Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joanne Cirincione on May 4, 2011 at 10:55am

Thank you!

 

I will have someone look at them more closely to make sure they are just black ants.  I will try your suggestion.

 

It's just annoying to go out to pick some mint and have ants get all over you.  ; )  plus I don't want to see them on my plants.

 

Take care,

Joanne

Permalink Reply by Lori B McCray on May 4, 2011 at 1:40pm

Oh my. I have ants in my mint also and a house rabbit who eats it, so i can't use chemicals. I will be interested in seeing if there's a good solution to this problem as well! I've heard Borax works, it's just laundry detergent and not harmful, but i made the mistake of using it on the lawn without watering it in and turned the grass yellow. Oh, i was so upset at myself. I solved one problem and created another. Good luck to you!

Permalink Reply by denise clark on May 5, 2011 at 2:59pm

The diatomaceous earth works but sometimes it is expensive. I got mine from a pool care place. They use it in some pool filters and it as way cheaper there. I've never had ants in my mint and actually I've used it ti repel ants. Maybe they are mint loving ants! I know one thing for sure, they HATE cinnamon.

Permalink Reply by Lori B McCray on May 5, 2011 at 5:18pm

Too funny denise ~ i was using cinnamon to keep the squirrels from my Lily bed, i had no idea the ants didn't like it either! Hooray ~ a fabulously elegant solution (i LOVE the smell of it. Unlike moth balls, which makes me want to run back inside as fast as a rabbit, lol). Thanks so much!

Permalink Reply by Joanne Cirincione on May 6, 2011 at 12:27pm

Nice!  I will certainly try cinnamon!!  Thanks!!

Permalink Reply by Lori B McCray on May 6, 2011 at 1:22pm

Good luck! I have some old ground cloves, i'm throwing that around too, lol!

 

Permalink Reply by Vicky Myers on June 19, 2011 at 1:00pm

I found a guy online who studied ants I'll see if I can find him again to send the link. He has videos on Utube.

Anyway he says to feed them sugar and the borax which I found at our $1 store as a roach killer. He also says they get wise so one week use table sugar the next honey the next molasses. If they see their buddy drop dead by eating it they will avoid it. I just mixed sugar and borax in a plastic freezer juice container and laid it on it's side  beside the hole. They weren't there the next day, I think they moved.

If you find the hole or mound you can also try dish soap or flooding the hole. If you surround an ant on the sidewalk with dish soap he will keep going in circles and won't cross it. The little buggars are all over this yr. I swear we live on an ant mound. I dig up the hole and make their life miserable. I moved a paver the other day and found eggs, winged ants and workers I squished as many as I could. They were probably the ones that moved or just quit using the other holes.