Grow Your Own Magazine

Do I need to worry about this?!

I lifted up some pots to move them round today and discovered loads of little ants scurrying around (and away, as soon as they realised I'd spotted them).

In my last garden I was the Mad Snail Lady, regularly disposing of the entire snail population of southern England, which met up in my garden most evenings, despite stiff competition from frogs, thrushes and hedgehogs. Ants, however, obviously lived somewhere else - perhaps in my present garden - so I'm not sure whether I should be getting out my flamethrower and putting on my Xena, Warrior Princess outfit or not (to get rid of the ants, you understand).

Will they munch their way through my stuff? If so, how do I get rid of them?

I have the same problem, not too bad at the moment. I know they will take seeds, but don't know if they do any other damage. Perhaps someone can enlighten us.

Lol! Not sure how Xena you get to be, but if you check out the 'ant thread' on undercover, you can be Delia Warrior Princess, killing ants with cornmeal or coffee!

So far the most annoying I've found them is when they farm aphids on your plants. But they're pretty annoying in the greenhouse too.

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Thanks, sbp, hadn't spotted that one. OH getting a bit overexcited about Xena at the moment. Can't possibly waste good coffee on ants so it's out with the boiling water and the polenta, I feel.

What would Xena do? Probably that neat neck trick!

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Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and good with ketchup!