Ants

[wheelnut]

No, not the sausages variety. Ants in the garden, fuckloads of them swarming all over the drive and the grass. I can’t see an obvious nest anywhere although there’s lots seem to be swarming around the join between the drive and the garden.

Short of nuking from orbit, how do I get rid of them?

[MrLongbeard]

Knock up some bait stations, add a few drops of this, job jobbed;

[wheelnut]

Should have added, we have a dachshund thatvwanders round the garden. Something less poisonous would be a better alternative I think.

[cheb]

What harm are they doing? Leave them to it.

[Yambo]

I'm sort of with cheb, just let them get on with it just as we should let whales and snow leopards get on with it and rats, they're just trying to get on with their lives (but not crows, they should die; oh and grey squirrels, they too should die!).

Anyway, I get ants in my kitchen now and again and I'd rather they didn't so I have an ultrasonic thingy which is supposed to deter them. I have no idea if the thing makes any noise as I can't hear it but since fitting it I hardly get any ants - even the oil out of tins of tuna don't attract them so I have to assume it works. As backup I use ant powder but only in the house. In the garden they can do what they want. They have every much right to be here as I do.

But I don't want them in my kitchen.

[Dodgy69]

I noticed a month or so ago, the Shropshire ant population has been very quiet this year. Normally, we get them marching around the skirting board on there annual pilgrimage to somewhere, but not this year. I buy those round bait stations where you snap off the tabs. Bought some but not been needed.

Was talking to the wife about this very subject only a few days back. I've researched Ant disease and with them living in colonies disease can spread, however, they will social distance from their co workers if they self diagnose illness...A well disciplined life form, unlike us. True story.

[kendo57]

[wheelnut]

What harm are they doing? Leave them to it.

I normally would, they’ve suddenly got really bad, so much so that you can’t stand to hang the washing out without them swarming over your feet and legs. Only a relatively local area, about 25m2, but I can’t see an obvious nest.

[WelshDragon]

I only use Raid. Had a problem with some indoors a few years ago. Milton Keynes seemed to be rife with them (something to do with all the block paved roads on sand that's an issue I reckon).

Just had a problem with wasps gathering in the roof void. Used Raid for ants on them as I had some in (then bought Raid for wasps) and that dispatched them pretty pronto! I would have left them if they hadn't decided to invade the house though.

[Slenver]

I've come to the conclusion that our garden is basically one, vast underground ants' nest. I'd leave them be but I get mounds rising up all over the place that then show as big brown patches on the lawn. I have tried killing them but it doesn't seem to do much. There's a billion of them and one of me.

[Trogladyte]

This causes me a huge moral dilemma too. I have major ant nests that come back every year down one side of my lawn. I can't quite bring myself to kill them, but they are really ruining part of the lawn. There is a lot less activity there now - I think a fox or hedgehog or something has been at them, but they are still there and will be back strongly.

I too am wary of poison. There's cats and other wildlife, including those that eat ants to worry about.

But I quite like the idea of explosives - but probably not in my back garden. When i was a kid, I'm reliably informed that people used to make stump-buster bombs out of an oxidiser ( I think farmers had easy access to potassium nitrate) and then you just needed a fuel like fuel oil or charcoal or something. I think its pretty unwise to even contemplate these days, as the authorities will, not unreasonably, take a dim view. So basically terrorists have spoiled our fun blowing up ants nests.

[hawker]

You need Green Woodpeckers you do! They eat 'em off the ground and keep eturning once they've found a colony. God luck. but they also kill real garDen psts so Cheb is correct, leave them be to do their job.

HTH?

[Yambo]

There are lots of ants around here at the moment and they are fascinating little critters. But did you know that they never get sick. It's because they have little anty bodies.

[demographic]

The way to tell the males from the females is to drop em in water.
If it floats its a boy ant.

[Dodgy69]

I wouldn't want to meet one as big as a lion.