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found 6.75billion ants in one of me greenhouse beds today.
1 is this bad
2 is it very bad
3 is it a flipping disaster
4 what should i do.
5 is the bed ruined
6 oh says i made the bed now i got to sort it.
7 don't want to sleep in it thats for sure
help me out grapes i know you can. piglet, snadger, ntg r you there.........

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thoughts from the head of
phil the shed.........

Don't panic I think they eat aphids the only thing to worry about is if they make tunnels in the compost around roots the compost will dry out quicker. someone who is an expert will let you know soon.

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Belgrave-allotments.co.uk

Any plants in the bed yet?

If not then its boiling kettle time.

If there are then use a proprietry ant killer.

Altenatively just leave them be, they are unlikly to danage unless they start farming aphids on your crop plants.

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Always thank people who have helped you immediately, as they may not be around to thank later.
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It's not a disaster Phil, but if you want to get rid of them (and I would) buy a proprietary ant killer and follow the instructions.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

try greengardener dot somthing, their stuff works wonders on ants, ants dont eat aphids they farm them, very bad, if you have crops already in and dont want to boil them, try man wee, dig down a little into their run, and wee. sounds daft i know but works.

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

I once had some lettuce almost ready to harvest, under a clotch, when I looked under, they were black with ants. They went straight to the compost heap.

Does the 'aphid farming' by the ants make the aphid damage worse? What are the best orgainc ways of getting rid of the little blighters?

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http://madforsprouts.blogspot.com/

Doesnt the boiling water method just boil a few hundred in the top layers and give the other 4 billion a nice warm shower. I must admit I tend to leave the ants alone generally but occasionally dig up their colony to make them move on, the perfumed Ayatollah is always threathing them with the 4 horseman tho.

Mr Tichmarsh recommends planting Pennyroyal in your patio if ants are a problem under that - maybe some in the greenhouse would work too. Ants don't like wet soil so if there isn't anything in the bed yet you could try lots of watering. Clove oil is also supposed to repel them so try a bottle of clove oil in a can of water and water with that - it doesn't harm plants so can be used if you have already planted. Good luck.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Hi

I did a search and found this "Ordinary chalk can be used to keep ants at bay; drawing a line or circle around the protected area may prevent them from entering."
It did mention the boiling water, but you would need to pour it into the nest.

Tigerella

I'm with Yoanbob on this one. Wee in a bucket for a few days and when you have it best part full, pour it over the nest (ish) and they'll bog off, believing they've been invaded by the mother of all ants nests. I've done it a couple of times in compost bins. Problem is the plot smelled like a brewery for a while. Must have been something I ate!!!!!

My Ma used to get ants in her kitchen. She swore by dried bayleaves. I got so annoyed at finding bits of bayleaf when I visited - dotted all over the worksurfaces, under the kettle etc. - I'd rather have had the ants! When we had them I bought a proprietary product. Very fast working and clean.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 17th - The Big Dig

Apparantly ants also don't like lemon juice.... too acid

Not sure if something like Jif Lemon would work, but squeeze some fresh lemon juice into the nest and they don't like it

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"Its not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you" - Bruce Wayne

I know I will sound dumb but what exactly do you mean when you say the ants farm aphids?? And what is a proprietary ant killer??

ants also dont like viniger it makes your garden smell a bit like a chippy but kills the ants

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Some things in their natural state have the most VIVID colors
Dobby

ants farm aphids like we farm dairy cows, aphids produce a "milk" called honeydew that the ants feed on, they will protect an aphid colony against its natural prediters to keep the honey dew

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull