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What can I do to keep ants away?

G

guest1ab

I know it's late to be starting a new grow, but it's my only option right now.

So, I'm putting some seeds in a really nice spot with lots 'o sunshine, etc.... I'll also be adding some peat moss, composted manure, dolomite lime and some stuff I picked up with the humic acid, mycorrizea (sp?) and the gel stuff that holds water.

Of course the first two weeks it will be critical to keep them protected from insects but I have no idea what to do! I was thinking maybe build a little shelter with a couple layers of cheesecloth or something, that's about all I can afford for right now but does anyone else have any suggestions? If I don't get them in this weekend I think this season will pretty much be a bust, and I don't want my summer to go that way! LOL!!

:1help:
 
O

ourcee

Active member
boric acid and sugar plus a lil hot water. the higher the sugar to water ratio, the less strong the mix will be. You dont want it OVERLY strong as it works best when they take it back to their nests.


copy+pasted so....

Ants line up to satisfy their sweet tooth while ingesting the tasteless but Poisonous, Boric Acid. They will take the tainted sweets back to the Queen and her brood.

Depending on the colony size, it may be necessary to refill the caps. Be patient; it may take two or three days to exterminate the whole Colony. Meanwhile, you may notice an increase in Ant activity.

This should be effective on most Ants since they tend to crave sweets.
Mix it as follows:


* 1 Heaping teaspoon of Granulated Sugar
* 1 Level teaspoon of Poisonous Boric Acid powder
* 1 Teaspoon of HOT water

COMPLETELY dissolve the Boric Acid in the HOT water. Mix the sugar into it until it is dissolved. Half fill small caps like those found on milk jugs and soda bottles.

Place the caps where Ants are a nuisance. To protect pets from this POISON, place the caps inside plastic containers that have holes punched in to allow the Ants to enter. Mark the container with "Skull and Crossbones" Poison symbol. When the Ants are gone, dispose of the containers properly.

This is a Very strong recipe. Increasing the sugar to a whole cup should still be very lethal to Ants. Of course, it would require adding a cup of hot water to dissolve it. $6.00 will buy 12 ounces of Boric Acid; enough to last you and your neighbors for years, if the container is kept air-tight and cool.
 
CoonLover

CoonLover

Member
baby powder around the plants.
Ants won't cross the line

Baby Powder Beats Ants

"I have ants - little black ones - that occasionally come in my kitchen sink window sill and scout around. The don’t seem very smart - not like the ants we had on the farm. Those ants would find the residue from a wiped up honey drop, call all their brothers and cousins and neighbors, and march them all in a straight line to pile up on that spot. Once inside, they found all kinds of goodies that had escaped my notice.
Not these city ants. They just scout around, often not calling anyone to join them, and when they do invite company, they don’t to the single file line thing.
BUT, whether your ants walk in a line or not, my neighbor shared her non-toxic solution with me.
Baby powder.
Why? I don’t know and neither does she. But even the store brand works! I sprinkled some in my window sill, and the ants won’t cross that line of baby powder. Thought you’d like to know. Ants be gone.?
 
G

guest1ab

Has anyone ever tried this, with the baby powder? I'll definitely give it a go, just curious if anyone has had any experience.

I'm also thinking I might nix the cheesecloth shelter idea and instead soak the cheesecloth with some insecticide and place that around the border as well.

If everything goes according to plan they'll be going in tonight. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

ps. It looks like we're in for a bit of a hot/dry spell, would it be a good idea the seeds in a little deeper maybe, to help prevent them from drying out? Thanks
 
G

guest1ab

Oh ya ... I've got some diatomaceous earth I'm going to put out, too. I knew I was forgetting something. :D
 
RockyMountainHi

RockyMountainHi

I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with th
Veteran
I hear chocolate covered ants are quite tasty



solves 2 problems - the grow, and what's for dinner
 
G

guest1ab

Well, the deed is done. Got them in last night, said a prayer, and the rest is in God's hand's now.

I think I did a number on my back, too. Hopefully I can still walk tomorrow. :frown:
 
B

Bass Akwards

Member
Organic solution ...

Organic solution ...

If there's a restaurant supply house in the vicinity, get a large container of powdered Cinnamon. That's the only way to get it cheap, and high quality isn't a concern. Sprinkle the powder around the stalk of each plant. Wrap the rest in a double layer of freezer zip-lock bags, then stash it, preferably off the ground. Add more after every hard rain, or "as needed".

Poison them only as a last resort.

Bad for them, a hassle for you.

Be careful what you put in the soil mix ... some "organic" ingredients like feather meal, blood meal, kelp, bone meal, dried blood and Alfalfa are like a buffet meal for ants.
 
G

guest1ab

Jiu Jitsu Playa said:
this my be dumb.. but how do ants hurt the plant? i never had issues... they both exist in the wild?
Click to expand...

I heard they will eat Cannabis sprouts. What area are you in? I heard they will eat the sprouts but I didn't hear what type of ant would do that.

Bass Akwards said:
If there's a restaurant supply house in the vicinity, get a large container of powdered Cinnamon. That's the only way to get it cheap, and high quality isn't a concern. Sprinkle the powder around the stalk of each plant. Wrap the rest in a double layer of freezer zip-lock bags, then stash it, preferably off the ground. Add more after every hard rain, or "as needed".

Poison them only as a last resort.

Bad for them, a hassle for you.

Be careful what you put in the soil mix ... some "organic" ingredients like feather meal, blood meal, kelp, bone meal, dried blood and Alfalfa are like a buffet meal for ants.
Click to expand...

Thnx 4 the tip.
 
B

Bass Akwards

Member
Ant Infestation ...

Ant Infestation ...

Besides overwhelming small sprouts, ( for whatever reason ), colonies of ants have been known to get into the stalks of large plants. This usually shows up where there's been a break in the stalk, a crack, or a missing/broken branch. They can weaken the stalk to the point it breaks that way.
 
Jiu Jitsu Playa

Jiu Jitsu Playa

Member
ants can only harm the plants when they are sprouting seedlings i thought? i seen a deer destroy a plant and it make a comeback like star wars
 
H

hamstring

Well-known member
Veteran
Jiu Jitsu Playa said:
this my be dumb.. but how do ants hurt the plant? i never had issues... they both exist in the wild?
Click to expand...


Same here. I know it’s different for different locations types of ants etc. I wouldn’t want to have to deal with fire ants glad we don’t have them.

I cant put a plant in the ground with out it becoming an ant farm. Once you dig a hole they migrate to it because it is loose soil they love it. I am not exaggerating much here when I say 70 % of all my holes end up being an ant farm at one point and they have never done any harm to 12-inch seedlings.

I have heard they can be very destructive though from other growers.
PEACE
 
G

guest1ab

Woot! I got some weeds growing!

Woot! I got some weeds growing!

So.. I went out to water them today (I put them in the ground Sat. night/Sun. morning July 4/5), got a bunch of nice little sprouts! Took some baby powder and Cinnamon (already applied baby powder and some diatomaceous earth but the baby powder is pretty compact so I brought it along), I saw a few flying insects but I saw a bunch of healthy sprouts, as well! Peed on the one viable trail leading in on my way out. Later this week I plan to put some fencing in.

I'm hoping the Cinnamon will really do the trick. I really don't have any desire to kill off any ant colonies (I like ants, sorta!), and at this point it would probably be counter-productive if I tried to bait them or anything, so we're just hoping to repel the ants.

Any case, two more issues:
1) Figured out my site is probably not much more than 100m, literally "downstream", from the water-treatment plant. I'm thinking that might be a screwball, nute-wise. So I'm taking my water upstream from it. On the upside, it might help to repel deer and rodents, etc. It really doesn't smell all that bad, really. Sort of just a little musty. Anything I can (or should) do though, so that my plants don't get contaminated with e-coli or something?
2) A bit of light pollution, from some overhead streetlamps. To be honest I knew about both of these issues before I started, and my "patch" is in the shade of a tree from the closest streetlamp, but it's never going to get any less less light than it would on a full moon, probably. So it is what it is. Hopefully I'll get some kind of yield out of it, some seeds at least!

The seeds are some f2 NL #5, btw ... and it's my first outdoor grow, in case you couldn't tell. :smoke:
 
Hemphrey Bogart

Hemphrey Bogart

Active member
Veteran
The baby powder might do the trick; however, I would personally rather use the diatoms than the baby powder. The diatomaceous earth, especially the fine version, works very well for any hard shelled insects, basically rips them to shreds. It also provides silica, which has been shown to be beneficial to plants.

There might be some chemicals in the baby powder that might be bad for your plants, which makes me not want to use it anywhere except maybe around the house.
 
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