Ants in my veggies

hey there.

Was inspecting my garden this morning, and there was a HUGE ant pile (don't know which type of ant) at the base of one of my stalks of corn.

think the corn's had its run, was going to pull this weekend anyway, but wondering how I should get rid of the ants. I have more items in the same bed (more corn, radishes, trying to get some pepper plant seedlings to grow), so uncertain of what to do.

thanks.

They say cornmeal sprinkled on and around the ant hill will help a lot. They eat it then they expand and sort of blow up and die. Also try Cinnamon and/or chile pepper.

Ants are actually good to have in a garden. They're good for the soil ecosystem, and I've heard eye witness reports that they carry off pest insect eggs.

But if it's really big and kinda creepy, I'd move it.

Take a big shovel and dig up a goodly chunk & walk it to a new location. (Quickly, LOL.) They'll start a new colony with whatever & whoever's left from the move.

I have an ant problem in my garden this year. They are swarming and eating my young okra pods. I tried Neem but it hasn't stopped them. I haven't notice an ant colony near the garden. Any ideas?
Helen

I have had a TERRIBLE time with ants this year, too. I learned the following trick from a local gardener, and it works like a charm:

* Mix 50% borax (I used "20 Mule Team" brand - one box of borax will make a LOT of traps) with 50% sugar. Add enough water to this dry mix to make a
slurry.

* Drill two holes in a small container with lid ( I used recycled large yogurt cartons, but you could use those inexpensive disposable Ziplock containers with
lids, too). Drill the holes close to the bottom of the container, but high enough that the solution won't pour out.

* Fill containers just up to the level of the holes and place lids on top.

Make as many of these bait traps as needed and place wherever you see ants. I even put some on top of the covers to my EBs.

I had ZERO ants within 24 hours!!! The main thing to remember, though, is you have to keep replenishing the slurry (especially if it dries out) to keep the ants under control the rest of the season. I hope this helps!

Ants are considered to be beneficial insects. They help pollinate flowers. Black ants will attack fire ant colonies and win!

So, unless you have fire ants or carpenter ants, I suggest you leave them be.

If you have fire ants, Amdro will kill them - follow label directions. Also, orange/grapefruit peels will kill fire ants. Just tear up the peels, drop them into the nest - then run away!

helenchild - check your okra for aphids or scale. Ants will collect the sticky substances these pests excrete. I have never known ants to actually eat vegetables. I see ants in the flower blossoms of my melons, and I suspect they are after the nectar. It has not stopped the melons from setting fruit. In fact, if every melon that's growing ripens, I'll be supplying the entire neighborhood with them this year!

There are such ants as "leaf cutter ants", but as far as I know they are not native to North America.

Our exterminator showed us this trick, and it sure does work!

Honeybee, I agree with suspecting aphids but I thought the Neem would take care of them. Maybe I will need to make several applications. Thanks for the suggestion.
I will try the ant trap too.
Now the chipmunks.... grrrrr

helenchild - we have chipmunks for the first time this year. My neighbor puts out food for them because she thinks they're cute. So far they haven't destroyed anything in the garden, but I fear for my soybeans once they begin to ripen.

We have at least one black snake in the garden - I'm hoping it likes chipmunk du jour. LOL

Our little dog, Chloe, keeps in shape chasing them up the oak tree!

was inspecting the garden last night, and there's a HUGE nest between two of my carrots.

time for the borax/sugar slurry....

Chipmunks are cute but they are little thieves in the garden. PLUS.. they climb trees and steal songbird eggs. Thats going too far in my book. My little dogs chase them all over but not out of the neighborhood, which will never happen. We do have hawks and owls around which keeps the numbers down.
I did get them to move one of their main tunnels from under my tomato plants by putting the dog waste lumps down the hole! Yuk is right but it worked.
Helen

Helen - I had wondered whether chipmunks would burrow in the garden. Do they eat plant roots?

I'll tell my neighbor about them eating song bird eggs. Perhaps she will not find them so cute - she loves birds as much as I do.

Helen

Not to be a nit picker, but you're talking to a crazed organic nerd. Well if you had 2 kids that were not only ADD but deaf too ... Anyway, try using kelp spray first. It works great on aphids and doesn't harm beneficials. Neem kills beneficials on contact. With kelp you spray it on every 8 days and seriously, you won't have to deal with them. And just think, you're feeding your plants at the same time.

yehudith,
I would be up for using Kelp but where would I find it? Does it only kill aphids. I have these ladybug type critter that munches on my squash leaves. Do you think it would kill that too? Do you have to spray Neem on the bug to kill it or will the residue left on the plant kill the benificials too? Also does the kelp kill ants?
Honeybee - I haven't notice the chipmunks eating roots but I think they will eat ripe tomatoes.
Thanks, Helen

From what I understand its the direct contact with Neem that does the job. With kelp the little buggers can't abide it and just don't come near it. Nastursiums and French and Mexican marigolds seem to work in the same way. I just know that as far as aphids are concerned kelp really does the trick. I use Neptunes Harvest with fish emulsion. It comes as a concentrate. You only need 2oz per gallon of h2o and spray it on every 8 days. It works like magic.

I have been asking around about ants as I suspected them as ruining my beets and radishes,... everyone I talked with suggested the ants are good to have around.... well BS...

Yesterday I witnessed the little buggers actually chewing and carrying off a portion of my beet seedlings to their hole,... when the big leaf section arrived,.. a few others joined to help get it down the hole..... I suspect the beets contain sugar they like???..

So,.. If I want beets I will need to get rid of these pests,.. I am going to put down some Diamtomaceos Earth and see if that helps?....

Man-o-man yes. I'm growing these next to impossible to get ancient I mean old as spit moved from a 3 pronged cane to a walker concidering a gerichair ancient Japanese eggplants from seed that a friend brought me by round about routes when they came back from Japan ... Finally the things (all 3) are up. Almost lost them to the flea beetles. Beat of those demons from the hot place we don't want to go to. Brought the plants back with only one tattered leaf left. Seriously, one didn't even have a whole leaf! They're looking good, one has a flower and would you know last night I notice this weird moving cluster at the base of the flower. On closer look it was a gaggle of ants picking at it and had chewed this huge hole in the stalk. I started brushing them off and would you believe they had the gall, the absolute GALL to turn on me and wanted to fight over the flower. Got rid of them but don't know if I'll get a fruit from that one. Kill, Kill, Kill!!!!

So, Yehudith, I'm confused. Are you FOR or against the Borax slurry to erradicate the ants?

I have them all over my okras, and was just wondering why, since I can't detect any aphids or scale on the plants. Was wondering if they're there for the water that collects in the tips when I water the okras.

Seems like all the animals are doing stranger things to get closer to water in our Houston drought...

But, my #1 rule is to NOT kill something that's doing no harm to me or mine...

Linda

that's how I feel. Its a pretty sad world when we can't share a leaf or two or are ready to murder one of G-d's creatures for the sake of a few holes in our rosebushes, but don't take the whole thing without even asking me.