[Kabby]

Finally finished digging the second of my two beds and unearthed a number of ant nests with red ants in.....what to do?  Will they be a problem if I just leave them alone or do I need to do something to get rid of them?

[muntjac]

leave em be .... thye shoot formic acid and eat bugs .they will however heep aphids as " cows " so you need to keep an eye on the green bugs  

[DD.]

In my limited experience, ants are only a problem when they come into your house & start eating the sugar. In the garden - no probs., other than Munty says, they are a pointer to greenfly which are easily squisshed between fingers.

[Trillium]

Personally, I get rid of them. The nests will only continue to grow in size and number and become a real nuisance when they start to bite you when you work the plot or try to harvest. And believe me, the bites sting! The nests eventually become so large that veg roots will suffer severely when they're pushed aside or stripped. Don't know if the UK has products where you put a few drops of a sweet nectar laced with 'queen killer' by the hill openings. Takes a while but eventually the queen then the whole nest dies.

[Kabby]

Better avoid putting my beans and peas in that bed then....!  I had aphids all over my sweet peas last year and I couldn't understand what the ants were doing up there as well - now I know!

[DD.]

Personally, I get rid of them. The nests will only continue to grow in size and number and become a real nuisance when they start to bite you when you work the plot or try to harvest. And believe me, the bites sting! The nests eventually become so large that veg roots will suffer severely when they're pushed aside or stripped. Don't know if the UK has products where you put a few drops of a sweet nectar laced with 'queen killer' by the hill openings. Takes a while but eventually the queen then the whole nest dies.

We're talking benign UK ants here, not Canadian mutants!!!!

[GrannieAnnie]

I've got red ants in my front border Digger and they bite too!!!!  Especially when you are kneeling down trying to weed the border!!!!  I won't tell you where they got to lat year!   OUCH!! :o  :o

[Trillium]

Reds have almost the worst reputation in the ant world Digger, can't see how yours would be so tame. Regardless of ant colour, the nests will grow in size and push out crops - not the ideal thing if you're working in limited space and having to share with these thugs.  Even our 'tame' black ants can soon have a sizeable hill and breeding a lot of 'cows' to suck dry your hard work. If you have unlimited space, it's no big deal, but Kabby's got space problems. I don't, but still have problems with both colours. It's no fun when they want your space and you suddenly find them crawling all over you and the reds trying to bite. Been there, done that, and I'm not the one who's leaving  

[DD.]

I've got red ants in my front border Digger and they bite too!!!!  Especially when you are kneeling down trying to weed the border!!!!  I won't tell you where they got to lat year!   OUCH!! :o  :o

Red Ants? -I'll tell you a story.

When I was in the boys in blue, we had to go for training with riot shields, petrol bombs etc.. (I hereby acknowledge that Munty has gone through more than this).

Anyhoo, after being got thrown at, burnt at etc..... I sat eating my police force packed lunch on the provided seating - the ground. The result was worse than what came before.

[Trillium]

Kabby will need to decide for him/herself what to do. I kill them only when they're right in my veg garden or building yet another mountain in our lawn, otherwise I leave them in peace. There's room enough for both of us, except where I'm working or regularly walk.  

[Trillium]

Kabby, check out   www.antnest.co.uk/species.html    

[muntjac]

you may think that your jobs was easier than mine digger mate but i will say no your occupation was and still is more hard than any soldiers no matter where they are....ok  i / we done a few wars yeh but in them we had the licence to kill the enemy .........you have to say please and thank you to animals i would have shot without thinking , you and your mates are the hero's in my book  .....all credit to ya uniform

 incidently my lads joining your mob in forensics etc when he graduates  

[muntjac]

anyways back to red ants ......... as i pointed out thye have good points but also a couple bad ones ,,, inicidently the fire ants in usa or australia make ours look like cuddly puppies ...... a shot of formic acid at 3ft in ya mush certainly makes ya feel not wanted lolo.

[loubylou29]

leave em be .... thye shoot formic acid and eat bugs .they will however heep aphids as " cows " so you need to keep an eye on the green bugs  

SO what happens here?? My sunflower last year was covered in greenfly and black ants, I didn't understand it... please explain.

[richyrich7]

They "milk" the aphids by stroking the aphids butts and the ants get a sweet sticky substance to eat.

In return they defend the aphids against predators like ladybirds and also carry them from plant to plant.