Raspberry eating Ants?

the_little_one

I have ear-marked a spot to put my raspberry/ gooseberry and currant canes in the garden, but just gone down to plant them and there are billions of black ants covering the lawn in that area.

If I go ahead and plant the canes, are they likely to eat my berries?

It may take more than a few kettles of water!

absfabs

We have lots of ants in the garden. Have never noticed them eating the raspberries, or anything else, to be honest.

They do crawl all over young leaves and blossoms if you have greenfly, but they are after the sticky stuff they secrete, as far as I know, not the leaves or petals.

I have resorted to kettles of boiling water when they swarm on a hot summer's day, but otherwise we leave each other alone.

Steel_2

They won't eat the berries but they could nest in the roots and eventually kill the plant. I've lost my greengages and recently a lilac bush to nesting ants, but managed to save my potted rhododendron by taking it out, scraping all the earth off, dunking it in water for a day or so and then repotting in fresh compost.

Bane of my life ants, although two of my chickens have thankfully developed a taste for the zingy red ones!

Jnelhams

Many years ago in a time before EU, a teaspoon of Jeyes Fluid in a gallon of Water, watered on to the ground affected would rid you of Ants, and sprayed on Roses for Blackspot. However Jeyes would destroy lettuce and fuchsias, and was not good directly on food crops. (it is tar oil and potentially cancerous)

Of course every one knows that using Jeyes Fluid other than as household disinfectent is now illegal under EU law.

balloo_2

I read somewhere that dry semolina is good for getting rid of ants they take it to the queen and she eats it and pops when it swells in her tummy. Nippon is another good one its like jelly and place a little blob on a lollypop stick or something similar and again they take it to the queen. :j

Jnelhams

Try telling that to the Ants. Nippon is next to useless these days, I think the little blighters are immune to it.

Davesnave

Jnelhams wrote: »

Try telling that to the Ants. Nippon is next to useless these days, I think the little blighters are immune to it.

I tried whisky laced with sugar. They died happy!:D