Scrub's PLL Coco Cupboard and Friends

[ScrubNinja]

Nice. The reason why I like the borax is they take it back to the nest and it supposedly wipes that out. I think I read they eat it and it makes them explode too. Always nice to know.

Yeah man, I can't wait to run the other seeds next run and see how many types I get all up. I've said it before but this one sure seems to be performing so far. My screen will probably be full when I open it up tonight so I'll let it grow upwards soon (or is it just gonna keep stretching for weeks?). I have an extra 8" I can lower the plant from what you see in pics.

I was thinking about it, a scrog is kind of like an airbag in a car. You can jump in a high performance car and run into a wall and hopefully the airbag saves you. Same thing with scrog, you can grow whatever but the screen is like a buffer that absorbs the impact, or maybe explosion is a better word.

Happy grows.

 

[mad librettist]

nts - Man, I see ants and I panic. There's always a reason why they appear and it's usually pest related. Ants work in tandem with pests to help them multiply, like the scale I had going on. There's just no reason for them to be there all of a sudden. There were just a few chilling on the front top edge of the cage/plant, I killed them, then 10 minutes later there were more there. I'm hoping maybe I had melted easter egg on my fingers when I touched the cage, lol. They're pretty easy to control, you just need to see their trail, which I don't yet. I put liquid borax across the trail, it's mixed with a sweetener, it's enough to make them eat it, but it won't attract them, you have to put it in their face like that. Works great for cockroaches too if you soak some bread and leave it out.

scrub, if they don't seem to take the sweet borax, try peanut butter. I always offer both.

 

[ScrubNinja]

Thanks buddy. I will try that and also mixing more sugar with this stuff - it's a bottled liquid product with "a special sweet based attractant" but maybe not sweet enough.

I've looked again and sussed 'em out more. It's pretty weird as usual. They are actually all flocking on one particular finger of one particular leaf

I tried to track them but the just follow the stem down into the tangle at the base and I lose them. Can't see any anywhere else in the cab. They come up the branch and onto the leaf, go to the edge, and sort of bow their head down as if they were praying at the edge of the leaf. Then they go back after a very short time.

They'll be praying soon alright I haven't placed any yet (see question)



So if I mix some more attractant in, could I leave it in tiny dishes on the coco surface next to the base of the stem? Basically I only see the ants on the plant so I can't put the stuff on the plant. (or can I?)

Cheerz

 

[ScrubNinja]

NICE! I added like 4 drops to a pinch of sugar and I've got them feeding no problems That's it little ones, eat up that sugary goodness. Take it home. Muwaaaahahahaha....

Strange, I don't remember it being this much fun last time.

 

[grow1620]

That's it little ones, eat up that sugary goodness. Take it home. Muwaaaahahahaha....

hahahhaa..you get 'em scrubs!

 

[ScrubNinja]

Hehe I'm a sadistic bugger. It would be so boring if they died on the spot : Man I think I worked it out. They were coming in through the crack between the doors and that leaf was their bridge onto the plant. When the doors were open, their bridge ended and that's why they appeared to flock to that leaf briefly then turn around. I'm a genius They're really coming out of the woodwork for this food source. Glad I caught it so early, and I hope it controls whatever the real pest is that I'm sure is behind the ants.

 

[ScrubNinja]

Nom nom nom

Nom nom nom

 

[grow1620]

hahah what's up with that slacker in the middle doin the backstroke while all his homies are working?!?! fucking slacker ants!

 

[ScrubNinja]

I know right? I said eat it, not bathe in it, lol. It's hard to find professional ants these days. I'll try to post up some old pics of ant attacks outdoors. Those were some professional f'kin ants. I wish I knew about borax back then.

 

[christoph'sbud]

that is quite an epic ant pic right there XD, cant wait too see more of your antcapades, but first, more pics of ur scrogg!

christoph

 

[lolraymond]

Freakin' sweet picture, Scrubs. I HATE ants. I had ants in my closet a while back, just before I moved my grow box into it. They were everywhere! They would come right in from the outside door. Everything here is so janky, nothing was sealed correctly, and there was a gap at the bottom corner of the door, where it met the door stop. Anyhow, they're dead now.
I'll have to try Borax next time. These freakin' traps don't work very well. Sevin dust seems to keep them at bay though. Anyhow, doin' a fine job there Scrubs. Lol, I feel like that would be something my grandpa would say.

 

[Hydrosun]

I don't know. It looks like they were milking the PK? If so maybe she produces more with ants sucking on her leaves? Never seen anything like it in my life!

Peace,

 

[mad librettist]

Remember guys, if sweet don't work, try protein.

Spread the borax word! In the USA it is sold as a roach poison - boric acid. Comes in a plastic bottle with a nozzle. For roaches you shake it to make dust then you make little puffs of it.

I'm an organic guy who likes to work with nature, but ants are competition. They would do the same to me. Ants better stay off my turf!

 

[ScrubNinja]

Thanks for lookin' in fellaz. Hydro, I'm hoping they were just attracted to the moisture. Now that I think about it, this only happened after I emptied out my gross runoff collection bucket, lol.

Yeah it gets from me although I probably should wait to see that it works again! But it worked flawlessly last time on the same kind of ants.

This is the stuff I used, and here is some info from them:

Ants have evolved into a highly intelligent species, with a number of defence mechanisms to secure the future of the community.

• Ants are extremely sensitive to poisons and can detect most that are used in general insect control products;
• Sick Worker ants are not allowed back into the nest if the feeder ants detect any weakness. This ensures that if they have been poisoned then they will not be allowed back into the nest to pass it on to the rest of the community;
• Due to this sensitivity to poisons, if you have sprayed an insecticide around the ants' trail, they will know not to eat there and will establish a new trail around it. This will force the ants to move to a different part of the house to try and find another food source - thus rendering the insecticide useless.

Whilst the nests are often hard to locate as they tend to be found in the walls or under the house - out of sight and out of reach - targeting the ant nest is the best way to achieve long term control of ants in your home. It is therefore important that products used in the fight against ants are targeted toward the queen and the nest - not just the visible worker ants. Products that are fast-acting will only result in a short term reduction with little long term effect on the nest population.

• Ants usually enter the home on a foraging expedition. For example a few dead insects on the windowsill may be sufficient to attract large numbers of ants.
• Persistent infestations are generally caused by an ongoing supply of food that is readily available. For example fat in a grill, breadcrumbs, sugar or pet food.
• Water is also an important resource for ants - particularly in summer. For example a dripping tap or a pet's water bowl will attract them.
• Be sure to keep food in sealed containers and seal garbage bins.
• Clean up food crumbs and drink spills as soon as possible

Active Constituent: Boron present as Borax Decahydrate. (I'm not a chemist but boron is a plant nutrient/element.)

And I just got my 40x loupe!!

 

[mad librettist]

Hydrate means acid!

I remember that by saying "hydrochloric".

Ants are not intelligent! But there is an amazing radio show called radio lab that is online. In one episode (called "emergence" I think) they discuss ant "intelligence". If you don't have a good system, use headphones. The soundscape will blow your mind.

 

[ScrubNinja]

What does it mean that it's an acid?

Edit: I mean are you implying it's bad?

 

[Ghostwolf]

Hey, Ya Scrub sorry about the ant invasion man. I never had much trouble them, I know it's gotta really suck. I used to make a chewing tobacco tea with a little dish soap and spray that for pests. It always worked good. And it didn't harm the plants.

 

[ScrubNinja]

Cheers man. I uploaded a pic of a rather serious ant problem from an old grow. These guys were big black ants. First I had termites, I used some dust to get rid of them but then these fuckers moved in and were just as bad. I even tried drowning them in the creek but they just crawled around under water for hours as if it was air.



And here's an old pic from the archives:

It was a strange plant :

Mega pic update coming up tonight. It's Friday, I ain't got no job, and I ain't got shit to do

 

[Ghostwolf]

That's nice plant Scrub a side from the ant damage.

 

[b00m]

Nice outdoors there bro, I'll be hanging around for ya update too, no job here except being at war with spidermites.

Peace