How do I get rid of ants?
By Pendred
United Kingdom 
My husband decided to move the position of a couple of stepping stones and found ants underneath. He had sprayed the area with ant powder but this happens ever year. Any ideas please?
10 Aug, 2009
Answers
I agree with Bamboo - boiling water is the quickest, powder seems to work but you see some of the poor thngs struggling about coated with poison, seems a bit mean, even to ants. Also I'd do it soon before the little flying jobs start massing for take-off!
10 Aug, 2009
They don't like disturbance so maybe you could move the stones and hoe under them every so often. Or encourage a robin to visit the site to eat them?
10 Aug, 2009
I've got to the stage in my life where I don't kill insects just for the sake of it. If the ants were coming in the house then I would do something about it but I just let them get on with it in the garden. The slugs and snails do more damage than ants as far as my garden is concerned. Getting soft in my old age!!
10 Aug, 2009
Why do you want to get rid of the ants? Really, you're just trying to hold back the tide by killing them. They do no real harm in teh garden and in fact they do act as preditors and kill other insects which could otherwise be a problem.
As I said to someone else on here recently, ant powder is a poison which is not designed or licenced for outdoor use - it will kill anything and everything that ingests it, not just ants. Birds, mammals, beneficial insects, frogs and even cats and dogs can be effected by it if they lick it. Use enough of it and it can enter the water table and get you into trouble with the Environment Agency.
10 Aug, 2009
move house
11 Aug, 2009
The ants have probably been under the stone forever not bothering anyone......
11 Aug, 2009
Just watch out for them in your containers! They kill the plants...the roots get disturbed. I speak from experience! (I wrote a blog, too!)
11 Aug, 2009
Yes, they can be a nuisance in that sense. Did you find a solution B? Or do I need to read your blog? lol
;-)
11 Aug, 2009
not sure if this will work under paving stones but try the link below. My lawn was one massive ants nest, i tried everything but this was the only thing which worked. its called Nemasys® No Ants
http://www.greengardener.co.uk/product.asp?id_pc=6&cat=1&id_product=123
12 Aug, 2009
Ants love being under paving stones, so they'll always try to build nests there, but if you've opened up an area and found a nest, the best thing (though it sounds terrible) is to get a kettle of boiling water, open the nest right up and pour on the water.
10 Aug, 2009