Ants nest in my greenhouse

[snohare]

May have to give it a go, will let you know what happens

Just don't eat any of the bladdy stuff, you wouldn't believe the list of side-effects on the websites that Tate and Lyle have had taken offline..chlorinated sugar as a food additive is just insane IMO !

[Ader1]

Nobody has mentioned semolina? I've read that this does the trick. Anybody here who has used semolina to get rid of ants?

[Ananke]

You might want to try this...

Get Rid Of Ants Without An Exterminator

They are talking about ants in the house but i'm sure the same principal can be used outside if it's dry.

[Ader1]

Thanks for that. I'm still interested in semolina though if somebody has had any experience using it....

[Keira]

The red ones can bite. If you keep the area in which they are nesting wet, they will find somewhere else. Ive also read that sprinkling cinnamon around the nest puts them off too. I did read somewhere that ants can change the ph of the soil, but I can't find it so I may have been dreaming!

Pinfold you are right. Ants don't like wet places. If it is, then they change their nest and make at another place. This will help you good.

[alldigging]

Water is free and really effective.
They value their eggs and won't want them soaked.

[Two_Sheds]

Water is free

Rainwater is, tap water certainly isn't

[WillyNelson]

I've used Nippon in my greenhouse last year. While it didn't totally eradicate them (they're back now) it certaily reduced the problem. I'll try again & if it doesn't work I'll give some nematodes a try.

[hellybore]

yep they do bite i have a few nests on my allotment sat down after clearing most of it last weekend and boy oh boy they got me everywhere i have only have the allotment 23 days and bit to the high heaven

Me too!!

Sorry folks, hope no one is eating their dinner!

[Keira]

If the home is strong down though, you'd be better off getting the nematodes suitable for bugs. They perform incredibly well

[Olorin2001]

Seems the general opinion is that ants are bad,
Well I disagree, they are a pain in the house, they have their place in the grand plan.
Some plants have a symbiotic relationship with ants, my Passiflora incarnata. growing in a greenhouse even provides them with food, the petiole glands on its leaves are little bumps that secrete nectar.
The ants forage over the plant, a few dozen not hundreds, and any insects they come across are destroyed.
But if you only have a couple of strawberry plants I can see that ants might be a big issue.

[The poly tunnel poet]

I had ants invade a pot in which I was growing a blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum, so I asked a man I know and he said, sprinkle used coffee grounds under the bush, and give them a watering. The Vaccinium will appreciate the acidity, but the ants will go away. He was right!

I was happy to try since I did not want to kill the ants nor leave little poison filled corpses all over my garden, "Rachel Carson, Silent spring" made me see the potential dangers there. I am sure if the plant in question is a calcifuge, "flees from chalk", then this is a workable method, but obviously for calcicoles "thrives in chalky conditions" it would cause other problems and nutrient deficiencies.... just a passing thought and comment

[Knight of Albion]

The exact same thing happened to me. I had an upturned bucket at the back of my greenhouse. I noticed sandy soil all around the base. My initial thought was that a mouse had taken up residence and wintered over. But on lifting up the bucket I found it was fill to the top with sifted, compacted soil fashioned into a myriad of chambers and connecting tunnels. It was quite astonishing.
I gently put the bucket back down and left it there. That was ten years ago. The ants are still there! I don't bother them and they don't bother me.

[The poly tunnel poet]

I figure we learn less from dead things, than we do observing living things thrive....

[Shadylane]

They're a pain when they get in your way but I do find them fascinating, except when they bite me in retaliation for allowing them to crawl down my sock/glove. The last few years though they've been coming into the house. Every year I spend ages, first individually liberating them out of the window, then squishing, then hoovering until I finally figure out how they're getting in. The entrance gets sealed and all is well for another year. Then the following year they somehow find another way in. I've already had to liberate a few the last few days, I'm hoping they take the hint and stay outside/in the walls or wherever it is they hang out.