Ants are attacking my worms

[garden ann]

I just had a bin filled with bedding materials and worms.

When I opened it up the next day there were lots of ants in there and were attacking some of the worms which were still on top.

I'm afraid all my worms will be gone soon.

[sakura]

Hmm, ants aren't too fond of water, I believe. Keeping your compost moist & mixed may help. You can also try spreading the compost out. Get a tarp and put the compost there. It'll make the ants confused and they'll scatter around. After a bit, you can put the compost back in the bin... which you should also make sure is clear of ants.

[rosiethumb]

My bin was also attacked by ants when I newly started and I increased the moisture content just to scare them off.

[wrigglerman]

try scorching the ants with a cigarette lighter...I did that once

[cosmic_girl]

Originally Posted by wrigglerman

try scorching the ants with a cigarette lighter...I did that once

Err, isn't that a bit more tedious? Hehe, what happened?

Usually, if I see something that the ants are clustered over, I just sweep it up. Moving it disturbs the ants and send them all scattering in different directions. More often than not, they don't come back.

You can try shaking your compost bin if it's small enough, then move it to a different location so the ants won't come back.

[John S.]

are the worms attacking your bin dark brown in color and stings like crazy?

I experienced that once and they just enjoyed swimming in the water so i painted the bottom of the bin with used engine oil so that they won't climb anymore and scorched the rest with a cigarette lighter.

scared them off eh

[vermigiant]

try making hot pepper juice and pour it around the base of your bin to discourage the ants. just be careful when preparing, it might land on your skin -------it stings like crazy.

[ladybug]

Have you looked around for their mound?

Pour hot water into the mound or on top of the bed where they usually are, few of them follow the worms deep into the bed. If you find their mound, pour hot scalding water on it.

[farmerbrie]

I got rid of ants using Terro . Just put a few drops of the bait and voila! bid goodbye to these critters.

[farmerpiper]

I used orange oil which i mixed with a gallon of water and a little soap solution. I poured the entire contents of the gallon into the mound of ants. I dunno if this is applicable to your case

[Edward12]

I did some detective work and finally found their nest. I followed different groups of ants until one army platoon unwittingly led me to their nest.

The kettle was ready with the boiling water and I poured it all over the nest. pretty cruel huh

If the nest is inside your bin or pile, and the boiling water will increase the moisture content, just add shredded paper to absorb the excess water.

---------- Post added at 03:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:54 AM ----------

Turning the compost regularly will also send a message to ants and mice that it is a hostile place to be in.

[John S.]

so how's your problem with ants, garden ann?

I read about a better way to get rid of ants organically---that is, without the use of insecticides because there is a possibility that this will also affect the plants applied with compost as well as the people who will eat the veggies.

This is known as the "Texas Two Step."

This is a long term-two phase process to get rid of your ant problems.

Phase 1. Broadcasting an organic non-toxic ant bait around the nest and food source, in this case, the compost. This is based on the principle that when ants feed on the compost they will also be bringing the bait with them to their nest and eventually the Queen will feed on it and be infertile or die. This phase is best done in periods where ants are scurrying everywhere to look and store food in preparation for the winter season.

Phase 2. also known as the drenching phase. The purpose of this phase is to get rid of the ants which were missed during the first phase. A liquid insecticide is poured on the mound to finish the job. Some will opt to pour boiling water instead of using liquid insecticide. But boiling water is only 60% effective.

[honeylemon]

Hope you got rid of your ants, @garden ann.

Ants in a compost is an indication that your bin is too dry. Moisten a bit and turn it to encourage ants to leave.

Maybe another reason why ants are attacking your worms is perhaps you are overfeeding your worms. Ants may be attracted to the food you are giving to your worms. Excessive food may also make your compost acidic which ants also like. Try to check the acidity of your compost.

[farmerbrie]

from Honeylemon...

Maybe another reason why ants are attacking your worms is perhaps you are overfeeding your worms. Ants may be attracted to the food you are giving to your worms. Excessive food may also make your compost acidic which ants also like. Try to check the acidity of your compost.

How will you know you are overfeeding your worms?

This is the first time I've heard about compost becoming acidic because of excess food.

[beezybody]

Originally Posted by farmerbrie

I got rid of ants using Terro . Just put a few drops of the bait and voila! bid goodbye to these critters.

I was about to buy Terro but when I looked at its label, one of the main ingredients was sugar (as the bait) and Boric Acid which I can easily buy at the Pharmacy.

Boric Acid is not toxic so you can store it in cupboards.

I poured several areas near the pile with boric acid and placed maple syrup in the center of the boric acid.

When ants are attracted to the maple syrup they will have to pass through the boric acid which will attach to their bodies.

I read that boric acid destroys the ants' exoskeletons. As they track through it, they also carry it back to their nest where it will kill even more ants.

[wrigglerman]

Other organic chemical baits you can use to destroy ant nests: Hydramethylnon, Boric Acid, Fipronil.

These baits are slow-acting which is an highly desirable in order to destroy the entire ant colony

and remember: baits only work if there is no other food source nearby

[farmerpiper]

Here's another discovery I made to get the ants vacate my compost bin: I added more manure which increased the temperature within the pile.

But I'm using it for a pile with just a few uninvited worms. The worms were still there when the ants disappeared.

[dumbledorf17]

Do you know that ants are not really classified as pests by horticulturists? They are generally considered as unwelcome tenants in your garden.

If you are keen on maintaining an organic garden, you might find it next to impossible to totally get rid of ants. But you can make your own ant repellent using substances which can be found in your kitchen.

Since they are very sensitive to odors, there are smells which they find disgusting such as certain essential oils (mint, camphor, tansy, clove oil). You can wet a cotton ball with any of these essential oils and put it in areas where ants are likely to pass or go.

Or if you feel that constant exposure to the essential oils have deadened their olfactory senses then make your own ant repellent by putting a handful of hot peppers in a blender with water to create a concentrated mixture which you can spread in problem areas.

[krissy]

I use sticky traps such as Tanglefoot, but if I ran out of Tanglefoot and I spot a battalion of ants threatening my garden then I just make sticky traps from adhesive paper strips which I wrapped around the base of the plants.

[honeylemon]

I have learned from a vermicomposter that the presence of large amounts of unprocessed food is an indication of an overfed bin. What he advised is to ease off with the feeding specially if you observed that the worms are not coming close to processing everything that you add.

Keeping the bin moist, stopping feeding for a week or two, and stirring the bin every day can eliminate ants. Fruit flies can be more problematic, and sometimes can only be eliminated by starting over. Short of that, stopping feeding for a couple weeks and using flypaper or other fly traps can work if the population of flies is not too high.

[mistermaster]

Try putting coffee grounds, grits, baking soda, or make a chalk line around the ant hill. These substances can repel ants and they make another mound somewhere else.