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  • ants in a greenhouse...

    we've almost finished building a new greenhouse onto an old brick base. It has a strip of concrete flags now the middle with soil borders either side. One of the borders has an ants nest in it- do we need to get rid of it and, if so, how?
    thanks
    x

  • #2
    Watering the soil with diluted oil of cloves is supposed to send the ants elsewhere. One bottle of clove oil to one full watering can. Or if you can expose the nest or can see the entryway, pour a kettle full of boiling water down it. The ants don't do a lot of damage but can undermine plant roots if you are planning on planting into the border.
    Happy Gardening,
    Shirley

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    • #3
      i had a huge ants nest in No2 greenhouse, must have had half the ant population of Woking living in there, so unfortunately it was ant bait, i set two traps and watched them for about 10 mins going mad for the bait and carting it back to base, but then started to feel really guilty about killing a whole colony and had to leave. went to check on them two days later and not a single ant in sight, not even a dead one and haven't seen one since.
      Kernow rag nevra

      Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.
      Bob Dylan

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      • #4
        I used dry semolina and ground coffee some one on hear siad the semolina is ment to make the queen and explod when tey feed it to her it worked for me and they not suposed to like the smell of coffee
        Some things in their natural state have the most VIVID colors
        Dobby

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        • #5
          We have a few ants in our greenhouse- and by watching where they go shows up where there are black and greenfly.
          "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

          Location....Normandy France

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          • #6
            I think a few in my greenhouse are eating/making funny holes in my strawberries! And something just ate half of the whole fruit - can't be birds, they have learnt not to go in the greehouse.

            Jennifer
            Whilst typing the above reply, I was probably supposed to be doing homework. My excuse: I'm hooked!

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            • #7
              half eaten fruit sounds like you have a mouse
              Kernow rag nevra

              Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.
              Bob Dylan

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              • #8
                i discovered semolina last year,after a google,give a few days,then they run out of workers,you can also use polenta.
                sigpicAnother nutter ,wife,mother, nan and nanan,love my growing places,seed collection and sharing,also one of these

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                • #9
                  I have a couple of red ants nests on my plots and never really took much notice of them till last night.

                  After work I went to shut down the cold frames etc and took a look round my fruit trees. I spotted a couple of the critters on an apple tree and automatically thought they were farming aphids but no they were munching away at the base of a leave. They had got through half of the stem base.

                  If they want to declare war then so be it!
                  I am certain that the day my boat comes in, I'll be at the airport.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by lottie dolly View Post
                    i discovered semolina last year,after a google,give a few days,then they run out of workers,you can also use polenta.
                    Semolina?.....do , please, explain further....you got me interested!!!
                    "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

                    Location....Normandy France

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                    • #11
                      Ants LOVE nesting under concrete slabs: I have a couple on my lottie, and upturn them when the ant eggs are big and fat - then the birds have a feast (or I pick a few up to feed to the goldfish, they go mad for ant eggs)
                      All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                      • #12
                        Just googled semolina and ants....very interesting!!

                        pests - selfsufficientish - pests

                        Exploding ants.....well I never!!
                        "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

                        Location....Normandy France

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                        • #13
                          thanks for all your tips- i shall give them all a go! particularly interested in the semolina/ polenta one... i'm not entirely convinced but we've got 3/4 of a bag of polenta that will just end up going to waste as i can't find a way to make it taste nice!!

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Nicos View Post
                            Semolina?.....do , please, explain further....you got me interested!!!
                            put a small amount of semolina/polenta in shallow container,place where the ants are active,apparently the ever dutiful workers take it back to the nest and feed the queen,she cannot digest it,so explodes,so no queen,no more workers,thats why you have to be patient a few days,if they come back,repeat,and yoes,this does work.maybe it would work with other food stuff that is of the same sort of make up.
                            Last edited by lottie dolly; 15-05-2008, 04:11 PM.
                            sigpicAnother nutter ,wife,mother, nan and nanan,love my growing places,seed collection and sharing,also one of these

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                            • #15
                              Thanks for that- I'll certainly give it a try- seems a lot more humane than poison.

                              I've certainly never heard of that before........
                              "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

                              Location....Normandy France

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