ant nest eradication

[skeetstar]

gentles all, anyone got any experience of eradicating ants and their nests?

On my front and back lawns I have approx 20 maybe 25 ants nests as indicated by their excavations where they leave piles of fine sifted soil on the surface of the grass,
The worst of the nests is some years old and is about 3in high now.. I should dig it out and flatten it back I guess.

But the real issue is that I now have 15 new sites in the back lawn spread over 35 sq metres or so.

I have tried the Nippon bait that you leave beside the nest, no effect
I've tried spraying the excavations with Nippon powder, that seems to slow them for a day or two, but no lasting effect.

I've tries boiling water. That killed the grass, but after 4 or 5 days there are now piles of soil in the patch of dead grass, so again, no lasting impact.

Tried a bottle of vinegar down the nest too, again, no lasting impact..

Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Get some green woodpeckers in
But seriously, how much of a problem is this? Ants are all over our garden and we don't mind - we enjoy watching the woodpeckers come in to eat them.
I think that one "solution" would be to "improve" the soil - ants seem to like sandy, dry soil with little organic matter in it.

 

[MikeK]

I use the Neudorf Ameisen Frei granules, which is also available here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neudorff-500g-Ant-Killer-Granules/dp/B007W9SX5Q
I mix two teaspoons of the pink granules in 500ml of water and pour the liquid into the nest. It doesn't take a lot to be effective, and for small nests in the garden, I'll pour a third or half of the liquid into each nest.

During the year, I see one of two nests pop up in the garden and a green woodpecker will normally take care of them. After we dethatched and scarified the garden this year, there were dozens of new nests and the woodpecker must have been on vacation. I prepared five liters of the Neudorf mixture in my sprayer and now the nests are gone.

 

[Jacob]

I'd leave them alone unless they are really a nuisance. Apparently they actually increase and spread when under attack, unless totally exterminated, which is difficult and involves noxious substances which will kill other insects too.
Leaving the grass longer could help.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=503https://www.finegardening.com/article/ants-arent-your-enemy

 

[D_W]

Borax mixed with water and sugar, dip a sponge or cotton ball in it and put it next to each hill. Several days of that and the ants will be gone.

 

[D_W]

Apparently they actually increase and spread when under attack, unless totally exterminated, which is difficult and involves noxious substances which will kill other insects too.

Way too much internet fantasy. A cotton ball next to the nest with borax and sugar in it draws ants (never seen anything else on it) and results in them taking liquid borax and sugar to their nests. They're gone in days, don't multiply and this trick can be repeated over and over.

The amount of borax needed to soak several hundred cotton balls is about 1.5 tablespoons, or a few cents (it's a dollar a pound here at the grocery store and "so toxic" that it's used to boost detergent action in cleaners that we use on clothes. Or, some of us don't use it for that but forge weld with it).

It leaves nothing persistent but does the job and the filthy little bastages resume making holes off property (ok, the ones on property don't resume anything - they're dead). They love the polymeric sand that's used in landscaping bricks because they can shape safe neat holes through it.

carpenter ants are no threat to good construction here, they don't do much with dry wood (if you have a pinhole leak or any kind of water infiltration, they'll find the wet wood and destroy in situ, though, so the chance of fixing the issue and having the wood dry quickly wit

 

[hog&bodge]

Way too much internet fantasy. A cotton ball next to the nest with borax and sugar in it draws ants (never seen anything else on it) and results in them taking liquid borax and sugar to their nests. They're gone in days, don't multiply and this trick can be repeated over and over.

The amount of borax needed to soak several hundred cotton balls is about 1.5 tablespoons, or a few cents (it's a dollar a pound here at the grocery store and "so toxic" that it's used to boost detergent action in cleaners that we use on clothes. Or, some of us don't use it for that but forge weld with it).

It leaves nothing persistent but does the job and the filthy little bastages resume making holes off property (ok, the ones on property don't resume anything - they're dead). They love the polymeric sand that's used in landscaping bricks because they can shape safe neat holes through it.

carpenter ants are no threat to good construction here, they don't do much with dry wood (if you have a pinhole leak or any kind of water infiltration, they'll find the wet wood and destroy in situ, though, so the chance of fixing the issue and having the wood dry quickly wit

I used the borax sugar mix method and it worked a treat. Found you have to get the borax to sugar just right. but when you do they die or just clear off.
If you just leave them, well like I did, they end up finding a way into your home.

 

[D_W]

I used the borax sugar mix method and it worked a treat. Found you have to get the borax to sugar just right. but when you do they die or just clear off.
If you just leave them, well like I did, they end up finding a way into your home.

Same here - they're transient where I am, but when the carpenter ants go looking to expand in spring, you will have winged ants in your house one way or another - even if they just come in through fireplace or small access areas. When they make their way in, they leave a pheromone trail, and there are other smaller ants here that are predators for them, so they're in then, too - if there's only a few, it's almost entertaining to watch the winged ants appear and tiny little ants are on the scene in minutes, they catch the larger flyers and tear them apart and haul the pieces off.

There's no wet wood in my house, so they are transient, but the mrs. doesn't find it entertaining. She also constantly complains about damage to the polymeric sand on the back patio (which isn't that big of a deal to me). There are lots of recipes online for borax to sugar mix - as you say, if you guess wrong, it'll either not be taken by the ants or it will be taken and not toxic. better not to chance it. Success is had in less than a week anywhere I've used it.

The little predator ants are nasty. If they get on you, they will taste test without any fear, sinking their little pincers right in.

 

[Cabinetman]

I'd leave them alone unless they are really a nuisance. Apparently they actually increase and spread when under attack, unless totally exterminated, which is difficult and involves noxious substances which will kill other insects too.
Leaving the grass longer could help.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=503https://www.finegardening.com/article/ants-arent-your-enemy

You beat me to it Jacob, I tried to get rid of the nests in my grass and ended up with a whole load more, my grass isn’t particularly special so I just leave them to it now, very very sandy soil and it’s easy enough just to brush the piles out level. Ian

 

[D_W]

You beat me to it Jacob, I tried to get rid of the nests in my grass and ended up with a whole load more, my grass isn’t particularly special so I just leave them to it now, very very sandy soil and it’s easy enough just to brush the piles out level. Ian

If they're in grass only and not in trees and becoming transient in structures, there's no real reason to do anything about them. When I used to use a rotary mower, I wondered what they thought of the weekly "typhoon" that ruined their efforts temporarily.

If you need to get rid of them for any reason, try what I mentioned above.

I've had the amdro version sold in the US, which is another poison and probably not as innocent as borax (terro brand here is boric acid, as are termite killers, etc). The "home remedy" of borax sold as detergent enhancer (and that works a treat for forge welding) and inexpensive white sugar is far more effective.

But if they weren't in the trees and polymer sand between landscape bricks here, I wouldn't bother.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

After last year's termite infestation, I learned quite a bit about this sort of thing. Borax (or more accurately boric acid) is a very effective killer of entire nests of insects. It works by interrupting the insects' digestive system so they slowly starve to death over a couple of weeks. As the queen is fed by worker ants she is also poisoned, so the entire nest dies. It also works for wasps, bees, and possibly cockroaches, but I don't know about them specifically.

Borax is available in supermarkets in the usa, and is a traditional cure-all for just about everything, but everywhere else in the world it is fairly hard to find. Good news is that it is an important plant micronutrient so you can find it as a fertiliser additive. I get mine from the local farm shop as a white powder ;-)

For ants, find out what food they like best - it may be sugar, but it might also be protein or grain; it depends on the ant. Peanut butter has been recommended if jams or similar don't work, and wasps love chicken . Whatever you come up with, you only need 2% boric acid to food - any more and they won't eat it as it is a poison.

If you are lucky enough to have termites you need to spray corrugated cardboard with 2% boric acid disolved in water. Place the rolls of cardboard in the ground around the house...and wait. Much to my suprise it worked like a charm.

 

[D_W]

Yes on the termites (and here in the states, powder post beetles). While I mentioned above that it won't do much to the other bugs, anything that likes to gnaw on wood will generally have problems with it. I'm not sure why that is - if it's only their digestive systems, etc.

 

[skeetstar]

Thanks folks, plenty of ideas, ill try a couple and see how we do,
Thanks again.

 

[RichardG]

I thought borax was banned in the U.K. and Europe some years ago so anything you buy is actually a borax substitute which may or may not have the desired effect.

 

[brittonc]

Ant Stop bait station is my go to. As soon as we start seeing them by the front or back door I put one of these out and with 48 hours, no more ants. Have been using these for about 5-6 years and they never fail.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Defen...4ZSNSFP77ED&psc=1&refRID=YKX8B9STQ4ZSNSFP77ED

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I thought borax was banned in the U.K. and Europe some years ago so anything you buy is actually a borax substitute which may or may not have the desired effect.

I didn't know that, and apparantly neither does ebay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=boric acid

 

[RichardG]

I didn't know that, and apparantly neither does ebay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=boric acid

Mmm, seems that Borax was banned as it was used for cleaning but boric acid wasn’t as it was used as a pesticide, smells of an EU law to me

 

[D_W]

Jeez - the EWG here also says it's unhealthy, but they say everything is unhealthy. (according to EWG, it's unhealthy for people making borax, and potentially unhealthy for people who use large amounts to clean - or may result in skin irritation).

But, fortunately, we still have it (and ebay would likely have boric acid from someone if borax became unavailable).

Too bad. I'm surprised gasoline is available.

 

[Jacob]

..... smells of an EU law to me

What, you mean sensible and progressive?
I used Borax something or other as dry rot preventative - I thought it was relatively innocuous but perhaps I was wrong.
https://www.bugtech.com/borax-and-boric-acid/

 

[D_W]

They'e not safe to eat, huff or bathe in constantly.

If you call that "Sensible and progressive", then no problem. I call it bonkers.