Topic: Ant hills, mole and chafer grubs

[superspud]

Life is never easy is it. My bee hives are a bit worse for wear, however I seem to have no less than 3 major ant hills in the back garden, and they seem to all have wings!, I also have a number ( 10 ) of hills in the front garden by the cherry trees, the garden is heavily made up of sand as the builders left their rubble in it when the houses were built. Our cat Mikki bless his heart left us a dead mole on the back step so I am unsure ir it was this making the holes out front. I tried to get rid of the ants with nippon and tescos powder but their still a pain and not getting any smaller. Any ideas on how to get rid of the litle monsters ?.

Likewise we dug a plot in the back garden about 2m x 20 metres and we filled 2 large jam jars with the chafer grub, god how I hate those ugly white things, they remind me of my mother in law!. I sprayed with the nemotodes a while back but their still changing into beetles, I wonder just how many are in and under the grass both front and back......


any ideas on exterminating the little blighters ?

[taurus]

boiling water for the ants I found did the trick.  Haven't suffered with the others.   ;D

[goodlife]

Hi Superspud..you said you sprayed with nematodes...literally?..as those should be mix with water and watered in..
When did you actually do this?..it needs to be done right time of the year and in right conditions...and those crubs that are in last phase of the change into beetles are not much effected anyway..
..and with severe infestation just one application will not have total impact..thats if you got other conditions right in first place.
Some years there is almost epidemic with chafers..In midlands we had it last year ..so when number are really bad..no solution will work that well..

[superspud]

Sorry, yeah sprayed = mixed and sprayed over with watering can,. I used the bayer Provado stuff last year and the year before, but the sods are still in the lawns.

I'm just watching my cat chasing a huge brown rat round next doors garden, the rat was eating the bird food of the table when Mikki saw it, never seen our cat climb so fast or a rat run so quickly. very funny to watch.

[goodlife]

Well...wether you used nematodes or provado stuff(chemical) both will need another application in same year to be effective..yeah..I know..label says..but really they do...first one late spring..personally I like to wait few weeks after chafer beetles have actually mated...and then you apply another one late summer/autumn..so you catch those that you missed (and you will do) for onset to the winter....
Now with the provado the aplication time is not so crusial as it will stay in soil some time ..but with nematodes soil conditions are vital..too cold..nematodes do not survive..too dry and they cannot actually get through soil where larvae is..and with them you have to keep the soil moist after application for some time as it is not fast solution..
either way..you never will get rid of them you will only going to manage the damage..as I bet your neighbour or his neighbour won't go through the trouble...

[colt]

Hi superspud the only thing that I've known to work on the chafer grubs is Merit turf the link to the site is here http://www.escience.bayercropscience.co.uk/BCSWeb/ES/BCS_UK_GreenWS.nsf/id/UK_Merit_Turf?open&ccm=100010

I help with a local football/ cricket club and have been plaqued by them fot a few years now but we used the merit turf stuff and touch wood seem to be winning the war lol. Our local allotments sell it in smaller amounts but if a few of you buy it it works out cheaper to buy a full tub.

[goodlife]

It is the same chemical from same company..sold under Provado for domestic use and under Merit for professional use...

[colt]

Hi the stuff from merit is granules that you spread over the area to be treated