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Ants in raised bed

eyeball_kideyeball_kid Posts: 13
in Fruit & veg
Hi all!

I was inspecting one of my raised beds this morning and it looks like ants have moved in. Are they ok to be left there or is it better to try and get rid of them? If so, what’s the best way without damaging crops? I’m currently growing first early potatoes and parsnips in it. 

Many thanks!

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Ants often move into raised beds as they’re drier than the surrounding soil, especially at this time of year.  Potatoes need plenty of watering so the ants will probably move on. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Captain_ChaosCaptain_Chaos Posts: 60
    Ah. This helps me too. I'm in the process of filling in a pond and had covered the (partially filled) hole with the liner to stop any weeds growing. When I pulled it back last night, I found thousands of ants had decided it was a nice home.  I gave it a very good soak with the hose as I'd planned to do anyway, to get the soil to settle into the broken slabs deeper down.  Hopefully the soaking will make them think of elsewhere...and NOT the house :)
    Growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.
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