The ones who are "cringing" at polluting the earth with pesticides......you must be from California. I promise you the earth will not fall off its axis nor will it cause you another quake if you take the ants out with a chemical. You allow the government to pollute millions with a flu vaccine that contains harmful ingredients. You probably are first in line to get it. Your government produces radioactive materials and your worried about a chemical killing an aggravating pest. Your oceans are polluted with gas, oil, fecal matter dumped from heads on boats. Yet dont spray a chemical for ants? I'm so sick of tree hugger mentality. Show me action instead of reaction "words" to problems. How about you get out and plant trees to replenish what loggers have cut to build your table, couch, chair, doors, and house. Tell the gov to stop polluting your earth. OR ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THIS IS LIFE.we are the top of the food chain as long as we use materials that God gave us the intelligence to produce. I will never support your beliefs as long as you are the type of people who tell others ...you can't put a barrel to catch rainwater coming off your roof to be used as you wish! GOD MADE THAT WATER! I understand that aquifers need to be replenished. But does the rainwater caught by the few actually hurt the water supply? It's a 55 gallon barrel. And it doesn't catch 1/3 of that after a rain. So spray for your ants, put out granules to kill or run those pesky ants, termites,roaches,spiders,Grubbs,beetles,etc to your neighbors yards, who use natural deterrents(vinegar and water). Sorry I'm so harsh but by gosh sometimes you fight fire with fire. Death to ants...lol

I'm not sure you will ever see any significant color change using these methods :-) First, coffee grounds are not really very acidic - they tend to have a pH that is close to neutral or at the most, only slightly acidic. So they are going to have minimal effectiveness in generating blue flowers on those types of hydrangeas that are receptive to color change (not all are). Also, it is the proper concentration of aluminum in the soil that makes blue hydrangea flowers blue. One can acidify the soil all one wants but if sufficient levels of Al are not present, the flower color won't change. Aluminum sulfate (aka 'hydrangea bluing') is typically the product recommended to blue up hydrangeas as it offers both an acidifier (sulfur) as well as aluminum. Second, to be able to release any CaCO3 (the chemical in egg shells that neutralizes acidic soil), the egg shells must be finely ground or pulverized, not just crushed. Unless they are of a very tiny particle size - like dust - they are pretty much useless. And finally, the coffee grounds and egg shells are intended to work with plants planted in the ground. Plants in containers have a completely different growing environment in that potting soil has no real soil in it and therefore few, if any, of the soil organisms necessary to process the raw materials like the grounds and the shells into plant-usable forms. So it is definitely best to use the aluminum sulfate for container grown hydrangeas. It is also important to understand that altering soil pH is never a very fast process regardless of method. And not nearly as critical with any plant grown in a container, as all fertilizing needs (what the soil pH dictates) are provided by the grower and not from the soil. Depending on the formulation of the fertilizer you use, you may never have to add a supplement like the aluminum sulfate. It is also important to understand that container plants must be fertilized often to replace the nutrients that are leached out with frequent watering.

I've seen this recommended all over the internet, but never have seen a scientific study that shows it is effective. I prefer to go with proven methods as opposed to trying word-of-mouth remedies involving products that are not labeled for use in one's landscape. When you use a household product outside in your landscape or garden, you are taking a risk because there may be unintended consequences of using it and you won't know because it hasn't been studied. I work really hard to improve my soil, and that includes creating rich, humusy soil where earthworms and other garden helpers can survive so I just won't put something on the ground that could potentially harm them or the wildlife or pets that live here too. Probably there is nothing in Tide that would be harmful to the landscape or wildlife in any way, but there's no way to know that for sure. I am willing to bet you'd get good results from Borax, which can be purchased on the laundry soap aisle, but borax can be toxic to critters that you're not trying to kill. If it is only ants in the house that you're worried about, just buy the little ant bait traps and use them. They've worked for us sometimes, and not at other times. Outdoors, I generally just spray a mixture of water and Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap in areas where ants are unwanted. I believe the peppermint scent confuses them and makes it hard for them to follow one another's chemical trails. Sometimes, after heavy rainfall, the ants try to come into the house or garage (to eat from the dog bowls in the garage), and I just sprinkle cinnamon where they're walking and it repels them. Dawn

Hi Lilly, I actually now live in QLD sunshine coast. This is not a problem I would have encountered certainly not on the scale I have here. I was wanting some more local answers possibly. I had heard that it was a problem that some of the pineapple growers have experienced and they were using a new chemical treatment. I've asked around but so far no further info is forthcoming. If anyone knows anything with this regard I'd really appreciate their input. Many thanks cheers Jan