Subject: Re: Boric acid and ants
From: moholt@gardens.com (Carol Moholt)
Organization: The Bay Area Gardener
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 12:08:28 -0700
Message-ID: <MOD$970913.8415@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$970912.21692@rec.gardens.ecosystems> <MOD$970913.1711@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
In response to my question about a boric acid/sugar/water recipe for ant
control, Bill Morgan wrote:
> First of all, you want to make sure you are poisoning only those which are
> actually pestiferous, and not those which are harmless or beneficial.
I'm not sure what these ants are, but they are small, do eat sugar, but
also food of other types, and are a problem all over the valley in which I
live. Usually I let them alone, but this year they are in everything
(including many container-filled ornamentals). Because of their
relationship with aphids, I'm having a hard time keeping my aphid
population under control, and an increased problem with sooty mold. (I
ususally keep the ants out of trees by putting a barrier of tangle-foot
around their base, but this season they are in every tree and every shrub
-- they use low growing bushes and plants as "bridges"-- it's really
problem.) There is literally, not one square inch of garden that doesn't
seem to be covered with scouting ants. Plus they are coming into the house
from every possible location -- I can't leave cat food out on the floor
for more than 1/2 hour without having the kitchen covered with ants.)
In smaller numbers, these are probably harmless and may have some
beneficial attributes, but their natural balance is terribly out of whack.
Plus, due to where I live (near the coast of the San Francisco Bay Area),
we are going to probably have a very mild winter due to El Nino and so I
see no help from nature in terms of getting them down to a more manageable
population.
>
> The idea is to set up bait stations in areas that the *particular ants you
> want to kill* are foraging. The workers will lap up the bait, take it home,
> and feed it to mom, the larvae and their other sisters, resulting in the
> death of the colony.
I'm still a little dense about the actual application, what do you mean by
a bait station? Do you simply set out a piece of something that won't
absorb the liquid, like a jar or bottle lid, and then fill it with the
eyedropper of mixture?
Regards, Carol