[NAFEX] ant colonization of containers

John S swim_at_svc at yahoo.com
Sun Jun 8 22:02:17 EDT 2008


Thanks all for the information.

I grow most of my gooseberries and blueberries in large containers so that I can move them into the bird house for protection until harvest.  Some of the containers  develop ant colonies.  Moving the container does not destroy the colony, so I know that somewhere in the pot is a queen.

The best method I've heard about it to use boric acid baits after fruit harvest to destroy the colony or else do a major transplant where remove as much soil as possible to get rid of the queen.    I would then have most of another year to reduce boric acid in the soil and presumably in the plant (if the plant can take it up)  Transplanting shocks the plant while boric acid baits leave me with some concern about long term toxicity.

The tangle foot idea is great for protecting the plant in the pot, but would not destroy the colony as the ants would be free to forage outside of the pot.

Mark & Helen Angermayer <hangermayer at isp.com> wrote:       I've wrapped saran wrap around the trunk (tape  would probably work fine) and put tanglefoot on it. 
  
 Mark
 KS
    ----- Original Message ----- 
   From:    John S
   To: nafex at lists.ibiblio.org 
   Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 9:56    PM
   Subject: [NAFEX] ant colonization of    containers
   

Personal circumstance requires me to grown a number of fruits    in containers.  Ants have a tendency to take up residence in the    container.  I would not care much if it were not for the aphid farming    that takes place, but that can eventually hurt the plant and the    fruit.

I'll periodically transplant in hopes of finding the queen, but    this is not always successful.  What's the best way to get ants out and    keep them out?

Thanks




      
   

---------------------------------
    
_______________________________________________
nafex mailing list    
nafex at lists.ibiblio.org

Reproduction of list messages or archives    is not allowed.
This includes distribution on other email lists or    reproduction on web sites.
Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so    don't claim you have permission!

**YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO    POST!**
Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are    discarded.
No exceptions.  
----
To subscribe or unsubscribe, go    to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change other email    options):
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex

File    attachments are NOT stripped by this list.
TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF    FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
Please do not send binary files.
Use plain text    ONLY in emails!

NAFEX web site:   http://www.nafex.org/      

---------------------------------
    
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.    
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.24.6/1485 - Release Date: 6/5/08    10:07 AM
_______________________________________________
nafex mailing list 
nafex at lists.ibiblio.org

Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed.
This includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on web sites.
Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have permission!

**YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!**
Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded.
No exceptions.  
----
To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change other email options):
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex

File attachments are NOT stripped by this list.
TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
Please do not send binary files.
Use plain text ONLY in emails!

NAFEX web site:   http://www.nafex.org/



       
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/private/nafex/attachments/20080608/d7981816/attachment.html 


More information about the nafex mailing list