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Gardening in the UK

Ants - help!

21 years ago

Does anything eat ants - apart from an ant-eater? Our entire garden seems to be built on a series of ants' nests. They are invading my planters and now the bird table. I don't want to use poison so I'm hoping for a predetor - birds? - hedgehogs? - foxes? Any ideas?

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shrubs_n_bulbs
21 years ago
Everybody eats ants! Other ants, many insects, spiders, several worms and larvae, fish, lizards, birds, some mammals, and people! But I wouldn't expect any of these to significantly control established nests in a garden. You will never eliminate ants from your garden, the main goal is to prevent them being a nuisance in the house or other areas you like to be. You can keep numbers down by finding a nest, opening it up and pouring on boiling water. You can keep them out of houses by a combination of cleanliness so they have no reason to come in, and blocking entry points with physical or insecticide barriers. You can prevent access to trees (they farm and protect damaging insects on plants) and birdbaths with sticky bands around the base.
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