4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[merlina]

For the past couple of years my garden seems to be infested with horrid red biting ants.

I've been bitten a few times - they come up in huge very painful septic lumps which leave a scar

 

I find nests and pour boiling water on them, only to find another nest within a day or two

 

I'm also a bit worried about the hens - would hens eat them? (I've had a search - some people say the hens eat them) but have also read stories of these ants killing small mammals etc

 

I'm generally 'live and let live', but I've had enough of these ants (and my garden is covered with scorched patches from all the boiling water).

 

Any suggestions gratefully received!

 

(I'd never even seen these ants before I lived here)

[Alis girls]

I ruined our lawm pouring boiling water on them. My hens dont have access to them. I put nipon on them - one year our lawn looked like it was moving - it was flying ants - shudders

[HappyhenSG]

Not had red ants but our lawn is infested with black ones! Have you tried Diatom? See the attached link from their own site - http://diatomx.co.uk/epages/eshop439661.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/eshop439661/Categories/FAQ/Pest_Control

[Charlottechicken]

I have red and black ants, lucky me

 

I put ant powder on the nests, it seems to work.

 

One of my hens used to love ants, and ate loads with no ill effects. None of my present girls like them, they do love the flying ones though

[The Dogmother]

Diatom usually stops them.

[Chicken deficient]

Apparently they don't like cinnamon. It certainly seems to stop them - I put a line across the threshold to keep them out and it worked.

 

Other bit of advice - don't walk with one in your shoe - they get really cross and sting like crazy !

[sadietoo]

I struggle a bit with this because I really am very much of the live and let live camp, but for the third year running we've had loads of ant activity in our ensuite bathroom ( bungalow) and so I liberally sprinkled some diatom around at the first signs...I dread to think where they are excavating now, but at least they aren't all over our bathroom anymore so I can definitely agree with other posters that diatom works.

[merlina]

Thanks for all the replies

 

I guess it's going to be diatom - I have plenty of that for the hens!

 

I'd thought of that before, but was a bit worried about other, beneficial insects etc. How long does it work for once it's down?

(this may be a daft question!)

 

Do you just spread it over the top of the nest?

[The Dogmother]

Sprinkle some anywhere you see them and along their paths.

[ems]

Nematodes

[Valkyrie]

We have both sorts. Green woodpeckers like ants! We have those too! Otherwise chooks munch their way through the eggs and then go bonkers when the ants start nipping!

[merlina]

the ant problem has calmed down - same as last year - there seems to be a couple of months - mid May - mid July when they;re particularly bad

Will definitely try the nematodes next year

(have discovered they nested in by bay bush pot and have just about killed that too - grrrrr!)

[Valkyrie]

If they are in a pot you can dunk it in water overnight - if it's a big enough bucket and a small enough pot.

[merlina]

If they are in a pot you can dunk it in water overnight - if it's a big enough bucket and a small enough pot.

 

that's what I did - but the damage was done by the time I worked out what was happening - pesky pesky ants!

[Valkyrie]

Darn it!

[RyanR]

Today must be Flying Ant day. I have just been for a walk with the dogs, and there are flying Ants everywhere, we seem to get one day a year when this happens, but it's bringing millions of Red Ants out of their nests.

I walked along a path covered with them, now I've got quite a few passengers. It usually happens earlier than this, it must be the very warm couple of days we have had.

[Space Chick]

I have two very swollen very painful bites from these evil creatures after weeding down the allotment on Sunday.

 

Vicious critters.... didn't think about diatom Shall be going down the allotment with some and getting my revenge

[merlina]

I thought I'd got rid of mine, but they've popped up again with a vengeance

Not been bitten again yet, but their presence means I'm usually in the garden in wellies rather than birkenstocks (hmm, well, the weather may also have had something to do with that)

Still have the scars from my first bites last summer tho

 

I assume diatom only works till it gets wet? (that may be a stupid question....)