Ants in vegetable garden: good or bad?
maiapapaya
16 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (16)
Violet_Z6
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Ants and Vegetable garden
Comments (2)Patrick, In general, ants are good - they aerate the soil and are good composters. So I usually leave them alone. But... When they start moving towards the house, that's another question. We use Boric Acid and icing sugar mixed in equal amounts. Then we take a tuna can, puncture some holes in the sides. Place the mixture in - you don't need very much, a couple of tbsps will do - and seal the top. Place near the ants' hill/home, and they will go in, being attracted by the sugar. Their bodies become coated with the mix, they return to the nest to feed other ants, the other ants in turn will groom them, and since all are ingesting the acid with the sugar, the colony will die. We did this in 2001, and this is the first year we've had to do it again. We have a log home and can't chance ants in the wood! Around the veggie garden, you can try planting nasturniums and marigolds of the Tagetes family. They are known to repel the ants. Where mine are planted in the gardens, there are no ants! And the Tagetes Marigolds will increase the good nematodes in the gardens too!!...See MoreGood Companion Plants in Vegetable Garden
Comments (80)I wonder how many of the emails in this thread have already been picked up by web crawlers and will now be inundated with spam. I used the wikipedia list for a while and finally broke down and bought the book Carrots Love Tomatoes. Here is a link that might be useful: The list on Wikipedia...See MoreAnt condos... bad, good or no difference to conifers?
Comments (6)First of all, out of the hundreds of plants I've put into the ground the last six months, only about a dozen or so specimens have condos so far. That said, maybe ants expand like people and I could have a full fledge megatropolis soon. I know the cats enjoy them and they aren't dangerous or agressive stinging types. I am curious what is going to happen to them on a rainy day - or perhaps they know it's now the dry season. I will be completely against any kind of pesticides or other people created chemicals until I begin to lose plants. My garden is full of frogs, dragonflies, bees and butterflies and I'd prefer not to risk killing some of the other beneficial types of insects. I am for sure not worried about some of my more established specimens. They are thick underneath a specimen of Pinus contorta 'Taylors Sunburst' that I've had for a couple years. I just worry that some of the other new little guys I've planted won't be able to retain enough moisture with the ground being so porous. Here's a couple photos....See MoreFire Ants in the Vegetable garden
Comments (9)TJOHN, Yes I hear you about The WAR...we bought a foreclosure home a few years ago and neighbors on either side do little to treat lawn, but they do bait mounds. This place had about ten mounds when we moved in, Next year the neighbors had issues so they treated, third year we had ants again. So we now just maintain mounds in the lawn. But the Veggies???? WE also had four foot highs weeds at move in. Grubs, etc. While the lawn gets treated with granular product yearly for lawn bugs, grubs, Red velvet ants ( wasp) and a numerous number of beetle species that make huge holes in the lawn...I also treat the individual fire ant mounds in lawn with the Amdro bait, which does say not to use in the vegetable garden. Last year they found the garden, and my bare feet. Lesson learned. Zowie! Being a displaced Yankee, I wondered if there was some trick y'all had specifically for the veggie garden. Fire ants are not a real problem in the North. I didn't really think of placing it outside the garden perimeter as there are no mounds there, just last year, in the center of the garden. I thought they would just carry Amdro into the garden, SO I guess I will try the COME and GET IT just around garden .Thank you. I think I may be trying the Vinegar/water trick too! **As for your corn worms, I tried a trick l that seems to help. When the silks appear mix a bit of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis)with mineral oil, shake well, place a few drops(3-4) with eyedropper on the silks right at the top of the ear ( not the ends of the silks but the ear itself) . Oil keeps it from washing off, and wicks into the silks inside the husk. Your corn will not be greasy when mature. When moths lay the eggs for worm on the silks, they also will be feeding their larva the BT. It really cut down on my problem. But you do need to do it as soon as silks appear, which means checking for ear silks often. I also do some hand pollination at the same time if I can. And Chas, I have tried the potato chip thing...if they don't go after it: I don't treat the hill, as I know they are sweet ants and not fire ants (grease)...non chaos causing ants are welcome. But I do agree we all need to be careful....See Moregenghis_bunny
16 years agozeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
16 years agomaiapapaya
16 years agowrigley1962_hotmail_com
12 years agodoriansergio2000_yahoo_com
12 years agowarimashi_aol_com
12 years agoHeather Leigh
11 years agogailmalave
10 years agojeanwedding. zone 6
10 years agochristripp
10 years agosphinx_face
9 years agoRobert Almendarez
3 years agojeanwedding. zone 6
3 years ago
Related Stories
GARDENING AND LANDSCAPINGBid Bad Garden Bugs Goodbye and Usher In the Good
Give ants their marching orders and send mosquitoes moseying, while creating a garden that draws pollinators and helpful eaters
Full StoryMOST POPULARHow to Start a Cool-Season Vegetable Garden
Late summer and late winter are good times to plan and plant cool-season crops like salad greens, spinach, beets, carrots and peas
Full StoryEDIBLE GARDENSGarden BFFs? Why Your Vegetables Are Begging for Companion Plants
Foster friendships among plants for protection from pests, pollination support and color camaraderie
Full StoryGARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIESGardening for the Bees, and Why It’s a Good Thing
When you discover how hard bees work for our food supply, you may never garden without them in mind again
Full StoryEDIBLE GARDENS8 Surefire Vegetables and Herbs for Beginning Gardeners
Learn the edible plants that are popular and easy to grow in a backyard or container garden
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNGood Fences, Good Neighbors — and Good Views
See-through vertical fencing connects a yard with its surroundings while keeping children and pets safely inside
Full StoryFARM YOUR YARD9 Ways to Change Up Your Vegetable Garden for the Coming Season
Try something new for edible plantings that are more productive than ever
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESCool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Chard
A year-round garden favorite with a colorful stem, Swiss chard comes into its own in early spring and in fall
Full StoryCOOL-SEASON CROPSCool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Garlic
Beloved in a wide range of dishes the world over, garlic thrives in a fall garden and is easy to grow
Full StoryCOOL-SEASON CROPSCool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Salad Greens
From arugula to radicchio, greens have taken a top spot on the table and in fall and winter gardens. See how to start growing them now
Full Story
digdirt2