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Gardening in Oz

Ants driving us crazy

20 years ago

Is anyone else having trouble with ants? Everytime we go outside we have ants crawling all over our feet and up our legs. It is getting to the stage were we don't like doing anything in the garden. We need some good rains to get rid of them.

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Comments (8)

lakota
20 years ago
Hi GH, we had a problem with meat ants, it made it impossible to do anything in the garden. I didn't dare stand still cos I'm sure they would've just about eaten me down to the bone. They are the pirhanas of the insect world. LOL

I was all set to pour diesel down into the nest to get rid of them but they just disappeared, dunno where they went. So long as they don't come back.

Cheers, Jules
robyn5760
20 years ago
We are having the same problem here - I object particularly when I go to hang something on the clothesline and they swarm over my feet biting me. I just went to Mitre10 yesterday and bought the biggest container of ant-kill I could get... Usually I don't use poisons, but I just can't take the little biting #@!$ any more.
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judith_sydney
20 years ago
We get regular ant invasions and as long as they are not at the front/back door or clothesline we leave them. Not because we can't bear to kill the little blighters for no reason, but our pest controller said that the common black ants here in Sydney (and maybe other types) actually eat termites, and with all the termite activity in the area, the little guys are more than welcome!
goldhills
Original Author
20 years ago
We have had problems with them before and looked at the products for killing them but the guy we were talking to said the ants nests can cover up to an acre or so underground so it is very hard and expensive to get rid of them. I then just settled for going around the house yard every couple of days with things like boiling water, various ant powders, etc to try and slow them down. It did help a bit but I had to be persistant until it rained.

I don't mind 'normal' amounts around as they have their job to do but sometimes they just get out of control, and when it gets to the stage when you can't enjoy the garden, I get desperate.

At least they're not meat ants or other biting or stinging ants, just your common black ones.
ashmeri
20 years ago
It is a sign of rain "THEY" say when the ants are climbing up, so maybe you are in for some lovely wet days, hopefully.

I just poison the ones that dare to come inside as the pest man says they help keep termites down, hopefully.
The poisons poison birds too, when they look for bugs in the ground.
plantsplus
20 years ago
The ants are moving to higher ground to avoid the flooding which they sense from the atmospheric changes. They're not always right but they dont get it wrong as much as bom, the only trouble is that they dont spell out on the ground exactly when it will rain. No amount of poison will kill them, thats why they aren't extinct, and the poisons used for them are far nastier than any ant. If you just want to deter them from a particular area you can ring it with borax (which is also a poison) They usually hang out in areas which are fairly sandy (easy digging) or where there is food spilt or lots of dead insects. I have counted over 20 different types around our property and am in awe of their efficiency and organisational skills. All I have to do now is teach them to count and spell.
goldhills
Original Author
20 years ago
It's not just them moving to higher ground, the ants are all over the place looking for food. I wish they were moving up as we need the rain, they are one of my weather predicters. All these storms and rain are passing us by and just dropping a few mms.
roberta_grow
16 years ago
I Just found this post and wanted to share. It is worth a try.

ANTS

2 chemical free ways of getting rid of them :

1. Spray them with straight vinegar

2. Sprinkle talcum powder along their line - they hate it and cant walk in it, so it dissipates the congregation

I had these black ants swarming right where I need
to stand under my clothes line and the little pests kept biting me, out came the vinegar and within minutes they were all gone and haven't returned yet - that was about a week ago.

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