Ants: How do I stop the little devils?

[nch]

Hi I  got several questions on my spray rig and was asked to post pics. of the rods that I built to inject the ground like the pros do to get rid of termites and ants. Here it is >>===> copper 1/2'' tubing, reducer 1/2'' to  3/8'' as a tip    and some 3/4'' hose end fittings reduced to 1/2'', a regular threaded spray nozzle with thread at the tip, a 50' or 100' feet air compressor hose, (does not have to be high pressure hose )  with fittings, holding 25 or 100 gal tank ,a pump from (Northern Tools) on demand Diaphragm Pump 2.2 gal. @ 70 PSI ) and some simple soldering of the fittings.
This spray rig can be used to spray all plants and trees with Miracle Gro or anything else u want.
My pump has been going for ten years all u have to do is flushed with clean water and disconnect the hose so that it can dry up inside after each useand if u are going to stored for winter u can shoot some WD40 inside or some olive oil so that the Diaphargm wont dry up wont.

Thank you so much, Carlos, for taking the time to post pictures and instructions. I was one of the people asking you about your termite control. Thanks for sharing.

[Daintree]

I am having an ant issue in my greenhouse.  I went to repot my staghorn fern and discovered a thriving colony of very tiny black ants. I have a couple other colonies in my greenhouse, but since we flood irrigate, they tend to abandon the place in the summer.  But these seem to have moved to higher ground.
I don't had an aphid problem at all, so I am thinking they are eating other things. 
Haven't seen any damage on any of my plants, other than the occasional slug or earwig problem.

So I guess my question is, do I really have to get rid of them? Are they harming my plants in a way I can't see?  Or are they maybe helping, by eating detritus?  From what I can tell, they are just sugar ants, or pavement ants, or whatever you call the tiny black ones (I see them occasionally int he garden also).  We do not have fire ants here, and they are definitely not carpenter ants.  I felt really bad for the ones I disturbed - they were running around, all worried, trying to get their children to safety.

Thanks!

[Bush2Beach]

You could offer to pick your neighbors Citrus before it becomes a waste ( except to the ants) . Having fresh squeezed juice for your family and to offer to your neighbor would be a really nice thing. You could even trade or hustle the extra fruits. Confronting people usually sucks both ways. Good luck with the Ants either way.

Stop access to water,and be scrupulous with any leftover foods. Those are the ants two biggest needs.  If you can do that? I promise you will see a difference.

There is nothing I can do about the food supply to the ants because there is a six foot fence dividing my neighbors yard and mine… we both live on a hill; he lives on the top. He has many orange trees and doesnt pick most of the fruit… it usually falls off, gathers at the fence, rots, and gets swarmed by ants. Then a good portion of the ants come to my property. I have tried confronting him nicely about it but he doesn't seem to care.

Anyhow, thanks for the advice!

[knlim000]

diatamacious  earth also works and it's super cheap. But you need to make sure it's dry in the area you apply it to.  It even works wth weevil. 

[treefrog]

for nests away from valuable plants:

wait for sunset, when all the little buggers are home for the night.  pour 1/2 cup regular unleaded gasoline slowly into the nest opening.  cover the opening with an inverted bucket.

that's it.

gasoline vapors are heavier than air.  as the gasoline evaporates, it will flow down into the tunnels, displacing the air, suffocating the ants.  even the queens.  expect to have a "dead zone" of soil about a yard in diameter for a couple months.

[sobars_machado]

The Boric powder + sugar trick works fine. Mix 1 part boric powder & 5 part sugar + water to create the required consistency. Instead of sugar, you can use any fruit jam, that is much more simple. Mix all those ingredients together, put that on small pieces of paper and keep that around the area where the ants are. Let the ants eat that, do not disturb them, they will eat it and will take to their nest as well, feeding the queen. It needs couple of days to show the effect, but it will eliminate the whole colony.

There are some ants that dont eat sugar, but they eat protein. So instead of sugar you can use peanut butter, that works for them.

Some ants dont eat sugar or peanut butter, so you can just take some dry fish or shrimps, grind them as coarse powder and mix the boric powder in it. That's it.

[BrettBorders]

I use a product called Tanglefoot. It's a VERY sticky goo ants can't cross. I wrap a section of the trunk with wax paper tightly secured with masking tape and paint a band of Tanglefoot goo around the paper. Ants can't get up trunk.