Ants are everywhere!

[Weezknight]

My hops garden has become the living space for about 3 or 4 colonies of ants. They are crawling all over the mulch, and, obviously, up the twine and onto the hop plants.

I tried to spot treat using Sevin spray, but they have only returned. I thought about using the "stakes" where they take the poison back to the queen, but I'm worried about the rain and the ants carrying the poison onto the hops or into the soil.

Do I need to worry about the ants, or is there a good way to get rid of them? They are just your run-of-the-mill small, black ant.

 

[GVH_Dan]

Look for aphids. Often the ants are there farming the aphids for honeydew and the aphids are what wrecks your plant.

 

[Weezknight]

Look for aphids. Often the ants are there farming the aphids for honeydew and the aphids are what wrecks your plant.

That's what I thought, at first, but upon closer inspection I didn't see any aphids. Only about 4 or 5 of the ants are climbing the hops, so it's not like they are up there feasting on aphid nectar. The millions of other ants are just going back and forth from their hill to the wall of the garage. It's just kind of unsightly.

 

[Randar]

Put down the bait traps or use a specific ant spray. Sevin kills everything and most people refuse to use it in gardening applications because of the scorched earth effect (and the nasty chemical effects)

 

[Weezknight]

Put down the bait traps or use a specific ant spray. Sevin kills everything and most people refuse to use it in gardening applications because of the scorched earth effect (and the nasty chemical effects)

So you think the regular traps/stakes are safe to use around the hops?

 

[Randar]

So you think the regular traps/stakes are safe to use around the hops?

Safe in terms of what? They target ants specifically. You used Sevin, which most people do not consider "safe" to use around things you're going to eat.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Andro bait traps.

 

[Weezknight]

Safe in terms of what? They target ants specifically. You used Sevin, which most people do not consider "safe" to use around things you're going to eat.

I see your point. I went with the Sevin because the person at the Farm Store said it was safe on vegetables and stuff. I'll go back and see what else they have.

 

[glenn514]

Make a paste of about equal parts of honey and borax...yup, the "Twenty Mule Team Boraxo" of old. The ants are attracted to the honey, and gobble up just as much as they can to take back to the next. The borax, however, softens and breaks the exoskeleton from the inside out. Thus, not only is the carrying ant dead, but others in the nest that feed on what was brought into the nest are also killed.

Put the stiff, sticky mixture in shallow caps around where you see ant activity. Chances are, they'll be gone in a day or two. Works inside the house, too!

glenn514

 

[KevyWevy]

Look for aphids. Often the ants are there farming the aphids for honeydew and the aphids are what wrecks your plant.

had this problem on my best plant last year. the aphids didn't really eat too much of the plant, but they turned out to be all over inside the hop cones and pretty much ruined my biggest harvest.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Go for the ant bait stations, Raid makes a good one. The ants take the bait back to the colony & share it; then the colony dies. They're about $1.00 each. Regards, GF.

 

[Beard]

+1 for the bait stations. I had ants all over the place in the house come spring. Traps went down and within a week I had no ants. I think they are Andro bait but not sure.

 

[Weezknight]

Well, if no one thinks it's going to harm the soil/hops, I guess I'll put down a stake trap. I was just worried about the poison getting carried or washed into the soil.

 

[BigAl]

diatomaceous earth works great on ants won't harm your hops. Put it on the ground around the plants and they won't be climbing on them any more. I hate ants i sprinkle this around the foundation of my house I don't normaly get ants. Give it a try. Not expensive and works for me.