Ants in compost bins

Hello all, I went to the plot yesterday and was surprised to find ants in two compost bins already. This has happened before but later in the year. I need to use the compost to top dress raised beds before planting, so could do with the ants gone.
I am cautious about using chemicals like pesticides (permethrin) as this could kill other helpful organisms in the compost, so am unsure what action to take. I am aware that there are nematodes specifically for dealing with ants, has anyone tried these and were they successful? What other methods can you recommend for dealing with the problem?

Hello all, I went to the plot yesterday and was surprised to find ants in two compost bins already. This has happened before but later in the year. I need to use the compost to top dress raised beds before planting, so could do with the ants gone.
I am cautious about using chemicals like pesticides (permethrin) as this could kill other helpful organisms in the compost, so am unsure what action to take. I am aware that there are nematodes specifically for dealing with ants, has anyone tried these and were they successful? What other methods can you recommend for dealing with the problem?

There used to be a simple answer for this. Borax, mixed 1 part borax to 3 parts sugar. Take a spoon of that, place it on a plastic lid, mix with a small quantity of water to make a thin syrup, leave that on top of the compost in your bin for a day or two. Ants gone, guaranteed. If you happen to have borax or boric acid still around the house, try that. If necessary, there are ways to put the borax bait in a container that keeps it away from children and pets, but accessible to the ants, such as a perforated plastic container.

Boron itself is a plant micro-nutrient, so if a little ends up in your compost accidentally, no problem (over here, I've read recommendations to apply low doses of borax as a nutrient for brassicas).

Unfortunately, sales of borax in the UK /EU are banned now, based on some really flawed interpretation of science, followed by flawed legislation https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://moralfibres.co.uk/is-borax-safe/&ved=2ahUKEwiPvrjZhNXvAhWHLc0KHdiOC2oQFjAAegQIAxAC&usg=AOvVaw16mAUVDkuboqxa6yYsAAh2

If you can find another substance to mix with the sugar in a bait, that is as safe and effective as the borax, try that.

Quote from: Thrutchington on March 28, 2021, 12:05

Hello all, I went to the plot yesterday and was surprised to find ants in two compost bins already. This has happened before but later in the year. I need to use the compost to top dress raised beds before planting, so could do with the ants gone.
I am cautious about using chemicals like pesticides (permethrin) as this could kill other helpful organisms in the compost, so am unsure what action to take. I am aware that there are nematodes specifically for dealing with ants, has anyone tried these and were they successful? What other methods can you recommend for dealing with the problem?

There used to be a simple answer for this. Borax, mixed 1 part borax to 3 parts sugar. Take a spoon of that, place it on a plastic lid, mix with a small quantity of water to make a thin syrup, leave that on top of the compost in your bin for a day or two. Ants gone, guaranteed. If you happen to have borax or boric acid still around the house, try that. If necessary, there are ways to put the borax bait in a container that keeps it away from children and pets, but accessible to the ants, such as a perforated plastic container.

Boron itself is a plant micro-nutrient, so if a little ends up in your compost accidentally, no problem (over here, I've read recommendations to apply low doses of borax as a nutrient for brassicas).

Unfortunately, sales of borax in the UK /EU are banned now, based on some really flawed interpretation of science, followed by flawed legislation https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://moralfibres.co.uk/is-borax-safe/&ved=2ahUKEwiPvrjZhNXvAhWHLc0KHdiOC2oQFjAAegQIAxAC&usg=AOvVaw16mAUVDkuboqxa6yYsAAh2

If you can find another substance to mix with the sugar in a bait, that is as safe and effective as the borax, try that.

Borax is still for sale on a certain online auction site , just ordered some for household cleaning jobs .

8doubles, I have a 4-pound box of '20 Mule Team' (brand) borax that will probably last me the rest of my life. I hope you can lay in a supply for ant control as well as cleaning!

One kilo tub for just under £8 inc p&p or two kilo tub for just under £10 which i went for should last me a while !
Never had an ant problem that a kettle or two of boiling water did not cure !

Thanks for the suggestions, i really want the compost out of the bins to dress a raised bed. I have found some borax for sale somewhere online, so will get onto it and let you know how it goes.

Great! Note that what you will see the first few hours after the ants find the bait is an increase in ant activity (the ants that find it let the colony know of the new food source). That high activity persists for several hours to one full day.  Then over the next day, the number of ants will quickly decrease.

Good luck!