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Re: ants

I think Boric Acid will kill bees and there are not that many left.
what some folks do is put the boric acid in a jar with a lid with holes
in it so the ants can go in and get the boric acid and the bees cann't.

On
Mon, 30 Jun 1997, Bill DeWitt wrote:

> Toni Office wrote:
> >
> > There isn't a problem with ants, until they start farming aphids all over
 the
> > garden.  That's when they need to be eliminated!  I'd prefer not to have
> > aphids all over my vegetables and I really don't want to see my flower
 leaves
> > all curled under with hundreds of aphids underneath.
> >
> > I'm sure there is a middle ground somewhere between totally wiping out my
 ant
> > population and the 60's philosophy below!
> >
> > Toni
> >
> > In a message dated 97-06-28 12:20:40 EDT, you write:
> >
> > << I can't *imagine* why ants in your garden or  anywhere outside your house
> > would be such a concern that you would seek to eliminate them!  Hasn't it
> > occurred to you that you might not completely  understand the role of ants
 --
> > or many of the other garden creatures which  are more of a nusiance than
> > anything else -- in your garden or in the world?   Don't you realize that
> > when you use poison to eliminate one "pest" you will  eliminate many insects
> > you might want to keep -- spiders, ladybugs, etc.?
> >
> > How ever do you cope with gardening at all, what with its constant barrage
 of
> > "icky" insects, bugs, worms, spiders, grubs, rot, dirt . . .
> >
>         I think that the disparity of opinions are largely based on
 differences
> of intent. I planted my garden with the intention of feeding my family.
> I don't want bugs eating my family's food. Some folk put in gardens as a
> hobby, they can deal with a decreased harvest in return for the feeling
> of being one with nature.
>         When the latter start making declarative statements about what the
> former must do or not do I get nervous. For instance, it is very
> possible to use a poison to kill one insect without killing others, it
> just takes more care. But some folk don't want you to use 'poisons' so
> they use extremist propaganda to try to scare you.
>         The truth is somewhere in the middle as Toni pointed out. I would use
> Boric Acid on the ants. Use it sparingly and clean it up when you are
> done. Boric acid -is not- poisonous in any reasonable dose. But like
> oxygen, too much is a bad thing. It's pharmacutical use is as an eye
> wash! Try that with Garlic Tea!
> --
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Sal Schettino,Organic Farmer,don't panic eat organic,sals@rain.org
or check out my homepage:            http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html    .

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