Some sort of ant colony has chosen a bell pepper in my garden. Any way I can safely deter to eliminate? DE and neem oil don’t seem to be doing anything.
by mstrahlman7
Some sort of ant colony has chosen a bell pepper in my garden. Any way I can safely deter to eliminate? DE and neem oil don’t seem to be doing anything.
by mstrahlman7
7 Comments
See if they’ll take terro liquid back to their queen. If not, mix up some cat food with boric acid and see if they’ll take that. If neither works. Just dust them directly with boric acid.
If they don’t bite, they’re not invasive fire ants so you should leave them alone. They’re fairly helpful, though they might try to farm aphids on some of your plants. Insecticidal soap kills the aphids though.
I know this one! Acrobat ants! They raise and wiggle their little heart-shaped butts at you. Terro liquid bait traps work great. Just tuck one along their marching routes. Repeat when it runs out if necessary.
ETA: Actually, I might be confidently incorrect there. The other pictures didn’t show for me immediately. The butt looks less pointy and heart-shaped in those.
Beneficial nematodes worked for me. No ant’s nests in two years since adding them to my raised bed soil.
I have had success placing a few orange peels around the affected area. Don’t put them directly on top of the entrance to their nest, but nearby, maybe 12 inches away. Then place more 2 to 3 feet away.
Allow a week to get the job done. Hope it helps good luck.
Do these actually harm the plant? I also thought they ate the bad things that I don’t want chewing on the plant.
I use orange oil with soap and water on the fire ants in my raised bed with pretty good success. Get ‘em angry and douse directly, repeat as needed. My fire ants also farm aphids on anything they can. DO NOT apply boric acid directly to your soil! Have it in a rain proof dish that will contain the bait, if you choose that route.