Ants In The Lawn

[waltekar]

How can you get rid of ants in the lawn permanently?

[Buenchico]

The RHS policy is that ants should be tolerated wherever possible, as attempts to remove them may prove counter-productive:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Profile?pid=503

[TonyV]

Flying ants were out and about a couple of days ago locally it is that time of the year.

[woofgang]

set your lawn up in a sterilised hermetically sealed globe with no access to the real world. Its the same as everything else in nature....if your lawn is a suitable habitat for ants, then ants will come.

[waltekar]

Thanks for your comments, but it doesn’t make me feel any better when there are so many mounds in my lawn and it is impossible to ‘brush’ away the soil as it just becomes mud and one big mess. I guess there is no easy solution.

[Ryzen]

Put half a bottle of gin and 4 ltrs of water into a 5 ltr watering can...sprinkle over the lawn...it wont affect the ants but the grass will come up half cut:-)

[Tilly2]

That's funny, Ryzen. It made me laugh.

Waltek would you like my moles? They will eat your ants.

[alavahalf]

In my poly tunnel they used to take up residence and as you say, they turn the soil to mush. When they become a problem it is best to get rid of them.
What I do is get some Borax ( readily available on ebay for a fiver) and some caster sugar as ants love sugar.
Mix just one or two spoonfuls of Borax and the sugar together with a tiny bit of water .... make a paste. Spread it on a bit of cardboard and put it down near the entrance to the nest, in fact if you have loads, put a number of mixes down .. the ants disappear and thats it. No fuss, no mess and no ants.

[Old_Geezer]

Apparently you can get nemotodes that get ants to opt to go elsewhere.
Nematodes get expensive though if you have to top up all season. How much is a perfect lawn worth ?

[waltekar]

Some funny answers, made light of the situation, but thanks alavahalf - sounds like a great solution. Thanks.

[alavahalf]

Have used nematodes for slugs, but as you say they become very expensive if you re apply at recommended intervals.

[woofgang]

I haven't found the nematodes work too well. I have got a lot of big plants growing in huge tubs and when ants make their homes in them the water runs straight through the ant runs and doesnt wet the plant roots so they have to be made to move. The nematodes have to be applied to wet soil and then the soil has to be kept wet for days afterwards. They nemaotodes don't kill the adult ants but will eat the grubs so the adult ants up sticks and move away. It works in the tubs but in open ground they will just move a few feet and nest again

[Chipchopper]

I'm lucky enough to plenty of insectivorous birds visiting the garden, notably the green woodpecker, which keep them down to an exeptable level.
"No picnic is complete without ants"

[Khandro]

I hate the green desert type lawn - boring!

[New Judge]

You will never permanently rid your lawn of ants and in any case there is no need to. They are excellent at aerating the soil and this is especially useful on a lawn where the soil tends to become compacted.

"Flying ants" are newly hatched males and virgin queen ants. After taking flight they mate (whilst aloft). Many nests take flight at the same time (so as to ensure cross-breeding). So violent is the mating process that the males literally explode and die, their sole purpose of inseminating the queens having been fulfilled. The queens land, shed their wings and form new colonies (in somebody else's lawn!).