Help - it seems we have a nest of browny/red/black ants that come out whenever someone is near them and BITE! they got my feet and arms this week and the bites are really nasty - normally I'd just leave them to their own devices but they're next to my broad beans which need picking and my 3 year old nephew is always at the plot so I don't want him to get bittem. So
1. What are they?
2. Should I try and get rid of them or are they there to eat the blackfly or other nasties on my plot?
3. If yes to above - How??! (we're trying to be organic so is it ok to kill ants?)
thanks, love scratching, sore arms/legs of east kent x
They kill a lot of pests, but yes, some of them do bite. To take an extreme example, my mother grew up in Malaya, where they had occasional visits from army ants, which move around the place (they don't have a permanent nest) and eat everything in their path. They just used to move out for the duration, and every pest would be cleared out of the place for them.
How big are your ants, and what does the nest look like? Some UK ones do have a nasty bite, but you can discourage them with boiling water, or kill them with jam mixed with a little borax. It's not organic but it is selective.
they're slightly bigger than the normal ants you see in kitchens/houses, and I haven't got close enough to look at the nest (ouch!) I think it's either hidden under the raised bed or under the path which is covered in weed suppresing membrane
If you want to be organic you can use Ant nematodes
Try here- http://www.greengardener.co.uk/details.htm (http://www.greengardener.co.uk/details.htm)
I know the ones. Borax and jam will soon get rid of them. Put it near the nest, inside a jar lying on its side or something similar. It's a slow killer so they take it back to the nest and most of them will die. You may not get rid of them altogether, but they won't be a nuisance for a while, at least.
much as i like to be organic I like the borax idea - where do I get this from?
Chemist, or an ironmonger's might have it.
I have these on my plot too dirty, they leave me with big welts wherever they bite, and yup it is sore for hours!! I now carry anti itch stuff in the car.
I have noticed the more I am working the beds, the less I see of them, and when I come across them I turf open the nest and run away in the hopes the birds will feast on them!
Interesting that Robert, when we lived overseas we too mixed borax and jam or sugar, put in a jam jar and punched holes in for them to take it out, we also did a mix of tuna and borax, because they said there were also "savoury" ants! Don't know if it was an old wives tale or not, but the tuna used to dissapear too! ;D
I bet it did, they like meat.