Hi Kate, I seem to have the same problem as you with ants. I'm in a definitely suburban area and don't really know how the previous owner treated the land (we've been here about 5 years). Our situation is very similar in terms of what we are doing with native plants and microhabitats. And yes, I'm an organic gardener who doesn't use pesticides and feeds the soil with compost and lots of organic matter, but the ant populations seem to really be out of balance. Our soil tends to be very well draining, so if they like dry, they have found the right place. With each year, the ant colonies expand themselves and also pop up in new places. Seems there is hardly a place in the "tended" part of our 1 acre that doesn't have an expanding ant colony. We have put in more vegetables this year and ants are causing a more direct problem there (they have swarmed and taken down two potato plants - I've made sure that they just weren't tending other culprits - and have moved into other beds and made short work of a few squash seedlings). I just can't figure out if the population is out of balance (as it seems) or if this is the natural state and I need to adapt (or fight back with coffee - yum!) I agree - bring on the flickers! Good luck!

In some locations, earwigs are serious garden and crop pests. We need to remember that. Click HERE for some good information. mfran, you should set up a trap now. The arthropods that I mentioned earlier aren't exactly out in the open. For every one you happen to see, there may be hundreds that you don't. The traps are a good way to tell if these things exist in serious numbers....or not. Of course, your spinach is perfectly safe to eat.

Funny how things work out, I did what Galinas suggested before the post because I already had the borax and sugar mixed. I thought why waste it, surely the sugar won't hurt anything. There seems to be a lot less of them now but I'm not sure if it is because of the bait/poison or because the weather has improved so much. It stopped raining and has been beautiful for the last couple of days. They might be hiding in the bottom of the seedling containers, I won't know until I water again. I think I'm gonna just go ahead and try transplanting them all. For some reason they don't seem as interested in my plants in the garden soil mix and the weather is good enough to put them out in my cloche during the days lately. There is one sort of interesting development. I put out a sticky trap hoping they'd like the attractant which they did not. However, I placed it along the edge of the tray where they had a very active trail. There is a bunch of the germination mix now stuck along the edge of the trap. Clearly, they are carrying lots of it away. Why? I don't know. Would they want vermiculite or peat moss? Would they like it because of its fishy smell/taste and therefore the protein content? Maybe I should find some other type of fertilizer. I like the natural aspect of the fish emulsion, fact that it is hard to burn plants with, and that the plants seem to really like it too. I think we have some chemical plant food somewhere in the garage for house plants. It should work OK if I dilute it enough. Maybe I'll try that for my next round of seedlings and see if the ants go away.

Are they Fire Ants? You certainly don't want an infestation of those. I think that you should call the place from which you bought your sod and complain loudly. Bringing home a population of ants of any kind is not acceptable. The health of the sod is secondary to that of your dog! You can't use diazinon on any area used by people or pets! Ever! It is banned in many areas and hopefully not available on the market for homeowners. Do your own research on Talstar and decide if it's a good option for you or not. Knowing what kind of ants you're dealing with is important. Make that a priority so that you can fine tune the control.