Ants and cinnamon

[Mikey]

I read somewhere the other day that ants hate cinnamon and won't cross it, has anyone experienced this phenomenon?

[Bill HH]

Thats a new one to me.

[Nicos]

There are a lot of traditional methods used over here...some of which...

1:1 icing sugar and plaster

basil plant

powdered eggshell

draw a chalk line across their route

lemon juice

powdered charcoal

wrap unspun wool around the base of a plant

salt

leaving a piece of bleach soaked cloth near their nest

warm white vinegar on nest or wiped across their route

scatter crushed garlic to deter them

and yes....cinnamon powder.

Personally I have used ground polenta ( cornmeal) sprinkled about the nest.
It does work but you have to keep using it for a while.
The ants apparently explode after eating it.

Those are a selection from several French posts I found on t'internet.

hope that helps?

[Florence Fennel]

Personally I have used ground polenta ( cornmeal) sprinkled about the nest.
It does work but you have to keep using it for a while.
The ants apparently explode after eating it.

Pity that doesn't work on snugs, that would be fun

Cinnamon would deter me, I can't stand it.

[Nicos]

just spotted sugar and borax ( soap) too!

[alldigging]

I've seen it put on beehive legs to stop ants.
I'm not convinced ants are that much of an issue with a healthy hive.

Ants on the allotment are normal. Water works really well and it doesn't have to be hot.

[GinaD]

Hi I had a huge best of ants in the trug in my greenhouse last summer. I bought a bottle of lemon juice and poured it on the soil and they were gone the next day.


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[Bill HH]

What damage do ants do? I have plenty in my garden and had a nest in the compost but didnt notice any damage anywhere.

[Feral007]

I'm having problems atm. In the front garden you can't step foot on it, without about 20 running up your jeans. Not nice! Harvesting what little there is, is getting hard.

Also have a massive nest near the front gate, had always thought leave well enough alone.
Due to the huge numbers it's now not possible to open and shut the gate without some catching a lift.
I nearly had a serious accident the other day when one ran up my leg and started biting me.
And I nearly caused more accidents, since I thought I might have to strip off on the side of the hwy. Luckily I managed to crush it when I grabbed at the material.

Maybe I should put polenta in my socks, Nicos?

Really, I usually try to leave them alone because I've been told they eat white ants, and they are huge problems around here.

[Mikey]

Well ants like to groom a variety of greenfly and aphids, they secrete a substance that is sweet which feeds the ants, so the ants protect them from other predators. I've heard of rice grains being used in the same way as polenta, they eat it and it expands in their stomachs. Its a bit gruesome for my liking though. Unlike boiling water of course!!

[snakeshack]

Golden syrup or honey mixed with borax under a cover near the nest works, they take it back to the nest and pass it around, takes about a week but usually eradicates the nest just keep replenishing until they stop taking it


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[Patchninja]

Exploding ants. Aarrgghhhhhhhh!!!