posted May 14, 2014 12:31 PM            

I don't want to be too heavy handed with the DE this year, as I want to be mindful of the bees and other critters who like to crawl around...

So I placed cinnamon sticks around the strawberry plants (I broke them apart first), but it doesn't seem to be deterring them much.

posted May 17, 2014 08:40 PM            

------------------
Want To Ask Any Question About Bible Prophecy? Go For it. It is Free, of course.

posted May 18, 2014 05:46 PM            

But yeah, these are thatching ants, which are very large, and appear slightly deterred by the cinnamon, but not enough to make a difference).

I really don't want to hassle with the Diatomaceous Earth much this year, if I can avoid it (and I don't want the mint taking over my vegetable garden, heh).

Last year I really had to get out and put that stuff all around the rocks that make the border of our garden, as well as all over our walkway...to thin out the hobo spider population, as well as the thatching ants.

But I discovered that a lot of other little friends who I enjoy having around (snails, beetles, wolf spiders) went almost completely missing as a result.

So I'm trying really hard to avoid anything that will actually kill any of them.
Dusted some DE in the nooks and crannies of the rocks, where the hobo spiders like to hide, and then had to cover the deck with a thin layer, due to the fact that I kept seeing carpenter ants around (presumably from the neighbor across the street, who seems to constantly be cutting down trees for some reason).

posted May 22, 2014 10:57 AM            

------------------
Want To Ask Any Question About Bible Prophecy? Go For it. It is Free, of course.

posted May 22, 2014 12:17 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ami Anne:
What else would the D.E kill, Violets?

---

Anything with an exoskeleton, Ami.
Beetles, snails, spiders (most spiders are good, imo) BEES , butterflies...

So it's important to be mindful of where some of those creatures land, and whether or not the wind is blowing, etc., when you use it.

It's not good to do it if there's a wind, because of course it then gets blown willy-nilly, and can hurt some of our friends.

posted May 23, 2014 11:00 PM            

------------------
Want To Ask Any Question About Bible Prophecy? Go For it. It is Free, of course.

posted May 26, 2014 12:31 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ami Anne:
Really, the DE gets bees?

---

Yes, it can and it does.

They have exoskeletons like spiders and ants, and although the bumblebees are covered with hair on much of their body, they will often attempt to groom the DE off, if they happen to get it on themselves.

Also, don't forget that if they land in it directly, it will then be on their little feet.

So I try to be sparing with it, and haven't used much of it at all this year (we'll see how I feel when it's time for the hobo spiders to find their mates).

Also, as a personal rule, I don't like to bother the creatures who aren't posing a direct threat or undue nuisance to me.

The ground beetles around here don't do much. They don't hang out in the garden, and neither do the snails. It made me really sad last year when I noticed a marked absence of all of those little creatures.

But anyway, yeah. It's important not to get the DE on any flowers, especially.
And I try to avoid putting it around any of the flowering plants much, because I don't want any bees to accidentally land on a rock or something that's been dusted with the DE.

posted June 07, 2014 12:25 PM            

I haven't tried lemon yet, so perhaps I'll give it a shot. But jeez, I've tried everything else from cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, garlic, cayenne pepper sprinkled around the rocks. They avoid it for a while, and then apparently they just get used to it...?
I even saw them walking right over the cinnamon sticks I had laid out. Hrmphh.

They're not the little sugar ants that people tend to see in their kitchens, though.

Some are thatching ants, which are kind of large compared to the sugar ants (although not as big as a carpenter ant or a termite), and here they're red and black. As a kid we always called them "red ants". Their bites hurt, and leave a small welt!

But I haven't noticed as many of the large thatching ants this year, thankfully. It seems to be a different type of ant...not sugar ants (or odorous house ants). I think they're pavement ants.

Anyway, they don't seem deterred by much, except that the DE definitely works on them.
But since their bites don't leave such a nasty sting like the thatching ants do, they aren't bothering me much this year.

posted June 07, 2014 04:02 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Randall:
We call them fire ants.

---

Oh, lordy. Thankfully, no...they're different from fire ants. Not nearly such a sting, and not as aggressive. I've never lived in an area that had fire ants, but my brother lived in Florida for a while, and he had to contend with them. Ouch!

posted June 08, 2014 01:17 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by teasel:
Now I'm picturing each of those as a Saturn or Pluto transit for bugs. It creates problems for a while, and then they just learn how to deal.

I've sprinkled crushed eggshells around a few of my squash seedlings, because they've been chewed, and part of the leaf was missing.

---

The Saturn/Pluto transit analogy, ahahahaha! Priceless, Teasel.

I may have to resort to drastic measures against the slugs, as one of my flower plants seems even more chewed up than it was.

But maybe I just didn't get enough coffee grounds around that one. The other ones seem okay (at least not worse, anyway), and I've been too busy with harvesting my herbs and other things to go out with the coffee grounds again.

posted June 08, 2014 01:24 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by Randall:
They are all over here.

---

Oh, good Lord.

Well, the Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) will get rid of them, but from what I understand they are (like all ants) terribly prolific, so it would take a really long time, I would imagine.

Other than that, I'm not aware of anything natural that actually gets rid of or deters fire ants. :-/

Our thatching ants are like a smaller, milder version of them. Not such a horrible sting, but it hurts worse than the bites our local wolf spiders offer, for sure.

Eh...I think we're only dealing with pavement ants here now mostly, so I apparently did a reasonable job of clearing the thatching ants out of my garden last year.

posted June 09, 2014 12:39 AM            

Oh well. I do leave them alone now, since they're not stinging me anymore (the thatching ants do still reside at the other end of the yard, just not in my garden).

posted August 09, 2014 08:03 AM            

------------------
Want To Ask Any Question About Bible Prophecy? Go For it. It is Free, of course.