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Ants

I am having a terrible problem with ants in my AP system and greenhouse - I have tried bait stations but the ant populations is HUGE. Any suggestions?

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Permalink Reply by Converse on July 2, 2014 at 11:08pm

Greetings Julie,

Ants are the one bug I really do not like....I do have a solution for you, but you have to be careful where you use it. Get some 20 Mule Team Borax (you can find it at Wal-Mart in the Laundry soap section). You can mix it with equal parts sugar and/or flour and put it where the ants will find it. They cannot tell the difference between the borax and the sugar/flour. They will take it back to the colony and it will kill them. BUT you need to be sure pets and children do not have access to this. You do not want to put it IN the AP system (only around it) because borax will kill plants (grass, etc.) if put around them. It has been used since the 1920's to kill weeds. It is not really good for your soil...But if you have a very hefty ant infestation, a localized assault might be needed, and do the trick for you.

I have also used brewed worm casting tea all over the AP system in Honduras to get rid of these nasty tiny ants that seem to appear out of nowhere and have an amazingly stingy bite...The brewed worm casting tea worked on them. They were not actually in the media, but they were in the tubes of the metal IBC tote frames the growbeds were made from. Sprayed the frame. It worked.

Maybe someone else has another method... My best to you in this.

- Converse

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Permalink Reply by Julie Coates on July 3, 2014 at 4:27am

Converse said:

Greetings Julie,

Ants are the one bug I really do not like....I do have a solution for you, but you have to be careful where you use it. Get some 20 Mule Team Borax (you can find it at Wal-Mart in the Laundry soap section). You can mix it with equal parts sugar and/or flour and put it where the ants will find it. They cannot tell the difference between the borax and the sugar/flour. They will take it back to the colony and it will kill them. BUT you need to be sure pets and children do not have access to this. You do not want to put it IN the AP system (only around it) because borax will kill plants (grass, etc.) if put around them. It has been used since the 1920's to kill weeds. It is not really good for your soil...But if you have a very hefty ant infestation, a localized assault might be needed, and do the trick for you.

I have also used brewed worm casting tea all over the AP system in Honduras to get rid of these nasty tiny ants that seem to appear out of nowhere and have an amazingly stingy bite...The brewed worm casting tea worked on them. They were not actually in the media, but they were in the tubes of the metal IBC tote frames the growbeds were made from. Sprayed the frame. It worked.

Maybe someone else has another method... My best to you in this.

- Converse

Thank you - I will try that.