Ants again...

Hi,

Usually get a few ants in the flags and blocks of the driveway and just leave them alone, but this year they are really pushing up too much sand, so need to control them.

Seems there is a vast choice of sprays, baits, powders etc along with the boiling water .

Any suggestions as to what is likely to prove most effective on a driveway ?

thanks

 

Washing up liquid in water and spray in the cracks. We sometimes have invasions of tiny and giant ones ... kills them quickly and is safe with pets around.

 

I find ant sprays the best solution. All much the same but obviously choose one for oitside use.
Brush the sand away and then spray where you see the ants entering their nests/crevices.
Like everyone else I have ants getting a little too close to the house or where I dont want them.......a spray now and then does the trick.

 

My front lawn seems to suffer from ant infestations . I use Ant Stop or Ant Gone, they seems to work fine . I leave them alone until they do get onto the lawn . To my experience this seems to work better than the Nippon spray.

 

Is that the posh way of saying ''not indoors'' :rasp:

 

Boiling water on the entrance sorted my problem out

 

Oi, its the way I do speak Tetters .....its called "class"

 

''Quick Alfie, bow''

 

I use boiling water as well, works a treat & no harmful chemicals to other wildlife.

 

Short for: Cornish Linguistics Always Seeks Surprises

 

...

And that is a Lancastrian way of imitating Cornish

 

Oh noooo... I'm an ant keeper so this is awkward

Ant's are surprisingly resilient and colonies can appear to be dead for some time (a few years) before they come back. Ant colonies rely on the queen. She is the only one to produce eggs. Kill her and the colony's done.

Boiling water works, but ants can form barriers which stop water from getting further into the nest. Using this method, you might think it's worked because there's fewer ants (or none) walking around but when the colony recovers, you'll need to do it again.

The best way to get rid of them is to use ant powder. The ants run back into the depths of the nest to warn others of danger and as soon as the queen comes into contact with the powder-coated ants, it's game over. I wouldn't use powder if birds can get to it. But if the colony is under a stone flag or brick then lift it up, put down the powder and then put the flag or brick back down.

Failing this, dig them all out, take the queen and some workers and start an ant farm.

Rad91

 

Cripes, for the love of Dr Doolittle @Radiation91 why would you be wanting to keep ants?

 

I find them fascinating! The more I learn about them, the more I realise how similar they are to us. Have a look at AntsCanada on Youtube. See if that changes your mind

 

Try climbing into a bull ant nest to rescue a tied up goat in a state of frenzy for several minutes, and you might possibly change your mind. Jumping into a water hole full of snakes to extinguish the pain of the ant bites was less than helpful. I am more comfortable with dogs ta.....each to his own.