# Ant Problem



## Kindbud (Jul 12, 2014)

whats the best way to get rid of them its weird their only on 1 of my plants the biggest one


----------



## Kindbud (Jul 12, 2014)

just used the cinnamon trick worked pretty well ill report tomorrow if they r still arou when i splashed it in the stem wear i saw some they wear gone dont know if it really kills them was dark couldn't tell all i know is i didn't see them climbing up the stem and around the base like the past couple days


----------



## MR1 (Jul 13, 2014)

I had a old pot in my garden I dumped out, it had good soil in it so I wondered why nothing was growing in it, I broke the soil apart and found it was infested with black ants and their larvae or whatever those egg looking things are. So maybe check the soil too to make sure they are not in there. I don't know if ants eat roots or not.
 I found this , maybe it will work.
Spread organic material around the base of your plants. According to the Michigan State University extension, red chili peppers, paprika, dried peppermint and cream of tartar are alternatives to using pesticides to get rid of ants

Read more: How to Kill Ants in Plant Roots | Garden Guides http://www.gardenguides.com/94453-kill-ants-plant-roots.html#ixzz37K01BUj5


----------



## BenfukD (Jul 13, 2014)

Ants are the worst for MJ ...They can take over the grow faster than mites...I like DE

:48:


----------



## Kindbud (Jul 13, 2014)

Thanks mr1 ill have to try some of them things i dont think they are doing anything tho they are on a 8 ft plant that is growing and looking great


----------



## MR1 (Jul 13, 2014)

Sounds good Kindbud, as long as the buggers are gone before yours buds get all sticky with resin.


----------



## Kindbud (Jul 13, 2014)

Gonna put a sticky trap around the stock of the plant so they will get stuck to it if i cant get rid of them before flowering


----------



## MR1 (Jul 13, 2014)

Good idea , i hate the thought of ants in your buds.


----------



## Rosebud (Jul 13, 2014)

Get some diatomaceous earth (DE)asap.


----------



## ston-loc (Jul 13, 2014)

Never had a problem with them before. DE should get rid of them


----------



## MR1 (Jul 13, 2014)

Rosebud nailed it .  http://http://malcolmbeck.com/articles/diatomaceous-earth.htm


----------



## MR1 (Jul 13, 2014)

Sorry crappy link.


DIATOMACEOUS EARTH

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) consist of the sedimentary deposits formed from the skeletal remains of a class of algae (Bacillariophyceae) that occurs in both salt and fresh water and in soil. These remains form diatomite, an almost pure silica that is ground into an abrasive dust. When the tiny razor-sharp particles come in contact with an insect, they cause many tiny abrasions, resulting in loss of body fluids. DE is the secondary ingredient in a variety of insecticides. DE being a natural product is harmless to mammals and birds and is digestible by earthworms. 

DE is found to be beneficial in conjunction with grain and seed storage and as a deodorizer on fecal and other waste around barns, kennels and garbage cans. Both USDA and TDA has information on using DE. 

DIRECTIONS FOR USE

Use as a dust to control odors and in grain storage and as an absorbent to soak up oil or other spills. On plants use as a spray mixing one to two tablespoons of DE and one tablespoon of insecticidal soap per gallon of water. Spray upward from the ground covering all stems and leaves, especially the undersides. NOTE For more information on DE consult Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening by Rodale.

DE test on fire ants as an insecticide

Will DE kill fire ants? That was a question I could not truthfully answer without doing my own testing. I had heard strong arguments both ways.

For a test I got two 1 qt. fruit jars and put one teaspoon of DE in each then went and found a healthy anthill and put heaping tablespoons of anthill with very mad ants into each jar, I put one spoon in one than the other and continued alternating until they were fiercely coming up the handle and attacking me. I was forced to stop at about six tablespoons in each then I quickly placed lids tightly on each jar then I shook each slightly to mix the DE in the soil to make sure the ants would come in contact with it.

This test was taken about 4 pm, and a check made about 9 pm showing all ants to be active and healthy, a second check was made at 9am the following morning and discovered the jar containing brand A had all dead ants and the other jar with brand B had healthy and active ants; another check was made on them about 3 pm and they where still alive, however at 8 am the next morning they to were all dead.

Now I knew that DE will kill ants but I wanted to know exactly how long it took so I decided to take the ant samples early in the morning so I could watch them all day. I did everything the same as on test #1 except I used a third jar for a check, I just put in the ants with no DE, I placed all three jars on my desk so I could watch all day. Days, went by with nothing happening, the ants were still all-alive and appeared healthy. On the 9th. day something finally happened, the ants in the check jar, the one with no DE all died. Not until the 13th. day did I notice ants starting to die in the other two jars. By the 16th. day the ants in brand A jar were finally all dead, on the 18th. day the ants in brand B were finally all dead.

Now I was really puzzled, DE prolonged their life instead of killing them. More test were definitely needed, but how? After much study I decided it must have been the difference in the moisture in the jars between the two tests. The first test was taken in the afternoon when the ant hill moisture was low and the humidity was also low while the second test was taken early in the am when the air and ant hill contained much more moisture and the moisture kept the ants from losing body fluids and some how the ants received energy or something from the DE to actually help them survive longer.

On the third test I again used three jars but all with DE. I decided to include a third brand. All samples where taken from the same mound being real careful to get all exactly the same and as low as moisture as possible. The samples were taken on a hot dry afternoon and by the 5th. hour the ants in brand A were all dead, brand B by the 9th. hour and C by the 11th. hour.

I learned that DE would kill ants in a low humidity in jars within 5 hours. But how fast would they die in only dry soil in jars? For a test I used 2 jars with equal amounts of soil from an ant mound with ants, one jar I shook as if I were mixing DE in like I did in the other DE test, the other jar I disturbed as little as possible. The ants in the disturbed jar were all dead in two and one half days. The un-disturbed ants took a day longer.

NOTE All of the jar tests were kept in the office out of direct sun light at a temperature between 72 and 82 degrees.

I needed one more test. Would DE alone kill ants in the field? I found a lone big healthy ant hill with no other close by and applied about 4 oz. of brand A and then took a stick and scratched it in real well, I did this in the afternoon when the humidity was low. The next day at noon I checked on the ant mound, and no live ants could be found and no new mounds later appeared in the area as when using some other insecticides.

SUMMARY

All brands of DE tested do kill ants, all though some faster than others, and the method must be de-hydration because when there is high humidity there is limited affect and even beneficial effects. However if given a choice the ants definitely will stay away from D.E.


USING D.E. AS A REPELLANT

I had a 20 gal. trash can that I used to store fish food in and always had ant problems, the fire ants loved the stuff and I had heard IMPORTED fire ants were toxic to fish. I took one pint of D.E.and spread it on the soil around the trash can, this was several months ago, the D.E. has spread around and worked it's way into the soil some, this is in a green house where I raise tropical fish, the humidity is always high but the fire ants still stay away from the fish food, there hasn't been a single fire ant in fish food since the day the D.E. was applied.

MALCOLM BECK Garden-Ville


----------



## Kindbud (Jul 14, 2014)

im going to order some soon i hope the neem oil and cinnamon works till it gets hear hopefully it will!! Rosebud what is the best brand of the DE?? or does it matter?? this is what im looking at.... [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Wisdom-NW020-Diatomaceous-Repellant/dp/B003QJ8CSE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405360417&sr=8-2&keywords=diatomaceous+earth[/ame]


----------



## Rosebud (Jul 14, 2014)

Kelp4less&#8482; or anywhere, just be sure you don't breathe it, use a mask, seriously can mess up your lungs. You want enough to cover the top of the soil.  Just find the best price..


----------



## Kindbud (Jul 14, 2014)

thanks for the tip rose im going to order it wensday or thursday if the neem oil and cinnamon doesn't work after i put it on top of the soil do i just leave it their or water it in or what??


----------



## MR1 (Jul 14, 2014)

Kindbud, maybe get some ant bait stations so you can kill the queen also.


----------



## Rosebud (Jul 15, 2014)

I have used it by putting a layer on top of the soil. You can water thru it or water from the bottom. Put a layer thick enough to kill an ant, not too thick.


----------



## BenfukD (Jul 15, 2014)

too much DE is not good for the plant. Use 1 TBL spoon for each gallon soil.  Stir it in the top 2 inches and water/feed from the bottom.  DO NOT COVER THE TOP OF SOIL


----------



## Kindbud (Jul 15, 2014)

yeah mr1 thats a great idea ill have to pick up some of them


----------



## lyfespan (Jul 15, 2014)

I was staking and trimming yesterday, found a couple pots with a ton of ants. I grabbed the SNS 217, this stuff is the sh!t, it killed on contact, so I will also be watering in some SNS 209. 

I'm going to try the SNS 203 tonight on a plant that has some loopers on it to see if that doesn't kill them.


----------



## vostok (Aug 9, 2014)

D=Earth(Diatomaceous Earth) are actually billions of tiny razorblades, look like fine sand and are used by lazy vegetable growers to remove parasitic bugs from their food crops, should the original poster Kindbud(outdoor expert) still be alive, after receiving advice from above, then I will congratulate him ...indeed
*Avoid D=Earth in the extreme* you are growing a smoking material, that in a short amount of time less than 6 months, intend to alight and inhale, in the meantime these tiny razorblades will be blown into the plants buds/kolas in which they will stick, and stay until you light that bud, and inhale.
Its possibly a death worse than lung cancer, as all you can do is cough up blood for 3 weeks then die, I've seen this at work and the only thing equal to this are those dealers that water their grass with crushed glass

Think long and hard on this


----------



## Kindbud (Aug 10, 2014)

im alive and well lol


----------



## buddogmutt (Aug 16, 2014)

All natural solution to any and all insect problems 

View attachment image.jpg


----------



## vostok (Aug 16, 2014)

*Some great and interesting facts have been revealed recently on how ants train aphids for their honey dew ...keeping a clean grow space is paramount to keeping bugs ...and ants away*


----------



## buddogmutt (Aug 16, 2014)

vostok said:


> *Some great and interesting facts have been revealed recently on how ants train aphids for their honey dew ...keeping a clean grow space is paramount to keeping bugs ...and ants away*




Yeah, but that's not a helpful tip! That's a WELL KNOWN growing FACT..a clean grow space that is...only so much an be done about nature...so I fight nature with nature...predator insects, carnivores that don't bother leaves...


----------



## jingo (Aug 16, 2014)

There is food grade de and pool filter grade de. You don't want to purposefully inhale either, but filter grade will kill you.


----------

