[earthing83]

So I opened the bottom of my compost bin today, ready to take a bucketful out and I found, not only lovely compost but thousands of ants and what I presume to be ants eggs...lots of them. i have no idea if this is a problem? Ants don't do any harm generally in the garden do they, but in these numbers have I got a problem on my hands?

[Beetroot queen]

ewwww my bin is also full of them, I tried to hose on them to move them on but it didnt work

[Trillium]

Only way to get rid of them is to stir up their nest and they'll move on. They don't bother the garden other than be a nuisance where you don't want them. Pull out the compost, give it a moistening down and tip it all back in and fluffing as you go. The ants hate this, particularly when the heap heats up, and they'll move elsewhere.

[Babstreefern]

I totally agree, disturbing the ant's nest will get rid of it.  I'm always surprised, but no matter where you look, you can never find them when they've gone.  Just shove a stick in amongst them before you leave for the day, and when you vist the lottie next day, hey presto, they've vamoosed

[woodburner]

Got chickens? Ants don't stand a chance, well the nest and eggs don't! 

[SarahB]

If you're feeling brave, there's a good meal to be had there... get a large tarp, and fold the corners in.  Then dig out the grubs and ants, and chuck them into the middle of the tarp.  The ants will grab the grubs and stack them in the dark corners, from where you can retrieve them.  They can then be lightly fried in butter.  I'm told they taste nutty.   

[Spana]

Got chickens? Ants don't stand a chance, well the nest and eggs don't! 

Yep, same here My chickens love ants eggs , also maggots

[Jamie Butterworth]

I had this exact problem today when it came to moving the compost, my dad panicked and its know all in the skip He was worddied that the would get in the house. Is this likley?

[8doubles]

Got chickens? Ants don't stand a chance, well the nest and eggs don't! 

I`ve still got a 6" deep hole in the lawn from the hens finding an ants nest .

I also opened a bag of garden centre compost to find i had bought an ants nest as well.

[Trillium]

I had this exact problem today when it came to moving the compost, my dad panicked and its know all in the skip He was worddied that the would get in the house. Is this likley?

Not likely unless you've got lots of sweet things on the ground around your house, like honey, rotting fruit, etc. If the ants aren't in the house now, they're not likely to be. Too bad all that compost was wasted.

[earthing83]

For others with the same problem-I read up a bit on it today and apparantly having an ants nest in home made compost is a sign that it's too dry. So as Trillium suggested I will get the whole lot out, give it a hose down and a mix up. I really don't mind creepy crawlies, it's the eggs, they just freaked me out a bit. For someone who loves getting muddy and up to my elbows in the garden, I surprised myself by my reaction!!!

[earthing83]

p.s I can't believe how big the eggs are...for such tiny creatures!!

[8doubles]

I think the large eggs you see are the one`s that fly off to start new colonies , the queens and whatever a male ant is called.

[azubah]

I just leave the ants to it. They make lovely compost by eating all the big bits.

[JayG]

Must be a good year for ants!!!

I'm currently a refugee from one of my daleks which I lifted off the contents to find an ant paradise (well it was until that very second!!)

Never happened before; I'll give them (and the birds) half an hour and then go and give them a bit of a shake up. I actually feel a bit sorry for them; all that hard work undone in an instant by a nasty human!