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linz06 05-10-2012 06:21 AM
Killing ants without killing lawn?
 
Last year we started getting lots of ants in our back yard. We had some ant-killer drops and some little tins of ant poison that we left just outside the fence, out of Layla's reach, but still in the vicinity of the ant hills.I guess it didn't work... now it's spring and the whole middle of the lawn is patchy and there are new hills everywhere! There are huge clearings of grass that are full of ant hills :(

We are planning to reseed the lawn right away but obviously need to get rid of this ant problem first. We need a natural solution, something that won't harm the dogs because now we have Kash and Lucy who go outside multiple times a day, and we also need something that is not going to kill the grass we do have in the area.

Any suggestions??? I heard Borax would work on the ants, but it may kill the grass and nothing may grow there for a long time...

Lorraine 05-10-2012 06:25 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by linz06 (Post 3912699)
Last year we started getting lots of ants in our back yard. We had some ant-killer drops and some little tins of ant poison that we left just outside the fence, out of Layla's reach, but still in the vicinity of the ant hills.I guess it didn't work... now it's spring and the whole middle of the lawn is patchy and there are new hills everywhere! There are huge clearings of grass that are full of ant hills :(

We are planning to reseed the lawn right away but obviously need to get rid of this ant problem first. We need a natural solution, something that won't harm the dogs because now we have Kash and Lucy who go outside multiple times a day, and we also need something that is not going to kill the grass we do have in the area.

Any suggestions??? I heard Borax would work on the ants, but it may kill the grass and nothing may grow there for a long time...
Put the dog in the house, boil the kettle, pour the boiling water on the ant hill. Do it on each hill that oughta do it and they won't come back. I did that years ago at another house I lived in, never saw them again.
we had fruit trees some of which were not in good shape. I suspect that attracted the ants as they will attract to diseased rotten wood. Remove any trees that fit that catagory and if you have fruit trees, pick it or pick it off the ground if they have fallen.

linz06 05-10-2012 06:41 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorraine (Post 3912702)
Put the dog in the house, boil the kettle, pour the boiling water on the ant hill. Do it on each hill that oughta do it and they won't come back. I did that years ago at another house I lived in, never saw them again.
we had fruit trees some of which were not in good shape. I suspect that attracted the ants as they will attract to diseased rotten wood. Remove any trees that fit that catagory and if you have fruit trees, pick it or pick it off the ground if they have fallen.
Thanks for the info! A woman in a hardware store told us that's how she gets rid of weeds! I will try this tonight.

We have one maple tree in our back yard but it is in really good shape.

Yorkiemom1 05-10-2012 08:03 AM
I also heard Tide laundry detergent works on the mounds....I dont have ant issues so I have not tried it...but supposedly it works and wont kill the grass....and it is not toxic if the dogs run thru it....

chachi 05-10-2012 08:12 AM
You can also put pepper in and around the mound. Also put it in your door ways if they are getting in the house

linz06 05-10-2012 08:22 AM
I am going to try all of these!! Luckily they are not getting in the house. We just have lots of ladybugs in the house :confused: We were finding them all through winter too!

lynzy420 05-10-2012 11:40 AM
Go to Home Depot or Lowes, they have products there that can accomplish this. I can't remember what its called. Good Luck!

linz06 05-10-2012 11:49 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by lynzy420 (Post 3913016)
Go to Home Depot or Lowes, they have products there that can accomplish this. I can't remember what its called. Good Luck!
Are they safe for pets? Anything I've found in the store for killing bugs is also toxic to animals and children :(

cory 05-10-2012 12:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorraine (Post 3912702)
Put the dog in the house, boil the kettle, pour the boiling water on the ant hill. Do it on each hill that oughta do it and they won't come back. I did that years ago at another house I lived in, never saw them again.
we had fruit trees some of which were not in good shape. I suspect that attracted the ants as they will attract to diseased rotten wood. Remove any trees that fit that catagory and if you have fruit trees, pick it or pick it off the ground if they have fallen.
Thanks so much that's a great idea. We have one that I didn't know what to do with last year in our yard. We live in Alberta. I wouldn't even want to put ant poison down outside the yard because I was thinking what if the ants ingested it and then come in the yard and then one of the girls was to eat one of the ants. I would be so afraid they would be poisoned too.

I'm going to try that with the boiling water though what a great idea!

marcerella02 05-10-2012 03:14 PM
If you have two ant hills you can use a shovel to scoop one on to the other- they will fight to the death.

cory 05-10-2012 03:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by marcerella02 (Post 3913241)
If you have two ant hills you can use a shovel to scoop one on to the other- they will fight to the death.
That's really good to know too! Right now we only have one so I'm going to try the boiled water and will let everyone know how it worked out. :)

LoALAnna 05-10-2012 08:51 PM
I have used Diatomatious (sp?) earth on ant beds and found it to do the trick. It is safe and non-toxic, but seems to quickly dispatch the ants!

linz06 05-11-2012 07:03 AM
I tried boiling water last night, but the problem is way worse than I thought! They are spreading like wildfire. After 17 big pots full of boiling water, I don't think I even got half of them! There are hundreds of hills out there, one right beside the other. I also spilled some boiling water on my leg while I was walking down the stairs from the deck, and now I have a big blistery welt on my thigh :( The ant hills are are popping up everywhere! There are new hills starting where we stil lhave grass so it won't be there for long. I am going to try some of these other ideas today. My mom also suggested cornmeal... I guess they eat it and it expands in them and they die.

Me vs. the ants, round 2....

BonBon 05-11-2012 07:06 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoALAnna (Post 3913637)
I have used Diatomatious (sp?) earth on ant beds and found it to do the trick. It is safe and non-toxic, but seems to quickly dispatch the ants!
I bought some of this to try on the ants in my yard. I'm going to put some in the front yard this afternoon and cross my fingers that it works.

Linz, it sounds like you have them bad. :( I hope you find something that controls them.

McheleM 05-11-2012 08:32 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by linz06 (Post 3913940)
I tried boiling water last night, but the problem is way worse than I thought! They are spreading like wildfire. After 17 big pots full of boiling water, I don't think I even got half of them! There are hundreds of hills out there, one right beside the other. I also spilled some boiling water on my leg while I was walking down the stairs from the deck, and now I have a big blistery welt on my thigh :( The ant hills are are popping up everywhere! There are new hills starting where we stil lhave grass so it won\'t be there for long. I am going to try some of these other ideas today. My mom also suggested cornmeal... I guess they eat it and it expands in them and they die.

Me vs. the ants, round 2....
Problem with the cornmeal is ants don\'t eat solid food, they take it back to the mound where its turned into a semi liquid state and then shared. Kind of defeats the purpose, since its now semi liquid. Dumping boiling water and grits or cornmeal on their mound simply disturbs the mound and encourages them to move.


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