another ant post

[janeyo]

I have been seeing dips and holes in my carrot bed.
I have seen normal ants on the surface, put down coffe grinds but still there. I had a little dig about and it was crawling in yellow ants. Yuk.
No sign of any seeds or germination.

Are these different to normal ants? have they been eating the seeds?

I read on here that cornmeal is good for getting rid of ants, where can I buy this?

If I redig the bed and put down fresh seed I assume they will just come straight back.

This is a new veg patch and raised bed, no sign of anything when I put them in about 5/6 weeks ago and they were weeded before I sowed the carrots.

janeyo - frustrated! I hate ants at the best of times, once told OH in our old house we would have to move as I'd found some wandering along the hall!

[janeyo]

I have been googling the yellow ants and they are def carnivorous. maybe this means there was a pest eating the carrots underground and the ants have got them~

It's very disheartening knowing I will have to start again in that bed.

The next bed along is untouched, has onions in. They are coming up nicely.

janeyo

[janeyo]

Well I have decided to redig the bed, put something down to try and get rid of the ants and put some more carrots in another new bed so far with no holes in.

I will put the peas and beans in the bed where the failed carrots have been. See what happens.

janeyo

[wormlady]

Cornmeal is the same as polenta - that yellowy porridgy stuff the italians eat, you can probably get it in a good supermarket or try a wholefood store. Mine was from Suma (but I was making corn bread not getting rid of ants!). Are you sure it means cornmeal not cornflour? The meal stuff is relatively chunky bits - a bit like couscous, rather than flour.

[Two_Sheds]

Ants don't eat seeds or vegetables. But they do dig through the roots of your plants and can kill them. They also "farm" aphids, which will do your plants no good at all.
It is virtually impossible to get rid of ants, so don't waste your money or energy on "products". I find they make nests underneath my paving stones (concrete slabs) so every now and again I move the slabs, and let the birds feast on the ant eggs.

[janeyo]

Right well now all the spring onions have vanished too!

Am totally confused and fed up! There were 3 rows of spring onions and no sign of any germination at all, just lots of yellow ants underneath who all scramble away when disturbed. There are onions the other side coming up nicely, no sign of ants there and leeks the other side again coming up nicely.

I just don't understand why my seeds are disappearing! grrrrrr

So do I put more spring onions in the same place? Or put the 'spare' leeks I have in the cold frame there when they are bigger, and move the spring onions up a few feet?

janeyo