Ants all over my strawberries and zuchinni

[tashtego_jwm]

I've done a bit of a search on the web and on here regarding how to get rid of ants that have invaded, but questions always come up.

Water/vinegar/soap mixture - so, vinegar doesn't harm fruits/vegetables?

diatomateous earth(spelling?) - ok, so this is organic, and I've read that it's okay near pets, but is it ok to use on your garden? On the plant or not?

I've heard boiling water works wonders as well, but if the nest is possibly beneath my raised bed, then all I can do is boil trails.

So, what's the best solution to get rid of ants? Thanks in advance

[The Helpful Gardener]

If under your raised bed the water will likely move them along (they hate wet and like dry sandier sites). They CAN tunnel around root systems and dry them some, but have you had specific issues with them yet? I have heard it estimated that ants move so much mineral content from the subsoil to the surface that modern agriculture would be hard pressed to grow without them. And check this idea out from India...

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/india/news/article_1379591.php/Ants_birds_tobacco_-_way_to_profitable_natural_farming

But if they have to go, then the Diatomaceous Earth works great and it's just silica and calcium carbonate, so actually good for veggies and you...

And don't put vinegar on the plants; it's a natural acetic acid, which we organic folk use as an herbicide. Nuh-uh...

HG

[tashtego_jwm]

I've read that ants are efficient at aerating your soil, but when I saw them just covering two of my strawyberry plants in the raised bed and a swarm of them under another container of strawberries, I was worried they were going to end up harming or eating the fruit and zuchinni that was right in between the two.

Thanks for the tip on the vinegar. Maybe from my old chemistry classes, but something didn't sit well with me about using it directly on my veg. I'm trying my hardest to keep this all organic because well it's one of the points of growing my own food.

[atascosa_tx]

try this..liquid molasses ...mixed with water..Lowes has it in a gallon jug. I was thinking..hmm..sweet stuff and ants don"t mix. I was wrong..2 weeks after giving my plants a weekly dose of that mix..mainly to feed the mycorrhizae (pardon the spelling) bacteria...the fire ants vacated and moved on.
Amazing..

[The Helpful Gardener]

Your spelling was fine Atascosa; your biology is a little off though. Mycorrhizae are fungii, not bacteria...

There are a few soil fungii that prey on insects and they do a number on them; catch the bit in Planet Earth for a whole new take on insect control...

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/149939/Planet-Earth-Ant-Fungus.html

This one is getting commercially available...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauveria_bassiana

HG