Boric acid and ants
Carol Moholt
I was given this receipe for an ant control:
3 teaspoons boric acid
1 cup sugar
3 - 4 cups water
but the person who sent it to me neglected to say how it is to be used.
Any suggestions? The ants here this fall are they've been in the nine
years we've beein this house/garden. They are everywhere. And since it
looks like we're going to have a mild winter, I want to see if I can
reduce their population somewhat.
Any ideas appreciated greatly.
Regards, Carol Moholt
Bill Morgan
In article <MOD$970912...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>, moh...@gardens.com
(Carol Moholt) wrote:
It depends on the species of ant.
First of all, you want to make sure you are poisoning only those which are
actually pestiferous, and not those which are harmless or beneficial.
Second, this type of bait is not equally effective for all ants; it works
best with those which have a "sweet mandible". Those which eat a lot of
sugar will be easily dealt with. Those which use many food sources will
require more diligence. IT may take many treatments to destroy a large nest
of mound ants, for example. Some ants are more effectively dealt with using
grease or protein based baits.
The idea is to set up bait stations in areas that the *particular ants you
want to kill* are foraging. The workers will lap up the bait, take it home,
and feed it to mom, the larvae and their other sisters, resulting in the
death of the colony.
You should treat for a few days in a row, making sure the bait is kept
fresh. This is generally long enough to see an effect. In multiple queen
species (e.g., pharaoh ants), you may need to repeat application every
couple of weeks for awhile. This is because pupae are not killed (they
don't eat), so when they emerge, there may be new queens among them.
The recipe you have produces an enormous amount of bait. Generally, I put
the stuff out with an eyedropper, making a number of stations. Then, I can
renew the bait in any treatment period to deal with things like: the ants
ate it all, the rain washed it away, it dried up and is less appealing to
the ants.(It is best to put it on a non-absorbent surface [glass, metal,
plastic] and in the shade.) Believe me, a little of this stuff goes a long
way. For example, the commercially-available bait Terro is similar to what
you describe, and comes in a much small container, which lasts a long time
if used properly. [Terro is actually slightly different from what you
describe: the poison is borax, not boric acid.]
Regards,
Bill
--
Bill Morgan
wtmo...@pilot.msu.edu
Center for Room Temperature Confusion
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Carol Moholt
In response to my question about a boric acid/sugar/water recipe for ant
control, Bill Morgan wrote:
> First of all, you want to make sure you are poisoning only those which are
> actually pestiferous, and not those which are harmless or beneficial.
I'm not sure what these ants are, but they are small, do eat sugar, but
also food of other types, and are a problem all over the valley in which I
live. Usually I let them alone, but this year they are in everything
(including many container-filled ornamentals). Because of their
relationship with aphids, I'm having a hard time keeping my aphid
population under control, and an increased problem with sooty mold. (I
ususally keep the ants out of trees by putting a barrier of tangle-foot
around their base, but this season they are in every tree and every shrub
-- they use low growing bushes and plants as "bridges"-- it's really
problem.) There is literally, not one square inch of garden that doesn't
seem to be covered with scouting ants. Plus they are coming into the house
from every possible location -- I can't leave cat food out on the floor
for more than 1/2 hour without having the kitchen covered with ants.)
In smaller numbers, these are probably harmless and may have some
beneficial attributes, but their natural balance is terribly out of whack.
Plus, due to where I live (near the coast of the San Francisco Bay Area),
we are going to probably have a very mild winter due to El Nino and so I
see no help from nature in terms of getting them down to a more manageable
population.
>
> The idea is to set up bait stations in areas that the *particular ants you
> want to kill* are foraging. The workers will lap up the bait, take it home,
> and feed it to mom, the larvae and their other sisters, resulting in the
> death of the colony.
I'm still a little dense about the actual application, what do you mean by
a bait station? Do you simply set out a piece of something that won't
absorb the liquid, like a jar or bottle lid, and then fill it with the
eyedropper of mixture?
Regards, Carol
Bill Morgan
In article <MOD$97091...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>, moh...@gardens.com
(Carol Moholt) wrote:
Yes, that will work. You do not need to fill the lid, though. A few big
drops in the lid will work. In the lab, I will take a microscope slide and
but 4-7 separate drops of Terro on it. Eventually, each will be surrounded
by a circle of pharaoh ants lapping it up. This maximizes the contact area
for the ants. If you fill a bottle cap, you are wasting the stuff in the
middle, which the ants can't reach.
Jim and Sheila Reed
Carol Moholt wrote:
>
> In response to my question about a boric acid/sugar/water recipe for ant
> control, Bill Morgan wrote:
>
> > First of all, you want to make sure you are poisoning only those which are
> > actually pestiferous, and not those which are harmless or beneficial.
>
For Bill Morgan--
1. I'd think any ant that invades the house is a pest--here in S.
Florida the biggest problems are fire ants, plus ghost ants, pharaoh
ants, black pavement ants and carpenter ants.
We still spray inside to keep ants from being a problem, but do not
spray our lawn or gardens. Can you define which ants you think are
harmless or beneficial? Do you have a reference or source to cite?
> I'm not sure what these ants are, but they are small, do eat sugar, but
> also food of other types, and are a problem all over the valley in which I
> live. Usually I let them alone, but this year they are in everything
> (including many container-filled ornamentals). Because of their
> relationship with aphids, I'm having a hard time keeping my aphid
> population under control, and an increased problem with sooty mold.
For Carol --
My experience is that the aphids come first, and the ants come to
collect the honeydew (which is also responsible for the sooty mold).
Perhaps your ant problem on some ornamentals might lessen if there were
other beneficial insects in place to clear out the aphids, or you took
some other steps to get rid of the aphids. I think if you can remove
the aphids and the honeydew they leave behind there'll be nothing there
to attract these sugar-eating ants.
Regards --
Bill Morgan
In article <MOD$970913...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>, Jim and Sheila Reed
<Ree...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> Carol Moholt wrote:
> >
> > In response to my question about a boric acid/sugar/water recipe for ant
> > control, Bill Morgan wrote:
> >
> > > First of all, you want to make sure you are poisoning only those which are
> > > actually pestiferous, and not those which are harmless or beneficial.
> >
> For Bill Morgan--
> 1. I'd think any ant that invades the house is a pest--here in S.
> Florida the biggest problems are fire ants, plus ghost ants, pharaoh
> ants, black pavement ants and carpenter ants.
Carol indicated ants in both house and garden. Her original post did not
indicate whether or not these were the same kinds of ants, nor did it
indicate what problems,if any, were caused by the ants outdoors. Also,
there are undoubtedly other species of ants around, and it is always good
pest-control practice to limit the killing to the narrowest possible
spectrum.
As to whether or not ants In a house are pestiferous, I consider that to be
a product of their numbers and activities. An occasional straggler running
around is not really enough (IMO) to warrant any action. If there are six
lane highways of pharaoh ants through the house, you would be foolish not
to take action. If there are a few carpenter ants cruising through the
house, they may or may not represent a problem warranting control. If they
are nesting in the wood of the house,they are symptomatic of structural
damage that needs to be attended to.
> We still spray inside to keep ants from being a problem, but do not
> spray our lawn or gardens. Can you define which ants you think are
> harmless or beneficial? Do you have a reference or source to cite?
Ants engage in many types of activities, some beneficial, some harmful. It
isn't the case that one species is always pestiferous and another always
beneficial. Many times, it depends on the situation as the same species may
have a mix of behaviors, some beneficial and some pestiferous.
Perhaps the main beneficial impact of ants is that many species work and
aerate the soil. On a world scale, they are about as important as
earthworms in this regard. In the tropics, they are somewhat more
important, in temperate regions somewhat less so (though still quite
valuable even in the temperate zone). Many of these are ants you seldom or
never see: tiny ants which live most of their lives underground, or which
are so small you'd never notice them aboveground. You'd be surprised at the
numbers and diversity of ants present in a cubic yard of good soil. There's
a small, yellow species that I only encounter once a year, when I
double-dig the garden. Most people probably have never seen these: that
does not mean that they are not around, or that they are rare, just that
their habits are unobtrusive. (I'm assuming that they occur more widely
than in my little garden plot...)
Another beneficial activity of ants is predation. Not all ants are
predators, but many are. (They are essentially wingless, social
ground-dwelling wasps, after all.) Among the predators, some are
generalists, feeding on a great variety of prey (African driver ants), some
are specialists, feeding on only a single family or order of prey.
There are some large mounds of a species of Formica in my lawn which I
leave untouched simply because I know they act as generalist predators in
the garden (and because I'm not that picky about the lawn). These same ants
also tend treehoppers on the sunflowers (much as many ants tend aphids),
but that never seems to harm the crop significantly, and having the
predators around is a great benefit. (BTW, they are also scavengers, so
they pretty much do it all...)
In natural ecosystems (and in semi-natural landscaping), ants also play a
role in planting the seeds of some plants. Many of the woodland wildflowers
(e.g., Trilliums) are planted primarily in this manner. Some plants are
more highly dependant upon this than others, but it is quite common. Many
ants also visit flowers for nectar, and are pollinators. In most cases they
are minor pollinators, but for some plants, certain ants are the exclusive
pollinators.
[snip Carol's lines]
> For Carol --
>
> My experience is that the aphids come first, and the ants come to
> collect the honeydew (which is also responsible for the sooty mold).
Realizing of course, that not all ants tend aphids; a distinction which
seems to escape some of the people over on the main garden group.
> Perhaps your ant problem on some ornamentals might lessen if there were
> other beneficial insects in place to clear out the aphids, or you took
> some other steps to get rid of the aphids. I think if you can remove
> the aphids and the honeydew they leave behind there'll be nothing there
> to attract these sugar-eating ants.
>
Ants are extremely diverse and abundant. E.O. Wilson is perhaps the
"two-legged ants'" greatest authority on the six-legged ants. Although not
all his books are intended for the general audience (and are therefore
expensive: that's the way the publishing industry works), if you are
interested in the topic, you might be able to find some of them in the
library. His "The Insect Societies" (1971 Bellknap Press of Harvard
University Press; ISBN 0-674-45495-2) isn't too terribly technical and is a
good intro not just to ants, but bees, wasps, termites and a bunch of "also
rans" that aren't quite social.
He has a more recent volume entitled simply "The Ants", but unfortunately,
I do not have a full reference to that. Perhaps someone else out there can
help me out on that....
Naturally, the problem species get more press: it is easier to find
literature on say, fire ants than on the little yellow guys (ok, gals) from
my garden. Problems get noticed and attract research in a way that
non-problems do not. That's just the way things work.
Bill Morgan
In article <MOD$970916...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>, deban...@aol.com
(DEBANRICK1) wrote:
> Where do you buy Boric Acid?
>
At phine farmacies everywhere. Any drugstore will do, as will the medical
section of most large groceries.
DEBANRICK1
Bill Morgan
In article <MOD$970916...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>,
al...@u.washington.edu (Allyn Weaks) wrote:
[snip]
>
> Since I just happen to be logged on to books in Print:
>
[snip]
Allyn: can you give us the URL for BIP, PDQ?
Sounds like a great resource to me.
Allyn Weaks
In article <MOD$970914...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>,
wtmo...@pilot.msu.edu (Bill Morgan) wrote:
> Ants are extremely diverse and abundant. E.O. Wilson is perhaps the
> "two-legged ants'" greatest authority on the six-legged ants.
I finally 'discovered' Wilson a couple of months ago when a misshelved
_Diversity of Life_ leaped to my attention. Great stuff--well organized,
beautifully written, clear and easy to follow but not patronizingly
oversimplified. (And there are several people I know who I wish could be
required to read it before they spout off again that 'there's plenty of old
growth forest left, and it's only those ignorant emotional greenpeace
fanatics who say otherwise".) It's nice that Wilson is prolific,
too--gives me a lot to look forward to!
> He has a more recent volume entitled simply "The Ants", but unfortunately,
> I do not have a full reference to that. Perhaps someone else out there can
> help me out on that....
Since I just happen to be logged on to books in Print:
Author: Holldobler, Bert. Wilson, Edward O.
Title: The Ants
Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Year: 1990
Pages: 752p.
Illustration: Illustrated
ISBN/Price: 0-674-04075-9 Cloth Text $75.00 (Ingram Price), $75.00
I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but if the writing is anywhere near
as good as in _Naturalist_ and _Diversity of Life_, it should be
approachable by a patient non-specialist.
>From _Naturalist_:
"One day, as Holldobler grew more serious about leaving [harvard], we
decided to write a book recounting everything we knew about ants. And
while we were at it, we asked ourselves, why not try for a book that has
everything _everybody_ ever knew about ants, throughout history? Such a
project would take a great deal of effort and time, and it might fall short
of the goal we set. But what a worthy conceit! Try for the impossible, as
Floyd Patterson, the undersized heavyweight boxing champion of the world
once said, in order to accomplish the unusual. The result was _The Ants_,
published by Harvard University Press in 1990. It contained 732 double
columned pages, hundreds of textbook figures and color plates, and a
bibliography of 3000 entries. It weighed 7.5 pounds, fulfilling my
criterion of a magnum opus--a book which when dropped from a three-story
building is big enough to kill a man.
...
I later learned that our book was only the fifth on science ever to win
a Pulitzer Prize, and it was the first with a primarily scientific content,
written by specialists for fellow professionals. Soon after I left
University Hall that day, I called Bert and asked him how it felt to win
America's most famous literary award. Note, I reminded him, not scientific,
_literary_. Wonderful, he replied. They would celebrate in Wurtzburg."
If _The Ants_ sounds like too much of a mouthful for an introduction,
there's another book showing up in BIP, which judging by the title and
price, is presumably intended for the general public:
Author: Holldobler, Bert. Wilson, Edward O.
Title: Journey to the Ants: A Story of Scientific Exploration
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Pages: 321p.
Year: 1994
ISBN/Price: 0-674-48525-4 Trade Cloth $24.95 (Ingram Price), $24.95
--
Allyn Weaks al...@u.washington.edu
PNW Native Wildlife Gardening: http://chemwww.chem.washington.edu/natives/
Any advertisements sent to any of my email accounts will be billed $25 per
message, $1 per character, including all header lines. No exceptions.
Sending such mail constitutes agreement to these terms.
Rebecca M. Gebhardt
In article <MOD$970916...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>,
wtmo...@pilot.msu.edu (Bill Morgan) wrote:
: al...@u.washington.edu (Allyn Weaks) wrote:
:
: [snip]
:
: > Since I just happen to be logged on to books in Print:
:
: [snip]
:
: Allyn: can you give us the URL for BIP, PDQ?
:
: Sounds like a great resource to me.
Bill,
I believe it is only possible to access the Books in Print database using
some kind of authorized method. I do so via an InfoTrac connection
accessed by telnetting into the university library server from an
authorized account. I would assume you would be able to do the same at
MSU.
InfoTrac is also available, on site, at either our local public library or
at the University library. But some kind of clearance is necessary for
online access.
--
Regina Reno, NV zone 6 elev 4500'
Naomi Diesendruck
Bill Morgan <wtmo...@pilot.msu.edu> wrote:
>
>In article <$%1248rec.gardens.ecosystems>, deban...@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Where do you buy Boric Acid?
>>
>
>At phine farmacies everywhere. Any drugstore will do, as will the medical
>section of most large groceries.
True, but that would be the medical grade (higher quality control)
and more expensive than the kind sold for insect control. I've bought
boric acid (advertised as roach control) from mail-order houses pretty
cheaply...."Home Trends" is the only one which comes to mind, but it
can be found in many catalogs for home & garden products.
- Naomi
Allyn Weaks
In article <MOD$970916...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>,
wtmo...@pilot.msu.edu (Bill Morgan) wrote:
>Allyn: can you give us the URL for BIP, PDQ?
Unfortunately, it seems to be something that UW licenses. At least the
only way I know to get into it requires a UW IP number. People with
accounts on commercial services such as aol might be able to get to it,
though there could be an added connect fee. People at universities should
ask their librarians if the school is subscribed, and if not, why not (the
answer will probably be expense. I've heard tell that BIP is high on the
money-grubbing totem). It's also worth while asking bookstores what they
do with their old paper copies. Employees probably have first grab, but
you might get lucky.
>Sounds like a great resource to me.
Yes, it's lots of fun. But there are unfortunate side effects: my wish
list has grown enormously, and given that at my current reading rate I can
probably only manage to read another 1500 or so books in my remaining
expected lifetime, it's frustrating too. I have yet to figure out a good
triage scheme, so I'm still using my 'whim vs. what's easy to grab'
algorithm.
A possible alternative to BIP: Amazon.com, though I don't remember if they
display the ISBNs. After a brief glance, I have resolutely stayed away
from there. Not only can they send you pretty much anything from BIP, but
it's pretty convenient. Much, much, too dangerous for those of us who
can't say 'no'!
--
Allyn Weaks al...@u.washington.edu
PNW Native Wildlife Gardening: http://chemwww.chem.washington.edu/natives/
Any advertisements sent to any of my email accounts will be billed $25 per
message plus $1 per character, including all header lines. No exceptions.
Bill Morgan
In article <MOD$97091...@rec.gardens.ecosystems>, nao...@shell1.tiac.net
(Naomi Diesendruck) wrote:
You are right about that, and thanks for pointing it out. If you're not in
a hurry, you can find it that way. If you are in a hurry, go to the
drugstore, and get med grade. Sometimes you can find insecticidal grade at
hardware stores and nurseries. Not always, but it is worth a try. I use med
grade only because it is something I already have around the house, and why
buy something extra? I don't use that much...
I should also add that while the pharmaceutical grade is fine for mixing as
an ant bait (it dissolves in the sugar/water solution), it is not so good
as a roach control, as it is not powdered. The insecticidal grades are
usually a fine powder. The powder is placed in roach areas, and when they
walk through it, they get it on their legs and antenna. When they clean
themselves, they ingest it. (BA is a stomach poison). The big crystals are
not so easily picked up as the powder, and are thus less effective than the
powdered in this kind of situation.
herl jennifer l
Does anyone know if boric acid is effective against crickets? We've had an
invasion of them, and a couple seem to have found their way into the wall
behind the stove. There is an opening where we could spray, or squirt some
powder in.
If boric acid is no good, how about diatomacious earth?
--
Jenny Herl | "The world has enough for everyone's need,
jlh...@uiuc.edu | but not enough for everyone's greed."
University of Illinois |
Urbana-Champaign | --attributed to Mahatma Ghandi (1869-1948)
Harriett Wright
Jim and Sheila Reed wrote:
>
> We still spray inside to keep ants from being a problem
What do you use? Here in NJ I tried copious applications of every spray
I could get my hands on, and still had ants in three different sizes. I
solved my problem with commercial baits--bought every brand available,
and put one of each kind in places where the ants could get to them but
the cats couldn't. Worked like magic.
Harriett
jitte...@webtv.net
Dear Carol-
I use karo syrup to mix with my boric acid which I buy at Walmart. I
usually mix about 1/2 c syrup with 1-2 teaspoons of the boric acid and
stir it up good. Let it sit overnite and stir it up again the next day.
I put mine out in tea cup saucers where the cats can't get it. The ants
always find it. This is also very effective for roach control at my
house.
If you need to keep catfood down on the floor, you might try this: Take
a deep dish, glass pie plate and place a small bowl in the middle.
Fill the pie plate with water. Put you cat food in another bowl
identical to the one in the center of the pie plate. I use this outside
for the dogs food and to keep ants out of my potted herbs.
Hope this will be of some use to you!
yours,
Debbie Jackson
Kurt Bilinski
Jim and Sheila Reed <Ree...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>My experience is that the aphids come first, and the ants come to
>collect the honeydew (which is also responsible for the sooty mold).
>Perhaps your ant problem on some ornamentals might lessen if there were
>other beneficial insects in place to clear out the aphids, or you took
>some other steps to get rid of the aphids. I think if you can remove
>the aphids and the honeydew they leave behind there'll be nothing there
>to attract these sugar-eating ants.
In my experience (and observation), when a lady bug bettle lands on a
plant which has aphids, if ants are tending the aphids, they will chase
the lady bug away.
I find if I use the sticky goo around the plant to prevent ants, the
aphids disappear.
Kurt
jwarn...@excite.com
This discussion group might be helpful:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ipm/msg0622204413443.html