Is it worth it?

Megansmum · 15 April 2009 at 11:19PM

Urgh! I feel sick.... my plan for growing fruit and veg in the garden are well and truly out the window! Got the OH to lift some slabs today as I was going to use the raised path they were on as my new raised beds. Under the slabs it was teeming with weevil larvae and ants......

I ran around the garden freaking :eek: Even the hubby was grossed out by the sight of them. I now need to move my little plastic greenhouse and all my newly potted plants ( and this is the first time i have EVER taken an interest in gardening and growing fruit n veg!) asap to my new allotment - only problem is the allotment has been unused for a few years and needs shedloads of work doing on it before I can even think about planting in the ground :mad: It probably wouldn't seem such a big deal if I had the least idea of what I am actually doing!!

Is it really worth all the stress and effort?:rolleyes:

Why does my new "hobby" have to be so complicated? And does this mean my 20 month old daughter can't play in the garden any more?

ceridwen · 16 April 2009 at 7:41AM

Yuk! But I know one is advised to pour boiling water on ants nests - and I've had to do that myself a few times before now (or - to be more accurate - got next door neighbours to do this on THEIR ants nests). Presumably the other bugs wouldnt be too happy with this either?:D

Guess someone will be along soon that can give the definitive guide to getting rid of these creepy-crawlies...I wouldnt let them put you off...they're just a temporary problem to be dealt with...and then you get going again as per plan.

withabix · 16 April 2009 at 7:45AM

What did you think you would find under the slabs?

This is normal.

You've just taken the roof off their house - you'd be rather active if someone took the roof off yours!!!

Your garden has millions of 'creepy crawlies' living in it. What were you expecting exactly???

niksyg · 16 April 2009 at 9:37AM

The larvae won't do any harm to your little one, so don't worry about that....
It's pretty normal to have all those creatures living unawares under your slabs...we all have them there..after all, your garden is also a habitat. The larvae may do some damage to your veg once you started growing, but I don't think you should see it as the end to your plans!

Boiling water, and plenty of it should get rid of them and the ants...administer the water over a few days and you should be sorted...
Then you'll be able to carry on with your gardening plans! We all have setbacks - this year in my new garden I found that the idiot who last lived here put a wierd membrane under the entire garden stopping drainage so after some rain my garden turned into a pond...after much digging and effort it's all sorted! Very rarely do things involving nature run smoothly! Good luck!

AnxiousMum · 16 April 2009 at 10:44AM

Stick at it - it is soooooo worth it! Not only money saving, but your toddler will thoroughly enjoy going out into the garden to get her own fresh snacks.
The bugs will soon find a new home - either that or they will be pecked and eaten by birds......

tim_n · 16 April 2009 at 10:55AM

I've never poured boiling water on ants.

Infact generally I dig over the soil I want, the ants move home elsewhere. Last time they moved into some old black sacking, so I moved it out of the way to an area I didn't care about and they lived happily ever after.

Wouldn't worry about them eating your plants etc but they've airated your soil for you.

If it really worries you, just put the slabs back and grow in growbags.

Lotus-eater · 16 April 2009 at 10:56AM

Megansmum wrote: »

Under the slabs it was teeming with weevil larvae and ants......

I think you will find they are woodlice and ants. As said above, this is totally normal, obviously you have led a very sheltered life.

Gardening and growing your own food, can be hard work, an allotment is a responsibility, you will have to work very hard to clear it and set it up, at that point it will start to get easier. It is complicated to the beginner, it seems insurmountable, it's not, it just seems it.

Is it worth all the stress and effort?
That's entirely up to you, if you get stressed about a few ants and woodlice then either get used to it, or pick something else as a hobby. Cos you are going to be seeing and smelling a hell of alot worse as you continue in your gardening journey.

I hope you do stick at it and teach your DD more about the world in the garden, so when she has kids and lifts up a paving slab, she knows what will be under there. She also will be learning where her food comes from and will think nothing of eating stuff straight out of the garden, exactly as it should be.

Muffin99 · 16 April 2009 at 12:15PM

Hi Megansmum

I think for someone who's never done these things then you're doing really great to give it a go - so good on you!!

There's loads to discover and I think you and your daughter will find it rewarding - whatever you do - please don't give up!

You've done right asking for advice. As others have said it's totally normal and actually shows your garden is alive and part of an eco system which is good news :cool:

Now then the ants, you've uncovered their home and the birds will love you for finding them! Do you have many garden birds around? You can try the boiling water thing, but digging it over will certainly be a good idea as they'll be more to their nest further down - so raid that too!

Onto the weevil - are they woodlice as your slabs would have been ideal habitat? Here's a link to some pictures so you can identify them

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=woodlice&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

They won't do any harm at all

I use to find them under things in the garden when I was a little girl and they're harmless - once you get use to them they're quite sweet really! If you go to pick them up - go on be brave give it a go - they curl uplike a hedgehog, I think this is why I liked them!

Leave the slabs off the patch as you're basically saying "I want this patch now" and by changing the environment i.e. from dark sheltered land into open soil, you'll force them to move out elsewhere.

Hope this helps. Keep going!

EssexGirl · 16 April 2009 at 1:33PM

My hubby moved a paving slab in the garden the other day. There was an ant colony underneath it. We all stood around marvelling at the tunnels they had made, then put the slab back and left them to it.
If they were in the house, then obviously I would have to think about killing them, but unless they are harming you or your plants, please leave them be. They deserve to live as much as you do.

Now I'm off to relocate a load of newly hatched spiders from my bathroom.

lesley1960 · 16 April 2009 at 1:44PM

EssexGirl wrote: »

My hubby moved a paving slab in the garden the other day. There was an ant colony underneath it. We all stood around marvelling at the tunnels they had made, then put the slab back and left them to it.
If they were in the house, then obviously I would have to think about killing them, but unless they are harming you or your plants, please leave them be. They deserve to live as much as you do.

Now I'm off to relocate a load of newly hatched spiders from my bathroom.

After reading some of the posts I thought I was doing wrong by leaving ants alone !! ( even if i was , there is no way I would pour boiling water over them :eek:)

katskorner · 16 April 2009 at 2:07PM

You can educate your daughter with the life under a slab too - my boys love watcing creepy crawlies and learn to respect other lifeforms. They are an essential part of the garden and allotment ecosystem (the crawlies, not the kids!).

I won't repeat other advice in this thread but blimey, where have you been if you didn't think the garden would be full of bugs?

Is it worth it?

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