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Ants in the lawn

celia2celia2 Posts: 21
in Problem solving

Does anyone have a lawn covered with mounds of soft earth brought up by ants ?  It looks a real muddy mess when it's been mowed. 

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  • LORELEILORELEI Posts: 128
    I have three ants nests in my lawn and a red ants nest right on the edge of the border with the grass. I also have a nest under my snow-on-the-mountain which I am going to destroy this week I hope. I agree its a right mess when mowed
  • DWBDWB Posts: 5

    I must admit I tend to use boiling water to remove the nests as it doesn't harm the grass and gets rid of the problem.

  • BusylizBusyliz Posts: 140

    I had two nests on the lawn and my husband decided boiling water was the answer.  No ants now but the boiling water has left two big bald patches in an otherwise sea of green lawn!  Men!

  • TheSlothTheSloth Posts: 38

    I've had nests in my greenhouse, shed and even in my flower borders image

    But I have to say, Nippon Gel works every time. It's only a couple of quid and a small blob near to ant activity and they pounce on it immediately and take it back to the nest. Dead ants within 48 hours without fail. 

  • LORELEILORELEI Posts: 128
    Will buy the Nippon Gel tomorrow and give it a go, thanks Sloth. Have used boiling water in the past , but like you Busyliz, it left patches in the lawn.
  • TheSlothTheSloth Posts: 38

    We had a massive ants nest in the kitchen, hundreds of them running all over the surfaces and floor. We put four blobs around the kitchen and turned off the lights. Within an hour the blobs are surrounded by a perfect circle of ants munching away. It is wonderful stuff. Don't get the Nippon ant traps though, they're rubbish, get the gel in a tube. If it's raining (and let's be honest it probably will be) make sure you cover it to stop it washing away. Good luck.

  • celia2celia2 Posts: 21

    Thanks for the info folks.  I didn't know there was a Nippon gel - have used the powder but I don't think it works very well on wet ground.  Probably be a good idea to cover each ant mound with a bucket after blobbing on the gel !   Must buy some.

  • LORELEILORELEI Posts: 128
    Too busy today to buy the gel but will definatly get some real soon. Yuk, all those ants in the kitchen running wild, shudder shudder !!
  • Elizabeth4Elizabeth4 Posts: 1

    Perhaps you should all study these amazing little creatures rather than shuddering and killing them.  Those mounds are created by the ants moving each and every grain of soil individually. They work together and in total peace - they do not fight or obstruct each other, just work tirelessly to get the job done. When an ant finds food it returns to the nest to tell the rest of the colony where to go and after eating they clean themselves and each other scrupulously. Granted, ants in the kitchen is not a great situation but if you remove their source of food by using containers etc they will move on as they are only taking advantage of easy meals. Please think hard before killing entire colonies of these, and other, tiny creatures. They all have a role to play.

  • LORELEILORELEI Posts: 128
    I only shudder to think of that amount of ants running around in a kitchen. I have had a few ants in mine (no food left around ) and I dont like it. I like to think I am quite good when it comes to the wildlife in my garden but sometimes things have to be moved on. My grandchildren play on the lawn a lot, weather permitting, and the last thing I want is for them to be covered in ants from all the nests. There is always some around I know but I dont want the little ones sitting on a nest.
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