Ants

[Solitaire]

Ants have moved into my row of Beetroot will they do any harm and how can I get rid of them

[Capsid]

I haven't found that ants do any harm to beetroot or many other veg really. You could try watering to make the ground really wet as the ants don't like damp conditions.

[els]

don't think they'll harm beetroot. i've got some in my compost bin- is that alright?!!

[voddybabe]

i had them last year among my beans and left them alone, as they decided that black flys were a tasty treat and kept the bugs down. Very helpful little fellows i found.

[oldie]

I have heard several people saying that there have been more ants than ever in the past two or three years. They don't do a lot of harm, although they farm aphids, and are really just a nuisance. The red ones do give you a little nip if you get them on your skin. I was told to sprinkle polenta or maize meal around the nests. The ants take this in and feed the Queen on it but it does kill her. With no Queen the nest will die. It does seem to work. Pouring boiling water on the nest will also kill them.

[Solitaire]

I've got loads of ants, in the veggie beds, fields and flower beds.

[annacruachan]

Sprinkling borax mixed with icing sugar round the nest and on their tracks will kill them, but I would not use borax near plants or anywhere where animals could lick it up. Anything that eats aphids is good in my book. The worst they can do is give you a nip now and then.

[oldie]

I'm not sure that ants eat aphids. They farm them simply to feed off the sugary stuff on their bodies not to eat them. So actually they are encouraging the aphids.

[BFG]

They protect them from predators, move them to new plants and even overwinter them in their nests ready for spring!

[gojiberry]

I find ants are more of a pest in potted plants and have never bothered to try and control them on the lottie. When you dig the beetroot up and disturb the nest they will move on. I try not the let them bite me as I usually have a reaction to any sort of insect bite and end up with quite a sore spot.

Ian