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N2H2o
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ANTS in my compost pile.

So I have always had a compost pile. this pile I have is fairly new,, maybe 10 months, and is full of Ants. There are very few worms, I am assuming due to the ants. I put mostly organic stuff in the pile, maybe once every great while I will toss a chicken bone in there. I turn the pile weekly and water it as needed. I really did not want to spray the pile with raid but did last week.

What can I do in the future to prevent the Ants from ruling my mulch pile?
I want worms not ants.....

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CharlieK
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I had a problem with ants and now sprinkle cinnamon whenever I see any. It really works and is a tip I learned on this forum. Best luck! :)

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rainbowgardener
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eew, eew, eew, sprayed Raid on the compost! :( Hopefully HG will jump in with some facts about how long it would take for that stuff to break down. I tried to look, but you have to know what the ingredients are, and I don't keep any on the property. But it's not biodegradable and I know what the warning labels on that kind of stuff look like... do not touch it, breathe it, etc etc. It is toxic to humans as well as ants. I would not use that compost on any food plants EVER! Personally, I would throw the stuff out. As HG likes to point out, part of what we are doing with compost is restoring the soil biology, with bacteria, fungi, insects, earthworms... Poisoned compost will do the opposite. I've never had ants in my compost. If I did, I'd try the cinnamon, boiling water, or just digging them out.

rot
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... 
The few times ants invaded I just turned the pile a few times and they basically went away.

I'd rather have ants than insecticide. Having said that, we just tented the house for termites. Compost safely tucked away elsewhere in the yard of course. All compostables removed from the house before hand too. The whole thing makes me itch.
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N2H2o
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OH NO.... not good.. oh man,, I knew spraying was a bad idea,, I have had ants on the pile for months,, turning every week,, they never went away,,, dang ants..

rot
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... 
After turning every week it sounds like the ants have moved in under the pile.

Build your next bin or pile elsewhere. If you want to reclaim the spot I would expect you could let it dry out some and then attack the ants directly with shovel and boiling water.

I don't know what you can do to remediate the insecticide. I've heard of folks digesting oil with oyster mushrooms. Maybe seed the remnants with mushrooms and throw a tarp on it. Could be difficult in Pasadena with summer coming on. Shade and water is all you could do to try and get the fungus going. Wait until the rainy season next winter to grow mushrooms if nothing else. Otherwise you could just allow it to dissipate with time.
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The Helpful Gardener
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Yeah the [url=https://www.biomedexperts.com/Abstract.bme/12094734/Mycoremediation_of_PAH-contaminated_soil]mycoremediation thing was a DOT test[/url] up in Washington state I think. Cool you heard about that, rot...



Here's an MSDS for "Raid" Ant Killer...

[url]https://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/safety/MSDS/RAID%20ANT%20&%20ROACH%20KILLER.htm[/url]

The half life of this stuff is 100 days with regular watering; it appears persistant in water, and plants do uptake it. It is a Schedule IV low toxicity, but to be safe, no veggie use for this batch...

HG

rot
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... 
Thanks again Mr Helpful Gardener. A lot to absorb in the white paper.

So RAID is another petrochemical for the most part.

The sprayed compost sounds like a bummer but not a major bummer. I'd have to go back and re-read posts but I'd probably put this batch on the back burner and introduce what I could to introduce more fungus and keep moist. Time to start a new one.

Oh well, wait'll next year.
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The Helpful Gardener
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Use it as landscape mulch to be safe and let's stop poisoning our biology; no plusses for plants there...

HG

dovehollis
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this may be a little late and I don't know what this would do to the beneficial little critters living in the compoast but I used I gal of white vinegar mixed equally with water and a bunch of caynne pepper mixed to kill ants in my garden. that was like 3 weeks ago and I havnt seen them back

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N2H2o
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dovehollis wrote:this may be a little late and I don't know what this would do to the beneficial little critters living in the compoast but I used I gal of white vinegar mixed equally with water and a bunch of caynne pepper mixed to kill ants in my garden. that was like 3 weeks ago and I havnt seen them back
Hmmm I will try this. The ants are back and kicking out the other critters. not to mention the chickens discovered the pile after a year. ugh..

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rainbowgardener
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well maybe the chickens will eat the ants? :?

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funnyguy
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If a compost pile is kept moist, as it should be, the ants wont like it. I would leave out the chichen bones - no animal products, or dairy. If you want to insure the earthworms remain, don't use poison, you'll kill your worms, not to mention yourself. As for adding vinegar, it will make the compost too acid for the worms. Acid conditions will kill worms faster than most anything. Worms in a compost heap are a good thing.

I have my compost pile off the ground on posts because we have an abundance of fire ants. I apply vasaline to the posts up a ways from the ground to keep ants and other crawlies out of my compost. If you see ants, check the moisture, remove what ants you can, lay a board along the top and the worms will crawl on the board to escape the water you just sprayed on. Remove the board and hose off the worms, somewhere away from the compost area. Check it for a few days to get out all the ants. Ants are an ongoing possibility - they like to eat, too.



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