Ants in the lawn, how to evict

[Doing it for the kids]

lawn is about 350m2 and covered in ant hills.

We have gone way past the use of nippon i suspect. Planning a garden redesign so initial thought is to take the top 30cm or so off and get rid and replace but wondering if that will work.

Woukd pigs be any good? Willing to consider anything as if I spend the money making the lawn decent I don’t want them back( if that’s possible)

TYIA

 

[Exfarmer]

My experience is no, sorry.
We have a garden started from scratch , with complete regrading ten years ago.
We are fighting a losing battle agains ants despite the best efforts of myself and many birds.
They do not like anywhere which is damp, so gardening on sand over chalk does not help!

 

[Lincs Lass]

Chimney soot on the nest ,,it blocks their airways .

 

[Doing it for the kids]

Chimney soot on the nest ,,it blocks their airways .

Must be over 80 hills. Will this kill them or just move them on

 

[Lincs Lass]

Must be over 80 hills. Will this kill them or just move them on

It wont do them any good ,,its so fine they will carry it back to the nest and as ants are meticulous cleaners ,they will either die for not breathing or ingestion .
Your lawn might look rough and youll have to keep dogs and kids of it for a bit but its worth a try and cheaper than digging of tons of soils ,only to get invaded again

 

[Bogweevil]

Just rake/brush out hills, they will soon be gone. No approved pesticides but you can use nematodes, but only worth cost for finest turf

 

[milkloss]

What if you chucked a few bags of diatomaceous earth about?

 

[DrWazzock]

What if you just accepted it's part of the natural world and enjoyed watching the birds pecking away at them.
When I lived in the village I was blamed for losing the best kept village competition because of the state of my lawn.
I could not really see the point in soaking it in MCPA and 2 4d just so that it looked a uniform green mat all over.

 

[RushesToo]

@Doing it for the kids Not good news with kids. I have green woodpeckers that do a grand job of keeping on top of them. I am absolutely sure pigs would be brilliant - but not kid friendly

I would try the suggested diatomaceous earth, soot if you must [but not nice] I would also try some cow muck and anything that increases general soil moisture holding capacity - but mostly like Dr. Wazzock it comes with the territory. Live with them, there's not much you can do to fight nature.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Chimney soot on the nest ,,it blocks their airways .

And soap flakes mixed in with it or laundry powder.

 

[Full of bull(s)]

Try icing sugar mixed 2:1 with bicarbonate of soda, works a treat here and cheap. The ants love the sugar and take it back to the nest. They all have a feast, the kicker being ants can’t fart so the bicarb literally blows them up. Boom!

 

[Exfarmer]

I have used spinosad succesfully on the patio. It is marketed as an organic pesticide. You can buy it in bulk as opposed to those stupid little blocks . It is based in sugar so you must be careful of children and pets.
If you lay it under blocks the ants will soon find it.
I would think you would beed a lot for a big lawn!

 

[7610 super q]

Play the full five minutes of Mull of Kintyre. Nothing, but nothing can stand that....

 

[farmerm]

I got a field full of the blighters... some of the ant hills are knee high, maybe I need 20T of soot from the tower of the local power station before they knock it down...

 

[Gong Farmer]

I have used spinosad succesfully on the patio. It is marketed as an organic pesticide. You can buy it in bulk as opposed to those stupid little blocks . It is based in sugar so you must be careful of children and pets.
If you lay it under blocks the ants will soon find it.
I would think you would beed a lot for a big lawn!

Spinosad is the only thing that has worked on them in our greenhouse. It can be dissolved in water and dribbled on, which might help with larger areas.

 

[Yale]

Try spreading some burnt lime around.

That may have an effect?

 

[MaryKolibri]

Try spreading some burnt lime around.

That may have an effect?

Thanks for the idea. I think it might work with flies too. Though according to this page diatomaceous earth is still a thing because it's natural and non-toxic. Also, it can be safely used as a home barrier.

 

[yellowbelly]

This is how it's done.....

 

[Doing it for the kids]

I’m digging 600mm out of the whole garden and then reviewing!

 

[averageguy54]

A little heavy handed with the petrol.