Re: Ants............

why do gardeners feel the need to kill nearly every version of insect life???

Re: Ants............

Because they bite me to bits, and I have a very bad reaction to any bite.
and I do not want them in the house.
my next door neighbour, had them in her kitchen cupboard, thought she'd got rid, till she found out they were coming through the skirting into her lounge!
had to have the "terminators" in, they had to dismantle her units/carpets.
a right mess and a fair old cost!!
having said that, I do not kill spiders/wasps/bees etc.

Re: Ants............

Ants bite you to bits??..

Re: Ants............

YES,I always have to have antihistimines in the cupboard.
once went to Greece, my legs/feet were so covered in bites you'd have thought I have a disease!

and I still have the scars on my legs!

Re: Ants............

Are you sure they weren't flea bites...I can't imagine ''ants'' crawling up your legs to bite you!!

Re: Ants............

After working on an allotment for 10 years, I think I know an ant when I see one! I give up!

Re: Ants............

Not arguing with you Purdy..I have just never heard of it before..the reason I bought flea bites up was that I am allergic to them..I get big red weals..

I had to get rid of my cat..no matter what the vet gave him..or how much it cost me..he was hopping with them..

Re: Ants............

no offence taken Lilac!

Re: Ants............

I know the red ants are nasty little blighters for biting, and some people say the black ants bite too.

Re: Ants............

I'm a gardener and I don't try to annihilate all insects lilac but I do try to control those damaging my crops or flowers.

That includes ants in my home garden but at work the shear numbers of ants in the gardens are far beyond any control.

My problem at home is that neither of my immediate neighbours bother with their garden so the insect population descends on my cultivated patch to feed.

Much as I dislike having to use chemical sprays I have no real choice because I don't have the time to patrol my garden, zapping insects with environmentally friendly sprays all day - it's impossible!

I'm actually using fine mesh netting for my Cabbages, Lettuces and Chard this year and some Salad Leaf I've grown is kept in a mini-greenhouse.

I've yet to put out everything and I know I'll have a problem with Beetroot as I always do but Potatoes, Carrots and Parsnips I never get insect problems with, apart from the ants getting into my raised beds so I just have to put up with that. stevmk2