It is absolutely true that where the ants go, so go the other pests.

In my case it is not aphids but scale and mealybugs. My main ant control approach has been Tanglefoot, but most of my trouble is on dwarf fruit trees, where Tanglefoot is easier to apply. I use about 1" of masking tape and TF. Also I think is to get the plants in containers outside in the summer. Finally, there is is companion planting. Purely anecdotal, I have no studies to support this observation, but the section of the GH with all of the garlic chives just doesn't seem to have the pests I see elsewhere.

use some of the home-type ant killer baits found at stores. They are pretty moisture resistant and when the ants take them home to share, it kills the whole colony. It's worked good here so far.

My mom uses worm castings and we have no problems of such things like ants aphids beatles (potatoe or japeneese). I also make worm castings and kind of biased to it but not many things eating in my garden(hard shelled that is)stink bugs and big green catapillers are removed by hand lol.When mom adds worm castings you can see even spiders leaving lol.

Karin,

I looked at your metal tray. i think you could find something more cost effective that would work better for your plan. I think that thin metal will have a short life span, and needs drainage holes or things will drown. One suggestion is a company called Anderson that makes tree band pots for grafting,etc. They make a square tray 5 inches deep with good bottom drainage. It is injection molded plastic that should last for several seasons or more depending on the UV exposure. I have built a table with treated lumber and plywood and drapped in a rubber liner. I added a edge board around the border to make a very large 48"x32 foot tray. This entire surface could be filled with soil. i pitched it in one direction so the excess water will run off.

I have been growing in a greenhouse for about 14 years now. Those ants and aphids still give me problems during certain seasons. They seem to find ways around impediments. Some growers shut their house up tight in the middle of the summer for a few days and cook everthing so you can start fresh. During the spring when lady bugs are going strong, as well as aphids, I go around collecting there eggs layed on leaves outside the greenhouse, and bring them to the greenhouse crops to hatch. Once these hatch they will do a lot of damage to aphid populations. I have had some success with release of ladybugs, but they are generally not happy staying in a greenhouse and fly away soon. They will surpress aphids and if aphids are in high numbers lay there eggs in infested areas, before they start their migration. Unfortunatly with beneficials you are not able to soap if you expect them to do their job, so it is a difficult thing to figure out if you should stick with soaps sprays, or hope the beneficials take off. It will work well certain times of the year before the season gets too warm. I have also had natural populations of parasitic wasps build up, so keep an eye open to that as well. They can be purchased, but because they have to be overnighted shiped, they are too expensive. If you see leaves with mummified aphids remove it from your crop but keep it in the greenhouse. this will allow the wasps to hatch out and seek out new aphids.

Good Luck

I haven't tried this myself, but I've heard enough to think it might work:

Get some of those clothes dryer sheets like Bounce (get the cheapest stuff you can find), cut or tear them into 1/2 to 3/4" strips and staple the ends together to form lengths long enough to go around your containers. If your containers have rims, put the strips just under the rims and fasten with another staple, or tie in a knot.

The scent is also supposed to offend white flies and keep their numbers down, also.

Another way is using that brightly colored surveyor's tape and Tanglefoot. Tie a strip of the tape (the color doesn't matter, it's the width that is handy) and tie it flat around your container, then smear with Tanglefoot. Keep an eye on the strips -- if they get coated with dead ants, new ants will just walk over the dead bodies of their comrades. Just cut, remove and replace. Applying Tanglefoot directly to the surface of a container is just begging for more work! Keep it simple.

If you see where ants are coming in, coat a stiff piece of plastic (page protectors) with a thin coating of Tanglefoot and place it where they have to walk over it. DIE, ANTS, DIE!

Sue

Carl W,

That's helpful info, thanks. It's always nice to benefit from others who have much more experience. It sounds like you have a sweet setup!

I did go ahead with the metal trays and they turned out to be nicely sturdy. We plan to drill holes in them for drainage and I'm in the process of painting them a nice shade of light green. When full, they'll still be maneuverable because they've got handles.

As for the aphids, the other day I discovered aphids setting up camp in the lettuce that was planted in hanging baskets. Ants can't likely be blamed for that, so I guess the aphids will find their way to anything that is tasty for them.

However the aphid population on the plants in the ground is much, much greater than the few aphids I've come across in my container plantings so far. Lettuce and other greens are growing happily in the containers and I'm looking forward to getting the trays ready for planting.

We'll see what happens.

Dryer sheets and tanglefoot also sound like ideas worth looking into, thanks!

Since I asked this question originally last fall I've continued experimenting and I actually figured out the solution, so I thought I'd report back.

I have officially gotten rid of the ants in the greenhouse (and elsewhere) via a non-toxic method, yay! Boric acid turned out to do the trick. However, I had tried a few different forms of it before I found what works. I had great results with the Terra liquid ant baits. Then I read somewhere on these forums that you can make your own bait with 5% borax laundry soap and 95% honey. Sure enough, that works too.

After experimenting with putting the home-made ant bait in various containers, I had the best luck with simply squeezing it straight from the honey jar into or near the ant hole. This has worked amazingly well both inside the greenhouse as well as outside on some troublesome ant mounds.

So now my greenhouse is no longer home to thriving ant communities and best of all, the aphid population has been reduced by 80 to 90%. If I need to use a soap spray for the aphids, the results actually last since the ants aren't working to restore the population. My springtime greens went from inedible to perfectly fine.

I have also fiddled around with various hanging containers for growing greens, mostly because I have realized that is an easy way to expand my growing space and keep my greens at a comfortable working height. The metal trays I bought last fall worked fine, but regular window boxes proved to be even better. We hung them from chains and S-hooks, much like you'd do with a hanging basket. With 4 window boxes lined up, each with its own type of greens, the greenhouse is transformed to a hanging salad bar.

So, these have been my successful results - it's nice to be able to report the solution to a problem every once in a while!