like - eg fennel, peppermint, lavender. Good luck!

[greygardener]

I would use borax. Mix equal parts of borax and something sweet like jelly in a bowl. You can also make a paste with borax and water and sugar. Then put the bowl in your vegetable garden. The borax will kill the ants. They should also take it back to their nest which should wipe it out.

[LilShep]

Hi @ Canolice,
Sorry to hear you are having a problem with ants.
I have heard that using Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is wonderful at controlling ants and its organic too, while I have not used it myself many other Team Members have and swear by it. Sprinkle some on the ants trails and along the edge of your vege bed. Be careful though as it can be harmful to bees so apply in the afternoon and keep away from flowers to minimize the bees exposure. You can find it at health food stores or online.
Good old Borax and honey is also quite effective too.

You will need to check if the ants are just foraging or have brought along dinner guests like Aphids, Mealy Bugs or Scale insects which they like to collect the honeydew secreted by them.
While I am not a fan of pesticides I have used the PestXpert Ant Granules with great success when the little brown ones (sugar ants) decided to move into my bookshelf without paying rent. I also had a problem with ants invading my pot plants and also sprinkled some Ant granules on the soil around the plant. This was very successful at keeping them out of the pot and it lasted quite some time outside. Since then I have used Neem oil in all my pots (veges included) to get rid of the White curl grub and I have also noticed that no ants have returned.
As for green ants unless they are invading your house, play area or being a nuisance they do have a place in the eco system as pollinators when bees are scarce, if you really want get rid of them all I can Recommend as a Team Member is Amdro which is specifically for Green Ants and a few other exotic unwelcome species.

[Marzmaldonado]

Hi Canolice, I have found very effect Yates Tomato & Vegetable Dust for about $10.30 to do most of you pests including ants, as it acts like a chalk line/ blinding method to the ants. No harm to you Vegies or yourself either.

[Jason]

Many thanks for joining in the discussion @Marzmaldonado. I'm sure @Canolice will really appreciate your advice.

Let me also extend a very warm welcome to Workshop. It's fantastic to have you as part of the community. I'm looking forward to reading about your own projects and plans. Please post again soon.

Jason

[Canolice]

Update - So I gave the Borax a go. Got rid of the green ants and the little ants, but not the big fellas. Will try one of the other options and report back on how I go.

[Jason]

Thanks for the update @Canolice. Good luck with the big boys.

Jason

[Bantam]

G'day Canolice

This might sound weird but I have an ant phobia so getting rid of ants anywhere is very important to me. After trying several products I settled on David Gray's Antex Granules. It comes in a handy size container with holes in the top so you can sprinkle the granules where you need them. The ants take them back to the nest and eventually the whole nest will be wiped out.

I take this precious stuff almost everywhere. When camping I sprinkle a white boundary around my tent and where I want to BBQ and I never get ants in my food or anything. I've even sprinkled a circle around the dogs dinner bowl to keep the ants out of it. So it's also reasonably safe around animals.

[Annette]

I have used icing sugar mixed with water to a thin paste. Place the mixture in small containers such as plastic Chinese containers and place strategically around the garden and the ants will flock to it. I just put a new dish out every 1 or 2 days and this seems to help control the ant numbers.