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Have 2 ant beds in garden from last year. What is the best/safest killer to use?
Ant killer
- Thread starter RxPain-
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A spinosad based soil drench
Meadowlark
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Here's what I do...works for me and I believe it is the safest.
1. disturb with prejudice every ant bed you see in the garden.
2. treat the perimeter periodically with Amdro and specifically any ant beds that show themselves outside the garden near the perimeter.
This has been very effective for me and very safe for the garden with no chemicals in garden soil.
1. disturb with prejudice every ant bed you see in the garden.
2. treat the perimeter periodically with Amdro and specifically any ant beds that show themselves outside the garden near the perimeter.
This has been very effective for me and very safe for the garden with no chemicals in garden soil.
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Before the spinosad bacteria was found at a rum distillery, Amdro was the ant killer of choice, but Amdro is not permitted IN vegetable gardens. Amdro is permitted around the perimeter of a vegetable garden but not actually in a vegetable garden. Amdro is a slow kill insecticide. It takes between 24-48 hours before any effectiveness is seen. The active ingredient in Amdro is hydramethylnon, a manmade chemical.
Spinosad is derived from a specific soil bacteria and is a natural pesticide and is totally safe in the garden up to time of harvest. When using this product you do not agitate the ants, you just mix the product according to directions and pour directly on the ant mound. Effectiveness shows within 6 hours. Spinosad is a non-selective insecticide that effectively kills most insects and all caterpillars so money is saved by not having to buy two products. Amdro is a good ant killer but not for vegetables. It is best used in pastures and lawns.
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That is exactly where I use it, not in garden, but in surrounding lawn/pastures. Never in garden.
Ants are my garden friend they eat bug eggs before they hatch. I never kill ants.
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Depends on what type of ant. Some ants actually damage buds, blooms and fruit.
It's good to start with asking questions.
RxPain, tell us more about the ants and your concerns. Are you talking about Fire Ants (Solenopsis spp.)? Do you know which species of ant you are dealing with?
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Fire ants. They are in the way of planting. After I harvested last year I pulled the plants and some time between October and now 2 fairly large beds (size of a basketball) are where I am going to replant.
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Then spinosad is definitely what you want. Mix up 2 oz spinosad with 1 gallon of water and pour 1/2 gallon on the top of each mound. DO NOT disturb the mound beforehand. On really big mounds it MIGHT not kill all of them and they will move about 3 feet away from the original mound. New mounds are easy to spot. Just mix up another batch and pour it on them. You will be ant free. And fire ants are not good for anything except for killing deer and dog ticks in the early spring.